Читать книгу In Bed With the Enemy - Natalie Anderson, Aimee Carson - Страница 13

NADIA didn’t know what she wanted first, second or third. It was worse than when she hadn’t eaten for a few hours. Decision-making was completely beyond her. So was prioritising. She didn’t want to move, but she was desperate to. She didn’t want Ethan to lift his gloriously heavy body from hers, but she wanted him to hurry so they could get somewhere private. She wanted him to go on top, go underneath, go down. She wanted him so many ways she couldn’t think, breathe or speak for the anticipation.

Yes, now she knew just how good the guy was. Some of it was the packaging, some of it was chemical, but most of it was attitude and skill. He had every right to be the cocksure dude he was. And which was more important to Nadia right now—deflating his ego or having the time of her life?

Time of her life. Hands down.

Maybe he felt it—the moment of pure surrender, the subtle relaxation of her body as she gave in. Maybe the desperation was all too obvious in her expression. But he smiled and lifted away from her. Maintaining blatant, blistering eye contact as he extended a hand to haul her up.

She awkwardly walked the few paces across the grass to get back to the path, her thighs so wobbly she doubted she could skate any more. But some kind of muscle memory locked in. Some last shred of dignity—the need to mask how completely shattered she’d been by those few moments in the grass and pretend some more it had all just been the exercise. As she began to recover a little co-ordination he started to jog. She skated faster to keep up.

‘We’ll continue with the plan and go get my bike,’ he said, sounding too damn unruffled and making her doubt everything again—especially that hungry stare he’d subjected her to as he’d pressed her into the grass.

She concentrated hard on the concrete path, not wanting him to see how disappointing his words were. She was gutted that they hadn’t done everything right there and then. Had he recovered his reason now? Was he going to go back to being the gentleman—not the rogue who always took what he wanted without giving a damn?

She really wanted him to take what he wanted. She wanted to be what he wanted. She skated as her energy returned to comic book superhero levels—courtesy of frustration. As she sped up, so did he, until they were moving swiftly out of the park, down the paths, easily avoiding the pedestrians—as if they really did have some kind of superhuman co-ordination and speed.

She glanced at him, absorbed the effortless grace of his big body in motion. He was fit—surprisingly fast for someone so tall. And maybe it wasn’t so effortless—because as she looked closer she saw his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white, his big biceps more defined than ever. Anticipation sent adrenalin licking through her veins again.

His hand suddenly closed on her upper arm, and he gave a sharp tug so she veered off course, spinning in a half-circle and colliding against him. His other hand caught her round the waist, pressing her chest and belly to his and keeping her there.

‘We’re here.’ He lifted her, keeping her clamped to him, and jogged up the three steps to the main door, wincing as the toe of her boot accidentally connected with his shin. She was too puffed, too turned on, to apologise. At the top he lowered her, releasing her arm to reach behind her. His other hand kept her pushed hard into his hot body. She heard a series of beeps, figured he’d pushed a security code into the pad next to the big door. Sure enough, she heard a click as it unlocked.

‘Can you manage the carpet with your skates?’ He didn’t wait for an answer, just pushed her so she rolled in backwards.

The door slammed shut behind him.

He stopped on the first-floor landing and pulled out a key. ‘Hot again after that exercise?’ he asked, dripping with innuendo.

Oh, yeah—as if it was the exercise warming her up. What a liar she was. She’d been hot for days, since that kiss after the movies. It was all him. But while she wasn’t about to deflate his ego this minute, she wasn’t going to puff it up even more either.

‘Not hot enough,’ she said bluntly, and slid past him onto the wooden floor of his apartment, gliding down the hall and into the main room. It was a big apartment—tasteful. Not that she took in many details.

She heard the door shut and his fast pace. His hands caught her hips and drew her back against him, his mouth hot on the side of her neck. She instantly angled her head so he could access more skin. Her skates propelled her forward, away.

He growled as he pulled her back against him and nudged his leg between hers. ‘It’s like a teen fantasy. Your legs literally slide apart.’

For him they did. They would even without the wheels.

He shaped her body, cupping her breasts and then sliding down her stomach. She loved the size and firmness of his hands. Her breathing escalated—fast, shallow—and she shamelessly leaned back against him, encouraging him to continue the hot trail of kisses over her skin.

‘I wasn’t going to do this,’ he muttered, furiously nuzzling into her neck.

‘You could always stop,’ she taunted, pressing her butt harder against his erection.

‘You know that’s not possible.’ He groaned, gliding hard and firm down the length of her body, pressing pleasure into her skin and deeper into her muscles. ‘You sure you can handle the hurt?’ he asked roughly.

‘Is there going to be hurt?’

‘I didn’t think there was usually. But people have been at pains to point out to me that I’m wrong on that. So I think it’s only fair to warn you.’

Amused by his flash of conscience, she teased him some more with her body. ‘Who’s to say it’ll be me who feels the hurt?’

‘You’re the one with the venomous website.’

‘I’ve already been warned, Ethan. Don’t worry.’

He lifted the hem of her tee shirt and she instantly lifted her arms to let him take it right off. But as he released his hold on her she glided forward again.

He swore in annoyance and then simply pushed her forward some more, until she crashed into the back of a leather armchair. Her feet couldn’t move further forward now—and he was in place firmly behind her. She bent at the waist so she could feel his hard length pressing closer to her core. She reached into the cup of her bra and pulled out the condom she’d hidden there, passed it back to him.

He grunted. ‘A woman who knows what she wants. Full of surprises, aren’t you?’

With barely leashed ferocity he undid her bra and held each strap in his hands—using it like a bridle to control how far she could lean to and from him.

And she wanted to be ridden. ‘Harder,’ she moaned, thrills shivering along every vein.

He pulled tighter, flattening her breasts against the cotton, her nipples sensitive against the material. He teased with his hips. Round and round, pressing hard and close and then away again, while he kissed from across from one shoulder to the next, stopping to nibble at her neck and her upper back. Her breathing shortened, keeping rhythm with the circling motion of his pelvis against her. She was going to come again, and he was still fully clothed.

Not okay. She wanted him inside her.

She rocked harder, faster, circling her hips back against him, wanting to stir him beyond restraint so they’d strip and screw right now—now, now. Suddenly he picked her up and started walking across the lounge back towards the hall. She struggled so much he dropped her, and her feet went out from under her. She crashed onto her hands and butt.

‘What’s wrong?’ He thudded to his knees beside her.

‘I don’t want to see the notches on your bed.’ She scrambled to get on all fours. ‘I’d rather be out here on the floor.’

‘I haven’t slept with nearly as many women as you seem to think,’ he spat back, equally furious, his hand shooting out to grasp her wrist. ‘And so what, anyway? Isn’t it now that matters? I’m not sleeping with anyone else right now. I’m not going to do that to you.’

‘I still don’t want to see your room,’ she growled. ‘I just want to … to …’ Her lungs jerked so hard she could hardly speak.

‘You just want a quick shag—is that it?’

‘Now,’ she said bluntly.

‘Well, we’re getting rid of the skates first.’

‘Fine.’

He fought with one while she worked on the other, until with heavy thuds he tossed them both over his shoulder and in one smooth movement pulled her beneath him as he rolled over her. She liked that he was fearless about being on top of her. She liked how much he weighed her down.

‘That’s what you want, isn’t it?’ He grinned evilly down at her. ‘Like to be dominated, darling?’

‘Watch your step, Ethan. You’re more vulnerable that you realise.’

‘You think?’

She ran a nail down the side of his neck while she slipped her other hand between them. She cupped his balls though his shorts and squeezed ever so slightly. He flinched and rose on all fours astride her, suddenly smiling—even though she knew he was as angry at her as he was turned on.

He yanked the dangling bra free from her body and then with two hands pulled her black leggings down, revealing her knickers.

He slid them halfway down her body and stared at the plain white panties.

‘Cotton Lycra.’ She tried not to sound too apologetic. ‘Comfortable for exercise.’

‘Indeed,’ he said. ‘And nice and stretchy.’ He grasped them, pulling them to the side, and very gently blew warm air over her. ‘Something very tantalising about it.’ He let the material cover her again and pressed his open mouth against the cotton.

She’d just about burst out of her skin at the luscious breath, and now the wet heat of him through the cotton was absolute torture.

‘Damn it, Ethan,’ she groaned. ‘You make me mad. You make me laugh.’ She banged her head back on the floor, arching as he licked her through the cotton. ‘You drive me crazy.’

‘Well, that’s totally fair.’ He switched to sucking and twisting his tongue into the cotton. ‘You do the same to me.’

She shook her head frantically. But it didn’t matter now—too late. She cried out through clenched teeth and contracting muscles as she came again.

She opened her eyes to see Ethan’s satisfied smile as he stripped the last of her clothes from her body and then stripped himself. He dealt with the condom and then looked up, his brows flickering when he saw she was watching avidly.

‘What shall we do now?’ he asked innocently.

‘I’ve orgasmed twice already,’ she said bluntly. ‘I just want you.’

He hesitated. She could feel his tension as this time he carefully took the bulk of his weight on his elbows. He gently probed her with his thick erection.

She shivered, all the goosebumps back. ‘Girth is good, Ethan.’

He laughed and kissed her. ‘You could use that as another website. GirthIsGood.’

‘Yeah?’ She rocked sinuously beneath him, wanting him to close those last few inches. ‘I’ve got a better one.’

‘Mmm?’ He kept up the tease, still not penetrating.

‘Pump. Now. Please.’

‘Okay.’ But still he didn’t. Instead he bent and with a wide mouth sucked hard at her nipple while stroking with his tongue, his hand cupping its twin so it didn’t feel neglected. Something else felt neglected.

Breathlessly she tightened her grip on him, jerking him up by the hair. ‘Do me or die,’ she ordered.

‘Oh, that’s nice.’

But she’d won. She saw the flare of his nostrils, the narrowing of his gaze as his focus centred.

He pushed forward. Hard.

She moaned—a low, wild sound that came from deep in her chest—and he paused. She could feel his heart thumping. She inhaled deep, then sighed and smiled. ‘Good, good, good,’ she muttered. ‘Now give me more.’

‘Demanding,’ he choked. ‘So demanding.’

‘You like it.’

‘I do.’

‘So why have you stopped?’

‘I like it too much.’

‘Ethan …’

‘Will you give me a break?’ he snapped. ‘I move an inch now and I’ll come, and I don’t want to come just yet. I don’t want this to be over that soon.’ He exhaled sharply, closed his eyes on her, his whole expression creasing into a frown of agony and need, frustration and determination.

‘Oh …’ She all but came again herself. Thrilled. She didn’t want it to end yet either, but she wanted him to feel as ecstatic as her—as desperate.

‘It’s not funny.’ He moved out of her.

‘What are you doing?’ She growled her disappoint ment.

He frowned right back at her. ‘It’s okay for you to be fast. It’s not okay for me to be fast,’ he gritted. ‘I don’t want either of us to end up frustrated.’

He sat back and rearranged her, pushing her legs further apart, and then moved forward again, stopping to suck her some more before sliding his length deep inside and causing those mini-convulsions in her again.

‘How hard?’ he asked, the strain audible.

‘Rough as you can.’

‘Oh—’ He swore crudely and swiftly left her again, rising to his knees and rubbing his hands over his face as he inhaled huge gulps of air.

She sat up and stared, amazed to see him struggling so much. ‘Are you worried about your reputation, Ethan?’

Didn’t he know he’d already given her the best sexual experience of her life? Or did he think she had orgasms in public parks every day of the week?

‘No.’ He glared at her. ‘But I’m not completely in control of myself with you.’

‘And you usually are?’

He grunted.

She smiled, crazily pleased that he was having a hard time coping with how turned on he was. ‘Well, I don’t care about control,’ she said quietly. ‘I just want you inside me.’

‘What you say to me,’ he said through even more tightly clenched teeth, ‘does not help.’

‘You want me to shut up?’

He looked at her for a long time and then suddenly smiled, the tension in his face altering from strained to wicked—but still edgy. Had he won whatever battle it was he was having with himself? ‘Yeah—why don’t you just come and take what you want?’

‘All right.’ She rose to her knees and crawled the half-metre to sit astride him.

He lifted his face to look her in the eye. She saw the mix of molten fury and desire as she rocked herself over the tip of his erection a few times. She’d known it would be good, but she hadn’t expected this kind of blistering, on-the-edge passion. Equal parts anger and hunger and helpless humour.

She put her hands on his shoulders, her fingers spread wide, but still not big enough to curl right around them. That didn’t matter. She could use them as leverage anyway. And she pushed down hard as she took him in to his hilt.

His hands were pressed hard into the floor, and she pushed harder on him as she lifted her hips and ground back down. The sensation was outrageously awesome as she slid up off him and then slammed back down. Slow and deep and again and again.

He said nothing. Nor did she. But she felt the way he was forcing his breathing to stay regular. She smiled, watching him watching her breasts sway with her rhythm. She touched them, cupping them in her hands and presenting her taut nipples to his lips.

His hands lifted, tight on her thighs, and he tasted—as she wanted. She laughed, drunk on the excitement of seeing him so desperate for her.

His hands suddenly tangled in her hair, pulling her closer, his tongue rampaging into her mouth, not letting her go and giving no respite from the ferocious, powerful kisses. She half moaned, half hummed with ecstasy into his mouth as he started thrusting up to meet her—making the ride even more incredible.

The thrill rolled in on unstoppable waves, crashing over her, tossing her into a pleasure-filled place that was so captivating she alternately held her breath and then gasped for relief as they ground closer and closer again. And then she could no longer move, no longer control the ride. Her senses, her sanity crumbled under the onslaught of pure, unbearable ecstasy. His arms tightened as she quivered and then shuddered in the throes of an orgasm like no other.

As it ebbed he moved, flipping her over, crushing her beneath him. And pounded. Sliding further and harder into her heat. She clamped on him, arched up every time to pull him closer still and not let him go. With every surge of friction she was driven back to the brink. She cried out helplessly—wanting a rest but desperate for more. His breathing rasped in her ears, melding with her own broken entreaties as she chanted his name again and again. They were way past the boundaries of civility, burning now with raw, instinctive need. Blinded by sensations, beyond reason, just desperate and aching and frantic for final fulfilment.

Nothing had ever felt as amazing as him driving into her with such magnificent masculinity. Nothing could ever surpass this moment. He lifted her higher and higher with his ferocious force, filling her with power and strength and pure, sweet joy.

Her scream cracked as it became too much to bear. He reared up, grinding forward in one last, fierce long thrust, roaring his own satisfaction, tossing her body once more into convulsions of rapture and her mind into blank bliss.

Even though she could see again, she kept her eyes shut, flinging her arm over her eyes to hide awhile longer. He was close by, still half on top of her, but he’d tumbled slightly to the side so he didn’t crush her. So she could breathe.

But she couldn’t. Her heart galloped. She felt the vibrations of his heart thudding too, and his harsh breathing as they both fought to recover as fast as possible.

She didn’t think she’d ever recover. Her whole body throbbed. Sweat slid. Her lips were so well used she was almost bruised.

An aftershock made her tremble uncontrollably. She felt his body flinch in response—and hold for a moment. But his tension didn’t ease. And hers grew all the more.

Silently he took his weight on his hands and withdrew from her body.

‘Excuse me a minute,’ he muttered.

She didn’t answer, didn’t move as she listened to his footsteps recede. Then she peeped past her elbow. Empty room. Quickly she sat up and reached for her tee shirt, slipped it down as best she could. Her panties were wet and cold. Most of her was wet and cold—all heat sucked away by some giant invisible vacuum cleaner the moment he’d left the room.

Yeah, whoever it was who reckoned that sex dispelled tension was wrong. Because it was so much worse now. And not just tension—terror. What the hell had she been thinking? Rising panic sent her pulse frantic, threatening to burst her eardrums.

She struggled to her feet, stuffed her knickers into a rollerblade boot and tried to descrunch her leggings enough to be able to pull them back on. Hell, she had to get out of there as fast as possible—no way could she hold herself together if she got close to him some more. No wonder those woman wanted to warn others—he was unbelievable, and all she wanted was every bit of him, every star in the whole fantasy dream.

‘Regretting it already?’

She looked up, Ethan was on the edge of the room, watching her uncoordinated movements with a towel slung round his hips and a frown on his face.

‘You know you were the one grinding on my hand in the middle of a public park.’ He stepped closer.

Her pulse went supersonic. She was shocked by his bluntness. She couldn’t bear to look at his darkened eyes, or his sculpted, glistening torso, so she looked at the floor and tried to get back to decent. ‘You put your hand in my pants in the first place.’

‘I was merely pointing out how vulnerable you are.’

‘You couldn’t resist touching.’

‘Because you were gagging for it.’

She stumbled as she tried to yank her leggings up, hopping on one foot with no dignity left whatsoever. She gave in. ‘Yes, you live up to your reputation Ethan. You must be feeling very satisfied.’

‘Absolutely not.’

Nonplussed, she shut up and sent him a wary glance. He looked grim.

‘Don’t you dare insinuate that I took advantage of you,’ he said, his temper clearly fraying as badly as hers.

But she had to play it very cool, very sophisticated, and hide the fact her heart was still beating louder than a jackhammer and about to burst out of her mouth. ‘I wasn’t going to. You know I wanted it, Ethan. And I enjoyed it.’ She shrugged as if it had all been nothing. ‘And now I should get going.’

‘Because you’ve had what you wanted?’ he said bitterly. ‘So what? You’re going to go home and write about it?’

She froze, abandoning the hunt for her bra. She’d hadn’t given a thought to the damn blogs and their little online war. This was nothing to do with that—this had been so much more to her than she’d realised even two hours ago.

The frown thundered across his brow as he obviously took her hesitation as affirmation of guilt.

‘Don’t write it,’ he said.

Nadia turned away from him and picked up her rollerblades, knowing she’d just found the way to end it with him. To escape completely. ‘But its popularity is skyrocketing.’

‘It’s that important to you?’

‘Yes, my website is very important to me. This was just a fling.’

‘You’re going to detail it, then?’

‘No.’

‘So you’re going to fabricate what you put on there?’

He thought she was going to embroider on all this? He had to be joking. She turned back to glare at him. ‘Are you setting me up?’

‘So little trust, Nadia,’ he said coolly. ‘When you just let me right inside you.’

Yeah, that had been utter madness. ‘I’m keeping on writing.’

‘Then so am I.’

She swallowed. ‘It’ll be my perspective. Honest.’ And with zero detail.

He leaned back on the arm of the chair, hands gripping the towel. ‘So you’re going to say you seduced me?’

‘Is that what you think happened?’

‘You made all the moves, honey.’

Well, not quite. But she knew what he meant. She’d given the green light. ‘Only because you goaded me into it.’

‘So you still don’t want to take responsibility? When are you going to be honest and admit that I don’t use women? That I have fun with women who are as up for it as I am. Women. Like. You.’

Yeah, she was one of the masses now, wasn’t she? And as pulled under his spell as they’d all been. ‘Not all women realise you’re only up for “fun”. That’s why they’ve all flocked to warn others about you.’

‘I don’t cheat, Nadia. I don’t ever offer them anything.’

‘You do. You just don’t realise it.’ He offered the sun and stars and the moon and all the excitement in the universe. And then he left a big black hole.

His eyes darkened. ‘So what? Unconsciously somehow I’m a jerk? Is it my fault they weave some kind of fantasy after one round of sex?’

That was a mistake she refused to make. And to avoid it she had to get out of here and away from him right now. She would not be thinking about him ever again. Not seeing him ever again. How had she ever thought she could get away with sleeping with him and come out unscathed? ‘It’s all about expectation. Do you make it clear from the beginning that it’s only three dates?’

‘I did with you.’

‘You know this situation is different. This is a total fabrication. You and I would never have met ordinarily.’

He stood and the towel dropped from his hips. She closed her eyes. When she opened them again his shorts were back on and she could breathe.

‘I bet you don’t usually say, Hey, let’s go out a couple of times, maybe fool around and then let it fizzle,’ she said rawly.

‘I don’t know it’s going to fizzle.’

‘And yet it always does.’ Like hell he was actually hunting for something more.

‘I make it clear I’m not looking for anything serious.’ He pulled his shirt on with vicious movements, trying to justify the unjustifiable. ‘I don’t like complications.’

‘Why is that, exactly?’

‘Because I don’t like scenes like this. Why are women always so complicated?’

‘All humans are complicated, Ethan. Even you.’

‘I’m not. I have very simple needs.’

‘All basic instinct?’ she asked. ‘You just haven’t grown up yet. You don’t want to deal with whatever it is that makes you such a commitment-phobe.’ She tried to stuff her foot into a boot and realised something was in the way. She put her hand in instead and pulled out her damn knickers. She looped her hand through one leg of them and bent to pull the boot on.

He swore. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

‘What does it look like?’

‘You’re not going to skate home,’ he spat. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘Fine.’ She ditched the boot effort and stood upright again. ‘I’ll get a cab.’

‘I’m driving you.’ As barefoot as she, he snatched up his keys from the floor and stomped to the door.

Silently she followed.

He had a car as flash as his apartment and didn’t need directions, so the trip was fast, the conversation nil.

‘We have one more date.’ Scathingly he broke the pulsing atmosphere as he pulled in front of her house. ‘Friday suit you?’

Never in a million years. As far as she was concerned this whole mess was over. She was getting out of it now. ‘I can’t do Friday,’ she said, just as snappily. ‘I have another date.’

‘Oh, you do?’

‘Well, this isn’t exclusive or anything, Ethan,’ she lied, cauterising her heart with her burning, words. ‘Do we really have to suffer through another date?’

‘Oh, yeah, those screams were real sufferance, Nadia.’

He’d gone sceptical and she didn’t blame him. But she wanted this to be over. She didn’t want to have three dates and be out. It would be two and she was through. No more. Kicking him to the kerb now was the only way to ensure he’d never want to hear from her again. And then she could get over this massive, massive mistake. So, with a calculated, completely fabricated indifference, she got out of the car and walked. She clutched her blades to her chest to hold in her huge hurt heart.

‘So you’ve had all you wanted? It was just curiosity driving you?’ Ethan called after her from the open car window.

She could hear the sarcasm—and the scorn. She kept walking, hating herself more than he hated her.

‘Hey, Nadia, who just used who?’