Solace in Scandal (8 page)

His tongue pressed demandingly at the seam of her lips. When she gave him access, he swept it across hers. The contact was wet and slow, so erotic she could barely stand it.

‘Mmm.’ She let out a mew when he hitched her up. He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, and her feet dangled inches from the floor. Her toes curled in reaction. When he slanted his mouth across hers again, she was ready for it. The kiss was deeper, more passionate and intense.

The ache between her legs intensified. Age-old instinct had her wrapping her legs around his waist. She locked her ankles and rubbed helplessly against the hard bulge that pressed between her legs.

‘God, yes,’ he hissed.

The room spun as he turned. When it righted itself again, Elena found herself on her back on the mat – not the thick rubber kind that had trapped him, but the cushy kind that absorbed impact … and cushioned the weight of two intertwined bodies …

He was heavy as he splayed out on top of her. His chest plumped her breasts, and his hips nudged determinedly at hers. She cradled his erection between her legs and wiggled until he pressed against the spot where she needed him most.

He nipped at her lips. ‘I have to have you.’

So blunt. So straightforward.

And so sexy.

Arousal clogged her thought processes, and everything honed in on the physical. All she knew was the clench of his hands in her hair, the feel of his bare chest and the press of his hardness between her thighs.

He pushed her top upwards, forcing her to lift her arms above her head, and made quick work of the front tab on her bra. When he cupped her breast, her head rolled against the mat. His hand was big and possessive. Burning. Her nipple poked hard into his palm, but her body bowed when his rooting lips circled her nipple. She struggled to free herself of the stretchy material as he plumped her breast higher and suckled at her with such voraciousness it made her belly contract.

‘Alex!’

He dragged his tongue slowly across her sensitive nub, making it tingle. ‘That’s right, pretty siren. Say my name.’

Elena couldn’t believe this was happening, but it was. He was like a man possessed as he worked his hand between their bodies. He yanked down the zipper of her jeans, but she wasn’t ready when he shoved them down. Her hips rocked when he cupped her.

‘Ahh!’ Desire clenched deep in her belly, and she arched against him.

Propping himself up on one elbow, he struggled to catch his breath. They were both breathing hard, and she could felt the hot gusts against her lips.

He was watching her so closely. There was nowhere to hide when he ran a fingertip around her opening. Nerve endings fired, and her pulse jumped. When the tip of one of those curious fingers began to penetrate her, she grabbed at him. Her hands found natural resting places over the curves of his sexy bottom. The towel was gone, and her fingers dug deep.

His jaw clenched underneath the shadow of his dusty beard.

His finger dipped deeper into her wetness, and there was no way to hide her reaction. Elena became one big shuddering mess. She could feel the strain in his muscles as he kept touching so intimately below. One finger became two. She couldn’t find her breath as they rubbed, swirled and plunged.

He leaned his forehead against hers as he touched a spot that made her moan. ‘Tell me you want me.’

Want? It was such a tame word for what she felt. She ground her mound against his hand, and her thigh muscles burned. If something didn’t soothe the ache deep inside her soon, she was going to go crazy.

‘Tell me,’ he ordered.

She kissed him instead.

A growl rumbled against her lips. His mouth raked across hers, and his tongue plunged. She let out a cry when his fingers left her empty, but then he was pulling off her clothes. She squirmed as she tried to help, lifting her hips and pointing her toes as he dragged everything down at once. He yanked off her socks along the way and she suddenly found herself naked with him towering over her.

Her breasts heaved as she looked up at him. He’d settled back on his haunches between her spread legs and was looking her up and down.

She looked at him just as fiercely. Her gaze swept over his handsome face. The ashen colour was gone, and the hollow look in his eyes had been replaced by something hot and reckless. She admired the strength in his chest and arms, the definition in his abdomen and –

Oh, my.

His erection stood hard and tall.

He was big, and he was ready.

He toppled over her, taking his weight on his arms so he didn’t crush her. Their gazes locked, and she caught at his sides. ‘You can’t look at a man that way,’ he growled. ‘Not when he’s trying to stay away from you.’

‘I didn’t come here looking for you,’ she panted.

‘But you found me.’ His gaze homed in on her lips, and some of the tension in his shoulders sagged. ‘You rescued me.’

He lowered himself onto her, skin pressing against skin, as he kissed her. He coaxed her to wrap her legs around him, and Elena shivered as his big hands cupped her bare bottom. He tilted her hips up as he positioned himself and then he was pushing into her.

‘Oh!’ she cried. ‘Oh … oh …’

She had to stretch to take him, and the pinch rode right on the thin edge between pain and pleasure. She dug her fingers into his back, and he went still.

‘Mmm,’ she whimpered. She felt so full. At once, it was too much and not enough. She wiggled beneath him, trying to ease her distress, but his hold locked down, keeping her in place.

‘Like this,’ he whispered into her ear. Using her wetness to ease the way, he began pumping in short, slow strokes. With the angle at which he held her, each glide bumped against that tender nub between her legs. It set off a flurry of sensation and her feet arched, her toes pointing hard.

‘Alex,’ she gasped.

He began pumping deeper and then deeper still until with one surge, he embedded himself all the way.

Elena cried out, her body bowing. Oh, God. He was right. It was good. Better than good. He was perfect.

He held himself still again, and she pressed her face against his neck. ‘More,’ she begged. ‘More.’

The words set him loose and they both began moving desperately. She stroked his back and kissed the line of his collarbone. He thrust into her harder and faster. The tight fit had them both groaning and shifting.

‘Damn you,’ he grunted.

‘I didn’t want this either.’ She’d tried to stay away, too, but that magnetic pull she’d felt that first evening had been indomitable.

They fell into a hard, driving rhythm, and words turned into cries and groans. The mat hissed and squeaked as it cushioned their lovemaking. Elena’s senses were on overload. It was all so fast, so overwhelming.

And so carnal.

She craned her neck when he licked at her ear and she spotted their reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. She’d never seen anything so erotic. Their bodies were connecting, moving in the most intimate way, and to feel it as she watched …

She closed her eyes as her body began to spiral upwards.

She clung to the stranger who’d just become her lover. He was plunging faster and harder, and her hips rose to accept him. The slap of their bodies sounded naughty and wonderful in the empty room. That energy that always circled around them was now crackling inside them. The voltage was cranking higher and higher.

She cried out when it zapped inside her like a bolt of lightning. ‘Ah, Alex!’

He bucked into her and his neck arched as the charge ran through him too.

She felt his wet warmth spurt into her, and an aftershock hit her. They stayed that way, locked together, energy shimmering. It was chemical, magical and out of control. The surge couldn’t last. After long moments, the energy ebbed and then dipped.

Elena collapsed back against the blue mat and struggled to catch her breath. Alex relaxed upon her, his body heavy and warm.

‘Holy hell,’ he murmured. He brushed her hair away from her face. He looked as stunned as she felt. She stared into his grey eyes, happy that the wildness was gone. The panic and anxiety that had choked the room when she’d first entered had disappeared.

Only new feelings were starting to niggle at her.

Feelings of doubt …

Regret …

And, finally, dismay.

She looked up at the virile man she’d just made love to – the man she was still making love to. Their bodies were connected intimately, and she’d played a part in that. A big part, and why not? He was beautiful. Male perfection. She responded to him like she’d never responded to anyone else.

But this was Alex Wolfe.

Oh, dear God. What was wrong with her?

She pushed at his shoulder and tried to worm out from under him. ‘I … I have to go.’

His eyes narrowed, but he didn’t budge.

‘I can’t be here,’ she said tightly. She couldn’t do
this
.

She wiggled her hips, and his hands latched down tight.

‘Hold still,’ he said sharply. The lines on his forehead deepened as he looked at her, and that muscle in his jaw bulged. ‘Let me.’

Heat flared in her cheeks as he disconnected their bodies. Slowly. Almost as if emphasising it. Inside, she felt the flutter of desire and her anger bubbled up all over again. That would be his way, wouldn’t it? To lord it over her.

She felt wetness on the mat underneath her, and she bit her lip when his softened erection brushed against her thigh. Horror built up inside her.

She’d always been torn when it came to this man. He epitomised so many things for her … wealth, corruption, excess, greed … sex, physical attraction and lust … She knew both sides of the equation, yet rational thought had gone out the window when he’d touched her.

What was wrong with her? She was a smart, level-headed sort of girl. She knew right from wrong. This may have felt right, but it was so wrong it bordered on stupid.

She scrambled away when he sat up.

‘Elena.’

She looked at him as she clutched her jeans and her top to her chest. The expression on his face made her nearly crumple, but she steeled her spine. She rocked back onto her feet and stood. The position made her feel all the more vulnerable. She didn’t have the nerve to put on any of her clothes in front of him, and she knew that damned mirror stood at her back, reflecting everything for him to see.

Only he wasn’t looking at the mirror. He was still looking at her face.

Her hair swung over her shoulder. ‘I’ve got to go. I’m glad I was here to help you … with
that
…’

She tilted her head towards the bathroom door that now stood open wide.

But she never should have helped him with
that
…

She couldn’t stop staring at him sitting on the mat with his elbows draped over his knees and his towel a good three feet away. He stared at her unflinchingly, his expression a combination of satiation, hurt and a determination that made her uneasy.

She backed towards the door. ‘I –’

She what? There really was nothing more to say. She’d just made a huge, incalculable mistake.

Turning with her clothes in her arms, she scampered towards the door.

* * *

Alex watched Elena go. He wanted to follow her, but he knew this was for the better.

He rubbed the ball of his hand against his chest and looked around the room. The feeling in the gym had changed. It seemed so quiet, so empty, so dull. He rolled his neck and pushed himself to his feet.

‘Ah! Damn it.’ Reaching out, he braced himself against the weight bench. He looked at the bottom of his foot and grimaced. It was ugly. ‘Hell.’

That was all he needed, something else to keep him contained.

Funny, only moments ago he hadn’t felt the pain at all. His gaze swept the mat. She hadn’t quite gotten everything on her mad dash. One sock was stuffed under a treadmill, while its partner sat on top of it. Something colourful caught his eye up by the elliptical machine, and his gaze stuck. Her bra. It was a light lavender colour, with delicate lace along the cups. He hadn’t even noticed in his ham-handedness in getting it off her.

Bending down, he hooked his finger around a strap and picked it up. It was soft and padded, although she didn’t need the help. He clenched the soft fabric in his fist and reached for the towel he’d dropped nearby.

He let out a gust of air when he spotted the evidence of their lovemaking still on the mat. Just looking at the wet spot, he felt himself getting hard all over again.

‘Get your head out of your ass,’ he chided himself.

She was right about the two of them. They had no business being together – even if she was the sexiest, most fascinating little creature he’d come across in aeons. And the hottest little spitfire. They’d nearly lit up this room with the fireworks they’d thrown together.

But that had been a huge mistake.

The two of them? With their history?

He quickly cleaned up and tossed the towel and socks in the hamper. His thumb swept over the cup of her bra for a moment before it followed suit.

Jaw hardening, he wandered over to the bathroom that had been his second prison in a week. He glared at the rubber mat that sat propped up askew in the corner. He yanked it away from the door and tossed it. The heavy rubber square went flying through the air like a super-duty magic carpet. It hit the floor in the middle of the room with a smack that rang in his eardrums.

How long would he have been stuck in there if she hadn’t found him? He braced himself against the door frame, still unable to make himself go inside. He hadn’t meant to pounce on her, but he’d been in that tiny eight-by-ten room long enough that he’d been riding the razor’s edge. And she’d been so soft and pretty. So warm and welcoming.

He rubbed his chest again, but the ache wasn’t easing. At least the snake had settled again.

He propped the door open with a ten-pound weight, washed himself quickly and got dressed. He headed upstairs, more aware of the silence than ever. He’d welcomed the peace and calm when he first arrived, but now it was bringing back memories. Unwanted memories.

He knew without a doubt that she’d gone. The house felt too heavy. He looked up and down the hallway. Why had she been here in the first place?