W
hen my car finally drops us back at my home in the hills above the ocean, it is well past midnight. The police detectives wanted to know every detail of our interaction with Georgia DeLane. She apparently is a challenging person to get a bead on, and the fact she was at the Getty Museum for the gala made all the law enforcement on the premises excited. To them, it confirmed she is in Los Angeles, although I don’t believe it for a second. The woman is far too smart to be trapped anywhere. No doubt she is well on her way to the other side of the globe to some hideaway in Thailand or someplace welcoming to criminals. At least, that is what I would be doing if I were in her shoes.
Of course, it didn’t help matters that the three of us can’t really explain why Georgia was interested in our being there. Bringing up anything to do with the club during the interviews was out of the question. Although there was no time to warn Claire, it wasn't necessary. It turns out she was as evasive as Lila or me. In the end, the detectives were frustrated, and if we were anyone else, we might have been taken downtown for more questioning. Eventually, they had enough and sent us home. I offered to let Lila stay at the estate, but she declined.
“I’m so embarrassed,” she admitted. “All I want to do is have a bottle of wine and a hot bath to wash all this off.” After kisses all around, we watched her whisk away in a taxi.
Claire leaned on my arm with her head on my shoulder. “I am so thankful you are safe,” she whispered, and I kissed her forehead.
“Same,” I said and called for my car to come to get us.
Now, as we walk through the foyer of the mansion, all I want to do is take Claire in my arms and hold her close—to convince myself she is safe. As if knowing my thoughts, she drops the heels she carried all night and falls into me. I wrap her up, and we stand in silence for a moment as we process the fact everything is all right, and we are here, safe together. The realization makes me thankful to be alive. I could have lost my life tonight, although it makes my stomach hurt more to think I might have lost Claire. My brave, beautiful, sexy Claire.
As I hold her, the familiar stirring of excitement starts inside me. Her body feels so good against mine and the thrill of surviving tonight lingers. Running my hands up her back, I feel the warmth and softness of her naked skin. The backless dress. So incredibly sexy all night and she made it clear it was all for me. The memory of touching her under the table makes me catch my breath, and I know Claire feels my body posture changing as she turns her head to let me kiss her. I touch her lips gently with mine. There is a tenderness between us for a moment as we nuzzle each other's faces, sharing soft kisses. My heart is full, and my emotions for her are strong, almost to the point of scaring me a little. If anything had happened to her…
Realizing how close things came to ending horribly, my next kiss is deeper. I need to feel her passion, if only for a moment before I take her upstairs to sleep. We are both tired, although I know the leftover adrenaline will keep me awake for hours still. Something about being shot at while trying to rescue my lover is a bit much to compartmentalize. Later I will process all of it, but for now, the thrill lingers, and my kiss contains some of that.
As if feeling the same, Claire kisses me back with equal passion and our kiss deepens. Suddenly, the heat replaces the tenderness, and she runs her hands into my hair to pull me in closer. The sensation of her hunger for me sends a charge of desire through my body, and I wrap my arms around her waist to hold her tight against me feeling every curve of her through the thin material of the black dress. As her lips part, inviting me in, I use my tongue to conquer her mouth, and she moans a little cry of pleasure. No one can possibly kiss like we do, so perfect for each other, fitting so seamlessly. Breaking the kiss, we rest our foreheads together, each breathing heavy. “I want you,” I tell her, and she nods.
“I want you too.” She pauses, as if hesitant to say what she is thinking before telling me her desires in a whisper. “And I want you to take me like you did on the ship.” I grit my teeth to contain the rush of desire that threatens to overwhelm me at her words. Fucking her tonight, when I am still charged from all that happened and almost happened, is exactly what I want to do. It’s as if she can read me, and I intend to reward her for it.
“Keep your dress on,” I say taking her hand and leading her outside to the pool. The sky is filled with the last hints of moonlight before it dips below the horizon and brings on the dawn. “One minute.”
She nods, a gleam of anticipation in her eyes. With a last kiss, deep and hungry, I leave her for a moment only to return with what she wants under my slacks. She is perched on the end of an oversized cushioned lounger and watches me as I walk across the patio to her. There is desire in her eyes, but something else too. It’s as if while I was gone, she missed me and not because I have money and power, but because I’m me.
Catching my breath at the idea, I suddenly want to do more than take her on the cushions, but to make love to her. To make her feel so entirely consumed she will never think of anyone else. “Come here,” I tell her as I undo my belt and pull down my zipper.
I watch as she licks her lips at my actions. “God, you are so sexy,” she says as she walks to me. Her body in the incredible dress is what is sexy. I suck in a deep breath and when she is close, take her by the hips to pull her against me. When she brushes my strap-on, I watch her face. Her eyes half close as she presses harder into me, and I know she wants to feel me as much as I want to be inside her.
Taking her face in my hands, I kiss her, slow but deep and passionate. She shivers and then gasps when I break away. I can tell she is as caught up in the moment as I am, feeling everything with so much more intensity because of tonight’s danger. Wanting more, I slide my hand up the bare thigh inside the slit of her dress. The skin is hot and smooth making me hungry for her. I slowly pull up the black fabric to reach under it with my other hand until it is at her hips, and I cup her backside to grind her against me again. Feeling what I have waiting for her, she grabs my shirt in her fists and lets out a small cry of excitement. The sound drives me crazy, and I lower us to the edge of a lounger until I sit on the cushions while pulling her to straddle me. With a thigh on each side of my hips, she grinds against me again and the pressure of what I am wearing rubs my clit. I can’t suppress a moan. “Jesus, you feel good on top of me,” I growl starting to lose my restraint.
Looping my thumbs through the back of her lace panties, I rip and tear them into pieces watching her eyes widen with surprise as I pull the fabric free, leaving her exposed. “How do you always know what will drive me crazy?” she breathes. I smile and lay back until I can look up at her. Nothing restricts her movement now, and she immediately starts to rock her hips back and forth running her swollen lips over the bulge of what I am wearing.
“Touch me,” I demand and with a moan, she does what I ask, reaching and freeing the shaft from my pants. She grips it at the base, and I grit my teeth, knowing she understands what I want next. “Put me inside you.”
“Oh God,” she says tilting her head back as she rises up just enough to slide me in.
Using every ounce of my control, I hold perfectly still. “Slowly,” I instruct her.
She nods, lowering herself all the way down until she is against my hips again, and I know I have filled her completely. “You are so deep,” she moans. “No one's ever made me feel like this.” Knowing it’s true, I can’t keep from lifting my hips to drive even deeper. “Oh my God. You’re incredible.” She starts to rock back and forth, in control of how hard or fast she wants to be fucked. I take her by the hips, holding her tight against me, but letting her dictate the pace.
“This is all you,” I tell her, and her answer is to grind down harder and rock back and forth faster. Her blonde hair hangs down her back, and her chest heaves with an uncontrollable need. Knowing she is close to tipping, I slide my hands up her body to push aside the narrow strip of fabric covering her breasts and find her hard nipples with my fingers. Pulling and teasing, she arches her back and begins to shake.
“Can I come?” she begs, and as my own pleasure mounts, I love knowing she wants me to give her permission.
“Wait for me.”
“I want to come with you,” she whimpers.
The sound of her begging is all I need to climax, and as the first roll of my orgasm starts, I lift my hips again to go deeper. “Come with me.”
With a scream of release that I know comes from her core, she rocks even faster, driving down on me to take every last bit. “Yes,” she screams. “Yes, oh God, yes.”
As the waves roll over us, and I hang on to her, she suddenly covers her face with her hands and starts to shake. It takes a moment to register she is sobbing. “Claire,” I say sitting up onto my elbows, worried I hurt her with our lovemaking. “What's wrong?” Shifting my hips, I leave her body while I pull her down on top of me. Wrapping my arms tight around her, she snuggles her face into my neck, and I feel the wet of tears on her face. I hate this. I don't understand. “Please, talk to me.” After another minute, her crying slows, and she wipes at her face.
“I’m sorry,” she says with a sob still in her voice. “I didn’t expect that.”
I smooth a lingering tear away with my thumb. “What happened?”
She takes in a ragged breath. “I thought I was going to lose you tonight. And I couldn’t stand it.” I feel tears burn my own eyes at her confession. I felt the same yet am not sure what to do with the feelings. Then I hear her say words I have never really registered before. Not with anyone. “I think I’ve fallen in love with you.”
My chest tightens at the confession. Anxiety, but also happiness, makes my heart beat faster. As I think of all that has happened between us, I realize one thing is real through it all. My feelings for Claire. “I feel the same,” I whisper. “I love you.”