Three weeks earlier
“Take off your underwear.”
“Huh?” Jake said, awkwardly stepping back from Angela’s bed.
She smiled seductively. “You heard me, big guy.” She flipped the sheet back, offering him her nakedness.
His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Speechless, he stared at her tempting body. Absently, he wiped his mouth as if he were drooling. His eyes finally found their way up to hers. Desire sparked in the gray depths.
“Uh, wh-what are you doing?” he stammered.
“Can’t you guess?” she teased.
“I’m not taking any chances. Spell it out for me. My brain’s a little addled right now.”
She laughed softly and patted the mattress. “Come here, silly. I won’t bite. Unless you want me to.”
“Hey, that’s my line. Jesus, Angela, what’s gotten into you?”
“Lust, I hope.” Her mouth formed a pout. “I thought it might help if I acted the part of a temptress.”
Still he didn’t move.
“Well?” she said, feigning impatience.
He ran a hand across his face. “I can’t do this.”
“What?” She sat up and pulled the sheet over her lap.
His eyes followed every motion. “I promised you that I wouldn’t lose control again, remember? But I’m so horny, I’m about to explode. I probably should be in a straitjacket, not just underwear.” She laughed; he didn’t. “I’m serious.” He glanced down at the erection already straining against his boxer briefs.
Angela snatched the sheet up to her neck, covering herself completely. “Oh God, what am I doing?” Her cheeks burned as she turned away. “I’m sorry, Jake. Close your eyes, and I’ll put my gown back on.”
“Wait a minute. Why are you apologizing?”
Her words tumbled out. “I thought you’d be excited—not aroused-excited, just plain excited—that I wanted to sleep naked with you. All day, I’ve been on pins and needles, anticipating how proud you’d be. I’m so stupid. I never considered how hard—no pun intended—it would be for you.”
“I am proud of you. This is a huge step. It’s like step eleven and a half.” He grinned and coaxed a smile from her. He exhaled in a whistle. “You’re sure about this?”
“I thought I was. Now I don’t know.”
“Shit. I screwed this up for you. I’m sorry.”
She followed his gaze down the sheet draped across her breasts, her nipples prominent and obvious.
He gulped loudly. “Here’s a compromise. You stay naked, but I’ll keep my underwear on until I’m sure I can handle this. Then you can take them off me.”
Her mood brightened. “I like that.” She slid down under the sheet and waited.
Jake’s movements were slow and jerky as he climbed into bed and pulled the sheet over himself. He took two fortifying breaths before he rolled onto his side toward her.
When she scooted closer, his protruding dick poked her thigh. She started, froze. I want this. I want Jake. I’m going to be strong. I can do this. I can. I’m not going to chicken out. To Jake’s obvious amazement, she reached beneath the sheet and tenderly redirected his erection so it was sandwiched between them. He groaned.
Feeling strangely empowered, Angela pressed her bare breasts against his naked chest and leaned in for a kiss. Her lips parted, inviting him in. He needed no further encouragement. Her fingers feathered through his hair and clung to it as the passion of his kiss overwhelmed her. Hesitation and reservation vanished.
The sparks in Jake’s eyes lit a fire in hers. His hot breath on her neck and breasts fanned those sparks into flames that raced through her, settling like hot coals between her thighs.
While he gently sucked a nipple, his hand traced her spine from nape to tush again and again. The tenderness of his touch sent shivers across her skin. Oh God, he felt wonderful. Her pulse pounded as muscles clenched low in her belly. Lust at last.
Jake palmed her bottom and angled his dick onto, but not into, the V at the top of her thighs. She moaned and pressed against the steel rod tormenting her. Pushing his hand aside, she swung her leg over his hip and ground her pelvis hard into his.
“Easy now, easy. Don’t freak out. I’m going to…touch you,” he whispered in her ear.
She whimpered with a need she hadn’t felt in four years.
His hand wedged a space between them. She jerked but continued to cling to his neck and bury her face in his chest. Gingerly, he separated her swollen folds, and his thumb touched that most sensitive spot. Her strangled cry vibrated against his skin, but she didn’t pull away. His thumb continued to caress her as he pushed two fingers ever so slowly inside. She gasped and stilled.
Jake’s hand froze. Several heartbeats passed. Trembling, she tightened her muscles around his fingers.
“C’mon. Let me give you this. Come for me,” he pleaded.
His fingers slid in and out, deeper and deeper. His thumb stroked softly but persistently.
“Jake, Jake,” she cried between pants, “I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. Focus on the feeling.”
The pace of his thrusts accelerated. His thumb drove her crazy.
Her fingers dug into his shoulders. Her back arched. Her head flung back.
A combination cry and scream heralded her orgasm. Violent waves ravaged her body as penance for her celibacy. Gasping and shuddering, she rode the spasms until she fell, drained and satisfied, against Jake’s chest.
Then the tears came.
* * *
A few nights later, the passion of their kisses flared as their tongues intertwined. Jake rolled Angela onto her back. His mouth pulled away and began a slow, seductive journey down her naked body. While his hand parted her thighs, his eyes searched hers for any sign of fear or rejection. Her faint smile revealed neither. Tenderly, his fingertips separated the delicate folds and found her hot and wet. Eyes still locked on hers, his fingers stroked, probed, and after a slight hesitation, slid gently inside. His thumb caressed her, causing her breath to catch. She stiffened but then relaxed. Her body tightened around his fingers as they plunged rhythmically deeper and deeper.
After withdrawing his fingers, he rose and bent his head over her thighs. Hoping she was prepared for what he was about to do, he checked her face for reassurance. Her smile faded, but her eyes watched him without fear. He lowered his head, his tongue touching, tasting, tantalizing. She squirmed and he retreated, waited. No complaints. His lips opened and explored her soft warm wetness. He captured her, his tongue sending shivers through her.
Her body was ready for him physically. Was she ready for him mentally? His painful, throbbing erection insisted it was time to find out.
He moved between her legs as Angela’s eyes studied him and then closed. Her lips pulled inward and pressed tightly together.
Jake waited. No rejection. He braced himself on both hands beside her shoulders. He hovered over her, watching her closely. His heart pounded, and his breathing quickened. His hips lowered, inching forward. The warm, wet tip of his swollen dick pressed tentatively against her opening, longing for admittance.
Angela’s eyes flew open. She stared up at the naked body bearing down on her.
Her first scream paralyzed him. Before he could move, the second scream split his consciousness like an ax. While her fingers clawed at his face, her knee attacked his strategically poised genitals.
He swore loudly as he rolled off her and over the side onto the floor. He lay on his back, his chest heaving, his mouth sucking air. Lust forgotten, his hands cradled his assaulted package.
After a few minutes, Angela’s crying penetrated his painful daze. “Shit,” he muttered, gathering his knees under him and crawling back to the bed. Cringing, he pulled himself up the side.
Angela was curled, fetuslike, against the headboard. Between sobs, she whimpered, “It was like my bad dream. Oh God, I’m so sorry.”
Jake filled his lungs and then let the air out in a long, slow breath before leveraging himself up to sit on the bed. “You okay?”
“No.”
He touched her arm. “C’mere.”
She shook her head.
“I need you, Angela. I need to hold you.”
Watery eyes peered at him warily.
“Just hold. Nothing else.”
She hesitated but then crawled onto his lap. His arms encircled her and hugged her tightly. Her body shuddered with a tremulous sigh.
“I almost made it, didn’t I?” she whispered against his chest.
“Yeah.”
“I’m…I’m sorry about the knee.”
He grimaced. “That wasn’t fair, you know, using the self-defense techniques I taught you against me. Bad form.”
She smiled up at him and snuggled closer. “But they worked just like you said they would. You’re a good teacher.”
“Yeah, lucky me.”
* * *
Jake stood next to the pool, admiring the dwindling sunset. Angela was due any minute for a late supper and to spend the night. Cringing at the memory of last night’s fiasco, he softly rubbed his still-tender groin.
God, they’d been so close. Their disappointment had been palpable, but they’d laughed it off and expressed their affection in other ways. Maybe tonight would be the night.
When his cell phone rang, Jake fished it from his pocket and put it to his ear without checking the screen. “Running late, babe?”
“Time’s up, asshole. If you don’t complete the contract immediately, I’ll hire an assassin who will.” The Contractor disconnected before he could respond.
“Jake?”
He spun around to find Angela strolling toward him. She stopped abruptly.
“My God, Jake. You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”