Breathless Series - (3 page)

But she also wanted to know how it would feel to kiss him, to feel the weight of his body crushing hers. She wanted him on all these levels. It would pain her if she discovered she didn’t rouse the same responsiveness for him.

“Well, was it shattered?” she asked now, lifting her chin proudly. “This image you had of me. Not that it should really matter to me, should it? After all, you’re practically a stranger. Why would I care what you think?”

He was looking right at her. “I apologize if I made you feel defensive with my comment. Yes, I had an impression about you. I thought to myself, no one really knows much about her. She’s a very private woman.
Unmarried, mid-twenties, well educated. Already a millionaire from her bestselling books. I’d seen your photos, I knew what you looked like. I just needed to know how it would be like to meet you in person.”

Alyssa once again had to wait for him to continue. The suspense was freaking killing her. “Why don’t you just tell me what it is you
want. I believe we’re both adults, Lucas. I write steamy women’s fiction; I’m a dirty girl, up for anything, right? Is that why you invited me privately to your home? Are you about to proposition me in some way?”

Her face was flaming. She knew she was correct from the way a slight flush went across his cheeks as well. “Does it make me seem unbearably chauvinistic, Alyssa? Now you know how badly I want you. Meeting you only fuelled that desire. You intrigued me from afar but then up close…I was slayed. It was all I could do not to whisk you away there and then. I went home thinking: fuck. I’ve found her. The woman that suits my needs perfectly.”

“And what needs would you be referring to?”

Alyssa’s whole universe was imploding. Lucas Edge wanted her. He’d felt it. She wasn’t the only one. It took all her effort to keep her expression neutral, and not like her panties were crackling with flames.

Before he replied, he took her untouched wine glass from her hand and placed it next to his on the nearby coffee table. Then he rose, his hands grasping hers as he guided her to her feet before him.

Alyssa was a good few inches above five feet, but Lucas was much taller, more than six feet at least. His gaze was hooded and she couldn’t tear her eyes from his lips. She’d never seen a man’s mouth look so edible; had never wanted a kiss so bad as she wanted it right then, from him. She really thought he was about to mesh those gorgeous lips of his with hers.

But he didn’t kiss her. Alyssa could barely let out a gasp as he suddenly spun her round, his arm around her waist locking her body hard against him. His other hand wrapped around her throat, turning her head to face the mirror in front of them.

He’d taken her completely by surprise and now she stared at their reflection in the ornate wall mirror. He stood behind her, keeping her pinned to his solid frame. She was effectually trapped, his hand around her throat and waist making her feel deliciously helpless. Her hands clutched the sleeve of the arm he had across her body.

“What…what are you doing?”

He held her gaze for a moment, but then bent his head to inhale deeply at the base of her throat. “Answering your question, Alyssa,” he told her simply. “You wanted to know what my needs were. My needs are manifold and intricate, but they’re definitely the kind a woman like you would understand.”

A woman like me…Alyssa shivered inside as she thought, he really thinks I’m like that. He’s got this picture in his head about me from my work and he can’t tell I’m nothing like that.

She stared at his face in the mirror, shadowed and arresting as he looked up to meet her startled gaze.

“For some months, let’s just say I’ve maintained quite an interest in you,” he said in a factual tone. “I kept putting off meeting you despite the fact I always knew where you’d be, thanks to my investigations. Like I said before, I was wary. I didn’t know if it would be as I’d imagined it would. Only, it turned out to be even more intense. I want you, Alyssa Fox. But not just as a lover. Any woman can give me sex and in the past year, I’ve taken lovers but never a relationship. With you, it’ll be different.”

“How different?” Alyssa’s voice felt hushed, with his fingers still encircled round her throat in a light, caressing hold.

“I like how you feel in my arms,” was his manner of response as he added on a drawl, “I like that you aren’t struggling, or trying to scream in anger or alarm. You’re comfortable with my strength over you, my control. And that’s what I need, Alyssa. I need you to allow me take command of you sexually. Those kinky trappings you fill your books with: the bondage, discipline; the give and take. I want them all but only with you. You’re the first woman in a long while that I’ve wanted to share this with. In turn, I would be unsparing in my attentions. Sex has never been enough for me but for so long; it’s all I settled for because there was no one who interested me that way. And now I have you.”

Now I have you.
Did he think she’d already consented? Or that she wouldn’t wish to refuse? Alyssa was confused. One thing that was in no way confusing was the way her body reacted to his touch, his nearness.

She wanted more than anything to close her eyes and just sink into him, fall over and over in a tumbling heap within his swirling mists.

But she knew she couldn’t give him what he was looking for. And it broke her to pieces inside to know that she’d be a fool to get involved with a man like him. It didn’t stop her from needing and wanting him though.

“I don’t know what to say,” she croaked, her breasts a pair of heavy globes weighted down by the lust pounding in her heart. Just one shift of his hand from her stomach and he could cup one seeking tit in his hand. It felt so erotic, looking in the mirror and trying to read his every thought in his handsome reflection. Could he tell she’d felt drawn to him from the start?

“You don’t have to agree to anything yet,” he told her gently, finally drawing away and holding on only to her hand as he squeezed her fingers with a light pressure. “First, I promised you dinner. We can discuss this further after we eat. Or not. It depends on what you think of my wishes now that you know them. But whatever happens, we reach a conclusion tonight. Whether it’s a yes or no is up to you.”

Chapter Three

During dinner they talked about other things.

Not surprisingly, Lucas Edge wasn’t the type of man you could sit and talk with for any length of time and ever get bored or run out of things of interest to discuss. He was very good at pulling her out of her shell; and he knew enough about her to raise topics she could knowledgeably share with him while they ate.

He talked a bit about himself. She could tell he knew she was very interested. He was a workaholic; travelled frequently on business, stupendously rich, committed to giving back to society through his many relief programs. He enjoyed different types of art, and admired talent of many kinds. He played a few instruments well, and whilst at university he represented on the school swimming team.

He did certainly have the physique for it, Alyssa noted; even his suits couldn’t tame his masculinity. She found his company very pleasant indeed, and the food and wine turned out to be outstanding.
They were attended to by the chef himself, and each course was a masterpiece. Alyssa was able to relax, and enjoy the company of a handsome and fascinating male.

If there was a sexual tension in the air, it took the back burner. If her heart strummed along with her hidden folds just being there in that intimate dining room with him, listening to his deep voice and meeting his stirring gaze, then she did her best not to show it.

Enjoy it while you can, she told herself. It was her Cinderella moment and then she’d politely take her leave and go home. What he was asking was not for her at all and she’d hate to disappoint him. It would be best not to start what she couldn’t finish because whatever his expectations he had as regards to her sexually, they were way off mark.

The last thing she wanted was to make a fool of herself, so no matter how much her vagina walls were screeching for the chance to get fucked by him, possibly by the end of the night, Alyssa daren’t give in.

*

After the meal, they left the dining area but instead of returning to the room they’d first talked, he showed her around the house. One of his few abodes in the city, he informed her. She told him everything looked beautiful, which was true. To her inner relief, he didn’t offer to show her the bedrooms. Instead, he brought them into a kind of cozy entertainment room, filled with plush furniture and sound systems. The walls were like mirrored glass, the floor spacious and polished to a shine.

“You’ve seen the movie theater,” he told her, suddenly pressing the button on a remote and filling the room with music. “But here, we get to dance.”

Alyssa couldn’t help laughing, letting him take her hand and pull her into his embrace. He told her it was a waltz, from the late Viennese period. Not normally her kind of thing but with him, here, it suited her mood just right. Her body molded to his and she settled her hand on his shoulder.

Dancing with a man you were highly attracted to is almost as intimate as being in bed with him, Alyssa soon discovered. Coupled with all the wine she had at dinner and the satisfaction derived from good food, it was fair to say she was drifting on a happy cloud. He moved perfectly, his steps sure and his hold secure as he swept her over the wide floor.

His released her fingers and moved his hands down to grip her hips firmly before pulling her so snugly to his body she could feel every ridgeline. Her breath snagged at the unmistakable sensation of his bulge prodding into her. Alyssa couldn’t hide the startled look of answering arousal that crossed her face. He caught just a glimpse of it and then he moved, swinging her in an arc and pinning her to the nearest wall.

Alyssa swallowed a helpless moan as he leaned forward and nuzzled her neck, that spot he’d favored earlier, just at the inner side between her shoulder. All he did for a few moments was just breathe her in, before sliding his lips over her warm flesh and sucking hard.

Alyssa gasped, her hands pressed against his chest, instinctively pushing. Her reaction to that simple, sweet caress from his mouth was
fearsome
. A single laser of lust surged intensely through her system, almost shutting her down. She shook her head quickly to fight off the wanton mist turning her brain to mush.

“You said we’d talk about it,” she protested, panicking. She could feel his hands on her body, molding to her curves and digging into her waist as his fingers gripped hard on her skin.

“I know,” he said huskily, tracing his tongue along her collarbone. “But now, I can’t think. Not when I’m alone with you this long. I have a better idea.”

“Luke, what...”

He groaned deep in his throat, pushing harder against her till she was wedged up tighter against the wall. “Just the way you say my name turns me on,” he whispered, his breath teasing her flesh and making her tremble. He lifted his head and stared deep into her eyes. “Let me kiss you.
Show
you. You’re here, with me. And I can make this good. Just trust me.”

She’d only met him once before today and he wanted her to trust him. He wanted her to give in to his demands whatever they may be and without a thought to her own principles. Alyssa had never fucked a stranger before. Well, not a man she barely knew any way. Especially a man captivated by her through her writing, all of which wasn’t even real.

For many women out there, yes, it was. Alyssa knew that much about the lifestyle to realize that some people actively enjoyed such elements of play in their bedrooms with their partner of choice.

And now Lucas Edge was giving her the opportunity to delve into his world and fulfill his fantasies – and yes, hers.
Could she bear to disappoint him by running away? Or disappoint him anyway if she stayed and failed to meet his standards. Which choice would be the worse blunder?

Alyssa never really got the chance to really choose.

Her mind was still whirling when he tipped a hand beneath her chin and angled her face up to meet his. The next instant, he sealed his lips over hers in a kiss and suddenly the world as she knew it became a blank page.

*

What was it about a wall and being between a hard, hard place and an equally hard, resistless man?

One kiss, there against the wall, his body pressed against hers, and Alyssa was opened to a whole new manner of being. The crush of his lips was sweet, hot and demanding, making her pant fast and hard. His tongue was as delightfully moist as she’d dreamed, fresh and sexy, seeking to mate with hers. Without thinking, she coiled her tongue around his with a willing tango and heard the deep, rumbling groan in his chest. She loved his roving hands; grabbing her face, her neck, and then planting on her breasts to squeeze them hard over the layers of clothes. Her fingers found his thick, dark hair and she clutched the locks in her fists,
moaning as kiss got sloppier and wickeder.

Nothing had ever tasted or felt as good. To want someone like your next breath; to be immersed in their essence and never knowing where you began and they ended.
To want to believe, and succumb, and express each wonder tingling through your body just for them. He was so bold and hungry; one hand sliding from her breasts to rack up the hem of her skirt and skim up the smooth inner line of her thigh. Alyssa shuddered when his fingertips brushed the lace-covered mound between her thighs. Alyssa could feel the blood vessels swelling her vulva, could feel her own folds dripping and when he cupped her there, he knew the same thing too. She was sopping for him.