Jasmine shivered as she lifted her wrist to look at her watch. Good Lord, it was six PM. Her stomach growled, she’d missed lunch. She stood up and stretched, letting every muscle unknot, every vertebrae click into place. Rolling her head from side to side, she could feel how tight her neck was.
It had taken her longer than expected to re-do what had been deleted. When she turned around to look at the laptop she was happy, really happy, with how it looked. Perhaps She Devil had done her a favor by erasing her website. Shutting the lid, she looked up to see Kent standing right in front of her.
“Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack,” she said, her voice breathy and her heart pounding. If that was due to the fright or just because it was Kent, she didn’t know. His eyes were narrowed, but the intensity of his stare made her mouth dry up and her body overheat.
He’d obviously just stepped out of the shower; his hair was damp and the scent of soap permeated her nostrils.
“Are you ready to eat now?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m starving. I didn’t realize how late it was. I tend to get super involved when I start something.”
“I gathered as much when I came in with some lunch for you.” He leaned behind her and picked up the plate of dried-up sandwiches.
She yawned, and her eyes felt gritty. It had been an early start this morning and she was beginning to feel the strain now.
“Gosh, I’m sorry. Damn, I’ve missed Sophia at the shop.”
“She called about an hour ago to say everything was fine and that she’d see you tomorrow.”
“She’s a diamond.”
He smiled, and what a smile. It could only be classed as one hundred percent libidinous, and it sent every one of her womanly cells into overdrive
“I’ve cooked some tagatelle with a side salad. I’m not a great cook, but I can put a meal together.”
“Great. I’m ravenous.” She followed him into the hallway that led to the kitchen. “Is Geekie still here?”
“No. He left earlier this afternoon with Fireball to do some work.”
“Jeez, what else happened while I was busy?”
He chuckled. “Fireball installed an undetectable firewall on your system which will trap anyone trying to get in. Let’s hope that leads to their computer and us identifying whoever is stalking you.”
“But if that was the case surely when She Devil deleted my work you would have had a trail on her?”
“You’d think. But whoever is behind all this is better at using IT than we originally gave them credit for.”
“It’s all very technical for me.” She sat down at the table and delved into the food.
He chuckled as he sat opposite her. “You are hungry.”
“Starving. Can I use my computer now?”
“Yes, you can. The more you use it, the better, then there will be a higher chance that whoever is doing this will slip up.”
“Are you convinced now it’s a woman?”
He nodded. “I think we can safely say that whoever is harassing you is female.”
She frowned and then picked up her wine glass and drank the chardonnay he’d opened earlier. “Umm, nice. The food is good too.”
“Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve made a few meals in my time.”
“How come you’re still single?”
“Jeez, I’m only thirty-three. You make me sound ancient.”
She played with the stem of the glass, pushing her hair back from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “Girlfriend?”
“Not at the moment. My work makes it difficult to be in a relationship. Why? Are you offering?”
Her head shot up. “Certainly not.” Although she couldn’t imagine why she’d asked that question. The words had come out of her mouth before she could stop them.
His eyes narrowed as he pushed his plate to one side and drank some of his wine. “Would being my girlfriend be so repulsive to you?”
“I’m not looking for a relationship with you or anyone else.” She couldn’t help the defensive tone of her voice. She leaned back in the chair with her wineglass, brushing aside her bangs with her fingers before leaning her elbow on the armrest with the palm of her hand beneath her chin. “Tell me, Kent, if Micah and Jack can make it work, why can’t you?”
“Because I travel the world, I organize our work. I map out our contracts, deploy employees in some places that are...shall we say, difficult to get in and out of.”
“Is your work dangerous?”
“Sometimes.”
“So would you say you’ve done things that you’d rather forget?” Her eyes delved deeply into his.
“Haven’t we all?”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, I have. There were some things that I’ve had to do, especially in the Navy SEALS and some of the government contract work. At KGIS some work is under the radar. Everyone does things they regret.”
“If you had to do it all over again, would you?”
“I’ve had to make some tough calls in my life. Saving people means that decisions have to be made.”
“Are you a hero, Kent? I somehow think you’ve made a big difference in some people’s lives.”
“I’m no hero. Don’t ever put me in that category.”
They gazed at each other for a moment. She tried to gauge what he was thinking but it was impossible. He was good at hiding his thoughts. “You’re a hard cookie.”
“As opposed to a soft, gooey one?” He chuckled.
She smiled. “Using food metaphors just makes me hungry,” she said as she reached behind her for the biscuit jar. Taking one out, she bit down into the gooeyness. “I’m guessing because you’re such a tough guy you don’t want one of these—”
Before she’d finished speaking, he reached over and took one out.
“Hey!”
He took a large bite and made a pretense of closing his eyes with enjoyment. “Umm, not bad for a British cookie.”
She laughed. “That’s because they’re not cookies, they’re biscuits.”
“Same thing, just a different name.”
“Most certainly not! The British biscuit is an institution all on its own with afternoon tea,” she said, picking up her glass and drinking from it.
“I’ll take your word for it. They are good though,” he said as he reached for another one and popped it into his mouth.
“Hey.” She tried to slap his hand away. “Do you love my biscuits?”
“Oh, honey, I do love them.”
She couldn’t ignore the connotations of those words, so she put the lid on the container and put them back on the worktop. “Enough messing around,” she said. “We have work to do.”
“I was enjoying those.” He chuckled, and she ignored it.
“Tell me what information you’ve gathered.”
“We think we have a name.”
She raised her eyebrows before setting her empty glass on the table. She sat up straight, her heart thumping in her chest. “And?”
“And the name of the woman who was protesting in front of your shop is Mania Shedevil.”
“What? Are you kidding me?”
“’Fraid not. Fireball hit the nail on the head when he said it was a woman, and apparently he gave her the perfect nickname.”
“Is the name real?”
“We’re not sure,” Kent said. “Either she had a parent that was warped or she’s changed her name by deed poll.”
“I’m guessing there’s a meaning behind it.”
“Yep. In Greek mythology she was the goddess of insanity and madness.”
“Oh, fabulous. So she’s a loony.”
“That’s one word for her.”
“So what’s next?”
“We’re trying to trace her. See where she lives, what she does.”
“Apart from standing outside my shop and scaring the bejesus out of me,” she said. She went to drink from her glass but put it back down when she realized it was empty.
He got up, took a bottle of wine from the refrigerator, and poured her some more.
“Thank you.” She gulped down a large amount of it.
* * * *
Kent could tell she was trying to be strong, but her bottom lip quivered slightly as she clasped her hands in front of her. Her skin was pale, and her gaze was toward the floor.
He stood up and went to her, and before he could stop himself, he crouched down and covered her hands with one of his. “You’re stronger than you think,” he said, seeing the turmoil in her expression.
“Do you really think I am? I feel so exhausted by all of this.”
He cupped her jaw, and she leaned into his palm. “I know you are, but I’ll be by your side day and night.”
“You can’t protect me twenty-four seven.”
“Yes, I can.”
He dropped his hand onto her knee, and she took another gulp of the wine. He watched her lick her lips, coveting her retreating tongue with too much desire. That was a dangerous path to go down. He forced his thoughts away and stood up.
“From what we can determine with the emails, this woman is seriously messed up. She’s totally fixated with you and your shop.”
“Is she dangerous?”
“She could be.”
“This is serious, isn’t it?”
He didn’t see the point in lying to her. She wouldn’t believe him anyway. “Yes.”
She set the glass down on the table and they stood up together. Just as she turned to leave the kitchen the intercom buzzed.
“Are you expecting anyone?” he asked as she turned around to look at him.
“No.”
He followed her into the hallway.
She pressed the button to the intercom. “Hello?”
“Jasmine, it’s George on security.”
“Hello there. How are you this evening?”
“All the better for hearing your voice.”
“You old charmer. How’s your wife and those beautiful grandchildren?”
“Sending me gray,” he joked. “There’s a parcel here for you. It was too big to fit into your letterbox, so I’ve kept it to one side like I normally do.”
“You’re a star, George. I’ll be right down to get it.”
“Okie dokie. See you in a minute.”
Kent grabbed hold of her elbow as she reached for the doorknob. “Wait. How often do you get parcels like that?”
“All the time, especially when I’m looking at new stock. I get samples sent here.” She shrugged off his hand. “It’s okay, Kent. I’m used to getting parcels here.”
His gut was telling him to be careful. Who knew the capabilities of this woman? She’d already tried to push Jasmine over.
“Kent, you can’t go with me just in case this place is being watched. But don’t worry, security is good here.”
“So damn good that I was able to get in with no problems.”
“Let’s face it, you’re no ordinary person.”
She folded her arms in a hugging position. He’d learned that she only did that when she felt as though things were getting out of her control. He tried to ignore the way the action pushed up her breasts, because it was hardly appropriate to be having thoughts of that kind at this moment. But still...
Her lips twitched into an almost smile, and he got the feeling she was teasing him, which was an entirely new sensation for him. He narrowed his eyes at her.
“I’ll call Fireball and have him follow you.” His apartment was only a few doors from hers. He took out his cell to make the call, expecting Jas to argue with him, but she didn’t.
She nodded then opened the door and slipped outside.
He waited impatiently for her to return and heard the elevator stopping and the doors opening. He didn’t like that she had to walk down the hallway to her door without anyone with her. Fireball would have had to stop at his door, which was at least fifteen feet from hers. Kent was relieved when he heard the keys in the lock.
Jasmine walked in carrying a fairly large box. He took it from her and strode into the kitchen.
“Fireball said not to open it until he comes around,” she said as she threw her keys on the hall table. She followed him as he set the box on the table. Biting her lower lip, her eyes flitted to the brown parcel. “There’s no return address, and it’s handwritten.”
“Has she sent you anything before?”
“No.” Her eyes were anxious as she looked at him. “I hate feeling like this.” Her hands were clasped together tightly, the knuckles turning white. “Prior to her pushing me outside the shop, the only thing I got were emails and those lilies that were left for me. Oh, and the dead rat.” She shuddered at the thought.
He grasped her wrist, bringing her closer to him as he rhythmically rubbed his thumb across the skin where her pulse inflated slightly at his touch.
She looked up at him, loosening the tight grip of her own hands. “You seem to do that a lot despite your promise of no sex on the job.”
“Do what?”
“Touch me.”
“You don’t like it?”
“Yes, I do.”
He drew her even closer, his hands going to her shoulders and his fingers smoothing the column of her neck. “I’m not touching you for sex, I’m comforting you.”
“So this is just a friendly touch, is it?” she teased.
“Yeah.”
“Tell me, do you touch all your friends this way?”
* * * *
Jasmine watched Kent’s mouth quirk and his eyes twinkle. She liked that he made her smile even though she was majorly stressed.
“Not Fireball or any of the guys.”
“I can’t imagine,” she said as she smiled at him, the humor taking away the fear she’d felt moments ago. She put her hands on his chest, her palm settling on his heart, the beat steady against her skin. “Thank you for staying and helping me. I know it must have been difficult for you, with our past.” She shrugged her shoulders. “And things.”
He didn’t speak for a moment, and she couldn’t read what he was thinking. As usual, his expression was closed.
“No problem. Our past is nothing to be ashamed about…it was good.”
“Yes, it was.” Her voice wavered as her thoughts went back to that night. His touch. His lips on her skin. The bliss of an orgasmic heaven she had no idea existed.
“Stop.”
She frowned. “Stop what?”
“Thinking about it.”
She felt the redness heat up her cheek and she put her hands to her face. “You did that on purpose.” She scowled at him.
He laughed. “I love to see you blush. It’s so pretty.”
“Damn you, Kent Lloyd.”
The doorbell rang, breaking the moment, for which she was truly thankful, and Kent left the room to let Fireball in. He nodded to her as he came into the kitchen and immediately went to the parcel setting on the table.
Jasmine watched as Fireball used a swab of some kind; apparently it was like a chemical detector.
“Jasmine, I want you to go into the other apartment,” Kent said.
“No, I’m staying. If you guys are going to put your lives at risk for me, then you’ll do it with me in the room.”
“Damn it, woman, would you just do as you’re told for once?”
“Don’t you swear at me, Kent Lloyd. I’m staying.” She stood with her arms folded, and he narrowed his eyes at her.
“Promise me if it looks dangerous you’ll go.”
“Kent—”
“No, Jas, I mean it.” He went to stand in front of her and kissed her hard on the lips. It was quick and concise, and for a second she was stunned. “Promise.” His voice had a rawness that clutched at her heart.
“Okay, I promise.”
He nodded before letting her go.
“It’s okay. Clean. Nothing detectable.” Fireball took a knife from his inside pocket and flipped it open. As he sliced through the tape the crackle of the cardboard was noisy. He pulled back the flaps. It was filled with polystyrene balls, and Fireball carefully scooped them out. He drew out a tissue-wrapped item. He looked at Jasmine. “Do you mind if I open it?”
She shook her head. “Go for it.”
He very carefully opened it, tearing away the pink tissue.
It was a glass sculpture of her dressed in a Greek robe with a red sash. There was a knife sticking out of her body and blood trickled down almost like glass teardrops.
“Damn,” she muttered.
Both Fireball and Kent looked at her.
“That looks suspiciously like the robe I wore to a fancy dress party I gave when I introduced my new line of adult toys. Which means that she was either at the party or she’s seen the photographs that I haven’t had a chance to put on my blog yet.” She leaned back against the fridge; her legs had almost gone to jelly.
“Are they kept on your computer?”
She nodded. “Yes. I downloaded them from my phone.”
“She could have seen them before I cleaned it.” Fireball put the statue down on the table. “I’ll sweep it for fingerprints, but I doubt there will be any other than mine.”
Kent rifled through the box, but there was nothing else. “No note,” he said as he carefully wrapped the statue back up as if he knew she was scared. There didn’t need to be anything else to tell her that it was a maliciously, scary message.
* * * *
Much later on that night a noise woke Jasmine from an already restless sleep. The phone was ringing. She reached across the bed to grab the telephone from its stand, but before she could answer it Kent grabbed hold of her wrist.
“Kent, what are you doing?”
“If it’s Shedevil keep her talking for as long as you can so we can trace it.”
She nodded and pressed the talk button. She felt the bed depress with the weight of Kent sitting beside her.
“Hello.”
“Hello, sweetie.” The voice was computerized as normal. “You all on your own now?”
“Yes.”
“Has your boyfriend left?”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Laughter rang through her ears. It was sharp, almost piercing.
“What do you want? Why are you doing this to me?”
“Because it’s females like you who have produced a society of men who think that women are just on this planet for their sexual gratification.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I sell lingerie that enhances—it’s good to look at.”
“No, you sell cheap, nasty items that encourage men to look elsewhere for their sexual gratification.” Even with the distortion in the voice she could hear how much anger there was behind those words.
“Look, if I or my shop has done anything to upset you, I apologize. It was never my intention to do that. I’m just someone who is trying to make a living.”
“Off other people’s misery.”
“How have I made you miserable? I don’t even know you.”
“Are you sure about that, Jasmine?”
How could she be? It could be anyone, and that worried her. A lot. However, she didn’t want it to sound as though she was afraid.
“No one I know would treat me this way.”
“Perhaps that’s because they don’t have the courage to stand up to someone like you.”
“If you have something to say to me, say it. Don’t be a coward and hide behind that silly voice you’re using.” Jasmine felt her temper rising. She was meant to be keeping the woman talking, not getting mad at her. Kent laid his hand on her bare thigh and squeezed.
“You are nothing but evil and deserve everything that’s coming your way,” the voice said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
“But I don’t,” she screeched. The bile that was sitting in her throat started to rise, and she could feel it burning her throat as she tried to swallow it back down.
“Perhaps I need to talk to those very pretty sisters of yours.”
“Leave my family alone, you sick bitch. They have nothing to do with whatever this is. They are innocent.”
“They might be, but you’re not,” the voice at the other end of the phone shouted. “You’ve realized I’m a woman, it took you longer than I thought it would.”
“Just tell me what you want.”
“Sweetie, I want you.”
Jasmine’s hands were shaking, and her breath was fast as her heart thumped against her chest.
“You’re not worthy of this planet…no one wants or loves you. Even your marriage was a sham,” the voice screeched
She shook her head. “You’re wrong.”
“No, I’m not, and now you sell slutty goods in that shop of yours and online. Just because you can’t keep a man you had to make us all pay.”
Damn, she was wrong. Shedevil was wrong!
Closing her eyes, Jasmine breathed in deep. She had to keep her head. “My shop is supposed to enhance your pleasure. I would never knowingly destroy anyone’s relationship. Please just tell me what I have done.”
“No. I want to make you pay. You have to pay the price for your evil.”
“And you are the one to do this?” She gripped the phone tightly.
“I will be the one to decide how I’m going to make you pay. I am the goddess of insanity and madness…I will decide.” The click on the other end of the phone indicated that she had hung up. Her words were still ringing in Jasmine’s ears when she threw the phone onto the bed.
“What did she say?”
“She said I destroyed people’s life’s. Kent, why is she doing this to me?”
Kent’s phone buzzed and he picked it up. “Yeah?” He paused for a moment as he listened to the person on the other end. “Shit.”
“Who is it?” she asked. Jasmine couldn’t make eye contact with him in the darkness.
“Geekie. He says the call was made from a pay box about two miles away.” He turned his attention back to the caller. “Jesus, she said what?” Kent commanded.
There was more talking, and she was grateful that they’d been able to listen into her call. At least she knew she wasn’t going crazy.
Kent leaned over and switched on the bedside lamp. His expression turned wild, and an unpleasant word came out of his mouth. “She won’t get near them or her,” he said into the phone, an undertone in his voice that would melt ice.
This was all her fault. The emotions rolling around inside her when she relived the words about her sisters made her want to wretch. Kent leaned back against the headboard, taking her with him so that she was sitting across his thighs.
Jasmine was grateful for his strength. The man had extreme sensitivity to her feelings. She wasn’t sure if she could handle this thing that was happening in her life, and now Daisy and Rose’s lives had been threatened. And what if this Shedevil got to her niece and nephew? God, she was choking with it all. She needed space. Her skin was cold, and her head felt like it might explode.
The words that Kent was saying were a jumble in her ears. She tried to move and push his arm away but in doing that it tightened. She glared at him. “Let me go now.”
“Relax, honey, just relax. You’re going nowhere. Can you think of anything you’ve done to upset this woman apart from calling the police on her when she demonstrated outside your shop?”
“No, nothing. I don’t even know who she is. I wouldn’t do what she said I did…I wouldn’t.”
Kent nodded, his thumb gently smoothing just below her breast. He bent down and kissed her on the mouth before she had a chance to move. It was the briefest of touches, but it went down to the very depth of her body. “It’s okay.” He spoke against her parted lips. He let his mouth brush across her forehead before speaking back into the phone.
She had to get away. This was not happening. Her whole life was spiraling out of control. The shop had become her greatest achievement, and now it felt dirty. Kent tightened his hold before finishing his conversation and letting the phone drop to the bed. He wrapped his other arm around her and gently rubbed up and down her arms until she slowly felt herself relaxing.
“I don’t know what she means.”
“Shush, we’ll go over it all in the morning.”
“No, I—”
“There’s nothing we can do about it now, Jas.”
* * * *
Kent was angry, but he kept himself under control for Jas’s sake. There was no way in hell he was leaving her side. This woman was a lunatic and unpredictable, and that did not bode well in his books.
“What if she—”
“Leave it.” His tone was steady as he let his hand sweep from her shoulder and move lower to the curve of her hip. She was warm and smelled nice. Her red hair was tumbled and sexy, and he was aware of the fact that they were on her bed…together…she was on his lap.
His chest was bare, and her cheek was leaning against it. Her breath was close against his skin and his heart rate sped up…a lot. The muscles of his thighs clenched, and he knew she would be able to tell he was aroused because his damn cock was as hard as a brick wall.
He should be getting up and trying to figure out how to get this woman. She was damned elusive and good at it. But instead he was fully aroused and wanting this woman as if he hadn’t had sex in a while, which he hadn’t, not since...fuck, not since he’d made love with Jasmine.
“What am I going to do, Kent? I’ve put my family at risk. We need to warn them. We—”
Kent put his fingers beneath her chin and tipped her face up toward his. Her eyes blazed like a meteorite. “Listen to me—you’re going to have to trust me to take care of everything. Don’t believe what you just heard on the phone. It’s all bullshit. There is no way she would ever get to your sisters. I promise you they are, and always will be, taken care of. Jesus, have you seen the size of Jack? Do you honestly think he would let anything happen to Rose? And Micah, that man is obsessed with his family, and he will protect them at any cost. Both Micah and Jack have already been informed of the threat.”
“It’s all my fault. It’s me she wants.” Her lip quivered and she bit down on it.
Kent used his fingers to gently disengage it from her teeth before she drew blood. “She’s crazy, not you. She’s twisted in her views about you and what you do, and whatever she thinks she has against you. In her head everything will be so far removed from reality that she won’t be able to tell the difference between what is right and wrong.”
“But—”
He cupped the back of her neck. “I won’t let it…her get near you.”
She shook her head negatively.
“I won’t,” he whispered. “You are not responsible for a woman who has gone crazy.”
He tried to be firm with his words to drive the point home, but he could see from her expression that he hadn’t been successful. He’d known that a woman like Jasmine would take this as a judgment on her character.
He could feel her breath accelerate. He was done talking. As she opened her mouth to speak he shook his head and pressed his lips against hers, and the words that she was about to say were muffled. The intimacy of their connection fired him, and he could feel the current of electric power travel from her to him.
There was no holding back now. He kissed her with all the expertise the years had given him. Tonight he was going to erase all her worries. He deplored the way Shedevil was making Jas feel. She was the victim, and the bitch was going to suffer for what she was putting her through.
He felt his cock getting harder and bigger.
His noble motives weren’t entirely honest. He needed her like he needed his next breath, and he had no doubts about his ability to do things to her body that would make her scream... his name. More than once. When she came.
As he cupped her cheek her skin against his hands was as soft as silk. He drew away, just a breath, just a whisper from those beautiful, red lips. “You’re gorgeous.”
Her eyes flickered open, and a look of animalistic abandon crossed her face. “Kent, we—”
He wasn’t listening. He had to have those lips again. Really taste them and enjoy the flavor more intimately. As he closed the small distance she parted her lips to speak, but he licked her bottom lip and a sigh escaped. He traced the contours before slipping his tongue inside her mouth so he could savor the taste. He’d known it would be like the nectar he’d remembered.
Immediately, her tongue met his as he explored the silky depths, dueling warmly, teasing as the forays between them had her moaning, and the vibration and sound went straight to his cock. Her body was tense, the sexual energy prevalent between them as he continued to throb beneath her, but he made no move to lessen the meandering need.
Her hands settled on his chest, and he ached to feel her touch him everywhere. He knew that he wanted to taste every square inch of her body. The lascivious thoughts of what he wanted to do to her were by no means alleviating the hardness that was pressing behind his boxers.
He’d experienced her once, but he somehow knew that now would be different. She saturated his senses with every touch and every breath.
He could tell by the way she was kissing him back that it wasn’t just him that was hanging on to the edge of ecstasy. His hand settled next to her ribs as he tormented himself with the heat of her skin through the thin cotton. He lifted the hem slowly, teasing them both with the anticipation of him touching her bare skin.
By the way she was leaning hard against him, he could tell she was weakening. She groaned loudly. It vibrated through her mouth to his, and he got drunk on the sound.
“I remember you like this, don’t you?” he said.
“God, yes.” Her lips glistened as she spoke. “Can’t you tell?” She lifted his hand to her breast. He could feel the hardened nipple through her top, and he squeezed gently.
He was trembling as she pushed herself against him, and his surprise at his own body’s reaction shocked him for a split second. “Damn, you are one sexy woman, Jas.”
Her eyes filled with an emotion he couldn’t understand so he kissed her again, blocking it out with a desire so strong that he could think of nothing else but this second in time.
His thumb and forefinger played with her nipple, rolling it, teasing the hardness beneath the material and then soothing it just so he could start all over again. She was becoming dominant, which surprised him. She was very much always in control, and this part of her he enjoyed immensely. She drove her fingers into his hair and gripped tightly. It hurt, but the sounds she was making overrode the pain.
The feel of her bottom as she wriggled against him drove him insane. He wanted to be inside her, but he knew the minute she sheathed him in her wetness he would explode and it would be over, and he wasn’t ready for that yet.
His hand moved to the other breast, teasing, playing, enjoying. He sensed the pre-cum on the tip of his penis at her response and growled inwardly as he felt his balls tighten.
“You’re teasing me.” She scowled at him. “I want you, now.”
“Not yet, I’m pleasing you.”
She moved away, turning on his lap so she was facing him. She straddled him, her core settled against his hardness. He protested at the movement, but she took no notice of him. She placed her hands on his chest, her fingers tightening in his chest hair as she pushed him back with a fierceness that shocked him. Her flushed cheeks heightened as narrowed eyes fixed on him before she leaned toward him.
Dipping low, she teased his nipple with her teeth and he bucked beneath her, the sizzle of electricity making him alive with pleasure so intense that he was almost coming in his boxers.
“Let’s take off our clothes.”
“Why?” she teased. “I thought we were playing?”
“I need to feel your skin next to mine, you tease.” He flipped her so that she was now beneath him and slowly stripped off her top so his eyes could feast upon her loveliness. Her breasts were swollen, her nipples all red and rosy from his attentions.
She covered them with her hands, a little uncertainty crossing her features.
“Uncover them.”
“I—”
He lifted her hands away and stretched her arms above her head, which lifted her curves so that her engorged nipples were staring back at him, teasing his senses to distraction. They watched each other, memorizing every contour in the low light of the room, the scent of their arousal permeating the air around them.
He inhaled deeply, his cock twitching, growing harder than ever before. He sat back and rubbed the hardness against her core, and she arched up to meet his desire.
“Oh my God, don’t stop,” she said.
He didn’t. He did it twice more, and she followed his movements.
“Touch me,” she begged.
“I will.” He rode against her again. “When I’m ready.”
“Now, Kent. Be ready now.” Her raised voice told him she was desperate.
He wanted so much to do as she asked, but he loved tormenting her. Loved the way she was responding, the sensuality in her eyes, the flush of her cheeks, and the tease of the wetness that he knew would be waiting for him.
He leaned down and tentatively licked the underside of her breast. She sucked in deep breaths, her whole body trembling.
“Is this what you want?” he asked as he did the same thing again. His gaze flickered to her face, and he saw that her eyelids were almost fully closed, her mouth open.
“More…please more.”
He gave her what she wanted as he took her engorged nipple into his mouth and sucked…hard. The feel of it in his mouth as the taste exploded like little electric shocks against his tongue…fucking hell, was there ever anything as beautiful as her? Had he ever been so full of desire that he couldn’t think of anything but that moment?
“Kent…” She breathed out his name, and a primordial male reaction spread inside him as he cheered at the sound.
“Tell me what you want.”
“Jesus, Kent, you know what I want.”
“Say the words. Talk to me.” He watched her, waited for the words that would send him to heaven and back.
“Suck my nipples, touch them, and bite them. Kent, please just do it.”
The words destroyed any modicum of discipline he was trying to hold onto. He bent down and did as she asked. He held the underside of her breast in his hand, squeezing the flesh, loving the silkiness. His mouth closed over her nipple, gently biting then licking it better, and the succulent, distended nub became more engorged.
She grabbed his head and forced him to stay where he was, but he wasn’t going anywhere. He sucked and teased until she was lifting her body as they fought the sensual battle that was rife between them. He pleasured her more than he had any other woman. Even that night with her was nothing compared to this. He hadn’t thought then that anything could override the desire he’d felt, but he was so wrong. This was on a level that was indescribable.
He sat back and tugged off her shorts, revealing the smoothness of her belly and the auburn curls that surrounded her mound. The strawberry mark on her inner thigh he knew was a birthmark that all the sisters had, and he bent down to kiss it. God, he had to taste her. He breathed her scent deeply, his body shuddering with reaction.