Even Odds (11 page)

“Now come on, it's freezing out here.” She tugged him onto the pedestrian bridge, smiling over her shoulder, their cold fingers still tangled together.

The hotel lobby felt
overly warm against Isabel's cold face as she stepped out of the snow into the warmth. She shook the snow out of her hair, the fine flakes melting into dampness that would be unpleasant if her whole body didn't already feel hot. Whatever Caleb had wanted to tell her apparently hadn't been important enough for him to press the issue, and that was just fine by Isabel—this way she could enjoy another night with him before she had to leave. This would be it, she knew. They were flying out early Monday morning, and with the close of the convention and packing up the booth tomorrow night, there wouldn't be time for shenanigans. This was her last hurrah, and damn it, she was going to make it worthwhile.

Caleb had the same idea, because he didn't even wait until the elevator doors closed all the way before he backed her up against the mirrored glass wall and kissed her, his hand delving into her hair to hold her in place. There was a certain urgency to his kisses that she hadn't felt the first time they'd slept together, or even the previous night when they'd been fooling around in the convention center lounge. This time, he seemed unable to get enough of her. She opened her mouth beneath his, welcoming his tongue as he deepened the kiss. Her body felt heavy and liquid at his touch, her synapses all firing at once, her skin growing hot just from his kiss, without him touching her anywhere else.

The door dinged open at their floor. Caleb stepped back only reluctantly, his green eyes so dark they looked almost black, pupils blown out. Isabel led him to her room and fumbled with the key card in her back pocket, the little door light flashing red at her twice before it flashed green and clicked to let them inside.

When the heavy door swung shut behind them, Caleb was on her again, his mouth pressed to hers, hands slipping beneath her shirt to run up and down the bare skin of her back. Isabel felt cast adrift all of a sudden, groundless, swept off her feet in a wave of sensation for which she had not been prepared, even after sleeping with him before. Why did this time feel so different, so focused, so intense? Was he thinking, as she was, that this might be their last time together? Or was he ignoring that thought, pushing it out of his mind so as not to focus on their imminent separation? Maybe he didn't care at all whether he ever saw her again as long as they had this moment, right here, in each other's arms.

Isabel's back hit the bed hard, surprising her, a whoosh of air leaving her lungs. Caleb was already skimming off his shirt, pulling it over his head by reaching behind him, grabbing the back hem, and sliding it forward over his head. He was the first person she'd ever met to remove a shirt that way. Shirt removal wasn't supposed to be that sexy. She pulled off his hoodie and then her polo shirt, tossing both aside.

Before she could remove any more clothes, though, he had climbed on top of her, pressing her down into the mattress. His eyes held a predatory gleam, something that made her quiver deep inside, some caveman instinct or something that made her want to submit and succumb. It frightened her, this animal urge, beyond what she had expected for what was really a second go. This should be somewhat familiar territory, a rehash of what she'd learned in the last couple of days, a culmination that was friendly and unsurprising while still being pleasurable. None of this felt familiar; instead, it felt foreign, dangerous, overwhelming in the best possible sense, and she wanted more of it.

His chest pressed against hers, Caleb pinned her down, kissing her with the same urgency he'd shown in the elevator. Lifting his mouth from hers at last, he stared down, breathing hard. “I want you so bad, Isabel.” He began to take nipping, pulling bites of her neck, working his way down to her collarbone, each touch of his lips like an electric shock. “Do you want me, too?”

“God yes, I want you.” She felt dizzy with the adrenaline and arousal coursing through her veins in equal measure. She couldn't seem to touch him everywhere she wanted to, her hands roaming up and down the sloping planes of his back, stroking the muscles of his tattooed arms, delving into his short hair. Pressing the cup of her bra down and out of the way, he closed his lips over her nipple and sucked hard. Spikes of light danced behind her eyelids, jabs of pleasure that left her breathless. He palmed her other breast, thumb and forefinger finding the nipple and rolling it between his fingers. Then he switched, his mouth going to the nipple his fingers had just teased to stiffness, tongue laving the sensitive bud as his fingers tweaked the one he had just left behind. Isabel arched up, wanting more of this sensation, wanting him to keep going and never stop, unable to find the words to ask for exactly what she wanted and not even sure if she could articulate it. The pleasure that rolled over her in waves made her want to lie back and give in, but she found herself rocking her hips against him, seeking more stimulation. He kissed his way down her belly, tongue dipping once into her navel as his fingers found the zipper of her jeans.

As he unfastened them, Isabel lifted up to pull her bra straps down over her shoulders and unfasten the clasp behind her. She tossed her bra onto the pile of her shirt and, now, her jeans as Caleb slid them down over her hips and added them to the collection of clothing. She'd worn some cute black underwear that day, hoping he'd see them, and he stared at them for a long moment before running his finger across her belly just above the waistband. They were lace and left little to the imagination, the kind of underwear a woman who wanted to get laid might wear, not one who had sex as rarely as she did.

“These are nice.” He touched the lace with just his fingertips, his light touch making her shiver, before putting both hands on her inner thighs and purposefully spreading her legs. “But I like what's inside them better.”

Oh fuck.
Fuck.
Her body felt lit up from inside, hot and cold simultaneously. When he dragged his finger up the cleft of her panties, rubbing her through the silk and lace, she couldn't hold back a breathy moan. He did it again, not reaching behind the fabric, not touching her directly, instead rubbing the fabric itself against her slick folds, and the friction and pressure made her eyes fall closed against the overwhelming sensations. God that was good. She could just lie here all night and let him touch her like this.

When his touch disappeared, Isabel opened her eyes to see him tugging his jeans down over his hips. Caleb wore plain black boxers, snug over his erection. When he slid them down, his cock bobbed free, thick and swollen, and it wouldn't be enough for him to touch her all day, because she wanted
that.
She sat up and wrapped her hand around his shaft, tugging him closer, and he huffed out a gasp that turned into a moan. He stepped up to the bed, and without waiting any longer, Isabel leaned down and took him into her mouth.

Immediately, his hand tightened on her hair, grasping a thick handful of her black curls, reflexively holding on as she wrapped her lips around his head and began to suck.

“Oh god.” He said the words on the inhale, overcome, and she could feel his muscles tremble when she grabbed his ass to bring him even closer. He felt so huge in her mouth, her jaw straining as she took him in, throat muscles struggling to relax as she took him deeper. She swallowed out of reflex, and he groaned, probably feeling her throat working around him. Too far, too soon, and she pulled back to focus on the tip. She worked her tongue around him, pressing back and forth along the slit, gathering up the dewy liquid there, evidence of his arousal. He moaned again. “Fuck, Isabel, that's so good.” She drew him in deeper, his cock pressing against the roof of her mouth as she rolled her tongue along the underside. He hissed, drawing in breath sharply, and she felt heady with the sense of power rushing through her. She loved bringing him to the brink, making him feel helpless, and she sucked harder until he began to back away at last. He popped free of her mouth, his cock slick with her saliva, throbbing red.

He tilted her chin up, and his face was flushed even as he smiled. “You've got to stop. I want to last long enough to make things good for you.” He ran a hand through her hair, his fingers trembling.

“Then come make things good for me.” Giving him what she hoped was a devilish grin, she scooted back on the bed, up to the headboard. “There are condoms in the nightstand.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow. “And what sort of degenerate pervert brings condoms to a convention?” He threw her words back at her, his tone light and teasing.

“The kind that hopes things end up like this.” She smiled back. She'd really picked them up yesterday in the hopes that she'd end up in bed with Caleb again, but he didn't need to know that.

As soon as he opened the drawer, though, Isabel caught a flash of white. Oh shit. She'd forgotten that in addition to the condoms she'd stashed in there, she'd also been keeping her Hitachi Magic Wand in the drawer. Caleb pulled it out, looking as though he'd discovered a secret treasure chest.

“Oh, please tell me this is what I think it is. You dirty girl.” He grinned at her.

Isabel could probably have played it off like a back massager, but she felt beyond lies in this moment. She was fucking the guy, so there was no real reason to feel embarrassed. “A girl gets lonely at these conventions at night.” She gestured to him. “Now put that away and come over here.”

“I think I want to have some fun with this first, if it's all right with you.” He plugged it into the outlet on the lamp and climbed over her again, pressing one knee between her legs, and the dangerous look in his eyes was enough to make her breath catch in her throat. “How do you feel about that?”

Isabel suddenly felt less confident and more nervous. Have some fun with the Hitachi? With her? She'd never shared her toys with a partner before. The Hitachi felt like a close friend by now, but in Caleb's hand, it looked like a dangerous weapon. Then again, she was leaving Monday, and this might be her only chance at some real fun before she had to go back to being conservative Isabel, the consummate professional. She nodded. “All right. If you want.”

“I love these things.” He flicked the switch to low, and the thick tennis ball–shaped head began vibrating, the sound jarringly loud in the quiet room. Isabel didn't want to know how he knew about the Magic Wand, probably an old girlfriend or something, but when he pressed it between her legs, against the silk and lace of the underwear she was still wearing, she didn't care anymore. She heard a groan come from between her lips, stuttering in her pleasure as her whole body contracted. Oh fuck. She might have said it out loud. “
Fuck.
”

“Somebody likes that.” She could hear the smile in his voice, realized she'd closed her eyes and opened them again. He shut the toy off and set it on the bed beside them. Seriously, that was what he meant by a little fun? Three seconds? Before she could protest, he hooked his thumbs in the waistband of her underwear and tugged down. She lifted her hips to allow him to complete the process, and he tossed the garment aside onto the rest of her pile. Right away, he pressed the toy against her again, finding her clit and turning on the vibrator. She arched up, sparks racing through her body, eyes closing once more. He held it steady, and she felt herself climbing to orgasm without any other stimulation, the relentless vibration stimulating her quickly and efficiently. She lifted her hips into the pressure, wanting more, and it didn't matter that she probably looked shameless humping the toy with this guy who was still practically a stranger.

Then the switch turned off, the vibrations disappearing, and she was left on the edge, whimpering. When Isabel opened her eyes, she found Caleb leaning back, smoothing a condom down over his cock, the latex sheath stretching tight over his erection. Her heart felt much too big for her chest all of a sudden, and she wanted him so badly she couldn't really find the words, because the wand was nice but she really wanted that cock inside her. There was something else under the lust, too, something deep and rich and emotionally significant, but she couldn't deal with that right now. She didn't want to face the fact that she might be developing feelings for this man who was just a casual fling.

“Flip over.” His voice sounded gruff, aroused, and she rolled onto her stomach right away, up on her hands and knees. Caleb grabbed one of the dozen or so pillows from near the headboard and tucked it under her hips, then maneuvered the Magic Wand head so it was tucked against her clit from below. “There, that okay?”

Isabel shifted her hips back and forth, feeling the smooth rubber beneath her. She'd never actually had sex like this, and the position made her feel exposed and vulnerable, but vulnerable in a way she really liked. “Yeah, that's—that's good.”

She heard a click, and then the vibrator came to life again, whirring against her sensitive skin. “Oh god.” She breathed into the pillow, her hands gripping the covers reflexively.

“Still okay?” Caleb asked.