Stroke of Midnight (7 page)

Jaye’s belly dropped when Alex lifted her ass in the air. Climbing to the tub rim, she looked over her shoulder and saw him stand behind her. Water sluiced down his hard, lean body and cascaded off his heavy erection.

She settled her knees on a pile of soft towels. He entered her with his magnificent cock in one long slow slide. She whimpered at the fullness, of rightness in their joining.

“You’re sucking me in, holding my cock like your pussy won’t ever let go.”

He stilled and held her there, with his iron hard penis held in place by her soft inner muscles that milked and flexed around him.

Silence reigned as the tub jets subsided. Alex pulled out to the end, slid the tip of his cock in and out to just cover the head.

Jaye tried to push back, to take more, to hold onto him, but he kept dancing out of reach. “Your lips pop open when I pull out then wrap tight around me when I’m inside. You’re so dark and deep and wet, I want my mouth there while my cock’s inside. You make me crazy.”

“I want to feel you. I want to feel the gush of your come, the pulse of your cock when you’re spurting inside me.”

“Stop talking, I can’t take any more.”

“Then fuck me, and take us there.”

His cock nudged between her lips once more, slid inch by aching inch until he was full into her. With the first flex of his cock, she reached between their legs to cup his tightened balls and squeezed. He released into her in a stream of ejaculate so intense she knew every pulse, every spurt of his spewing cock.

She shook and quivered and quaked at the knowledge of his coming. So connected, so in tune that every inner flex of his muscle caused a corresponding flex and twitch of her own. Her orgasm rose from her deepest channel, up through her spine and out to each limb.

Wrung out, Alex collapsed across her back, but gentled her to the floor atop the nest of fluffy towels. He rolled onto the towels beside her and groaned. “You’re going to kill me.”

She peeped one eye open to look at him. “Too late. I’m already dead. I’m not going to be able to move for a week.”

“Good, you’ll have to stay another week with me.”

She stilled and wondered what he meant. “I can’t be gone for three weeks.”

“Of course you can.”

She forced herself up to an elbow and leaned over him. “No, I really can’t. I’ve got clients who need their bills paid, a son who still needs me in spite of being old enough to drive and work and save for college. And other things…”

He placed a fingertip to her lips. “Stay longer.”

“No. This is more than I ever dreamed could happen to me.” She waved an arm around the opulent bathroom.
He
was more than she’d ever dreamed, but she’d keep that thought to herself. “I mean look at this place, it’s incredible, unbelievable, but I don’t belong here. Not for more than one night. You know it and so do I.” It was cowardice that made her keep the conversation to the surroundings and not the man, but she’d never been brave with her heart.

He frowned but said nothing to dissuade her from her assumptions.

Then she recalled what Tina had said about him being one of the good guys. She had to ask. “What is it that you do?”

“Do?”

“To make your living. I see lots of evidence of hard work.” She waved her hand to indicate their surroundings again. “But I haven’t heard you talk about it.”

“I manage my investments.”

“Oh.” In other words he was so wealthy he didn’t have to really
do
anything. “Huh.” The idea dismayed her. “You don’t run a company?” It was hard to wrap her head around a man with no work life.

“God no. Running a company would mean long hours. I’d have to live, eat and breathe the place.” He shuddered. “Besides, I don’t want that kind of responsibility. One wrong decision and the whole thing could crash.”

He must have other ways to feel fulfilled. Maybe he had a cause he felt strongly about. She tried to imagine her life without responsibilities and couldn’t. “I like making decisions,” she said. “I enjoy seeing the companies I work with grow. It makes me feel good.”

“Sometimes fate steps in and blows everything to pieces.”

She hesitated, because she sensed the conversation had touched on a sore spot. “I guess,” she murmured.

He shook off the dark tone and went for a much lighter one. “You were speaking to Jeffries, the gardener. What was that about?”

Relieved at the change of topic, she replied, “He’s showing me the stables.”

“I could do that.”

She kissed his naked shoulder. “We both need time to think. To get our priorities in order.”

“I know my priorities.” He traced a line from her shoulder to her hip. “And I’m going to see that I get them.”

The wide green lawn Jaye skirted gave way to a rose garden surrounded by a six foot hedge. Benches sat in tiny alcoves and niches in the greenery. She thought of Alex stretched out on a bench naked while she ran her mouth and tongue across his hips and thighs. He’d shudder with the teasing. She’d dress herself in a gown from long ago, with long skirts and a high stiff collar. Her hair would be up in pins. She’d wear a wide-brimmed hat so a passerby wouldn’t see her face.

So prim. So proper.

She’d delight in the feel of his hard flesh, springy hair and hot cock. Considering she’d just had that hot cock inside her, she was surprised at the vividness of her fantasy.

Her pussy twitched at the pictures playing out in her mind, so she passed the heel of her hand against herself a couple of times to ease the ache. She’d have to tell Alex about the fantasy and see if they could find a dress like that.

He was sure to like the idea.
Alex.

Alex may have his priorities in order, but Jaye questioned hers. She’d thought this trip would be fun and sexy and exciting. It was all that, of course, but somehow the fun, sex and excitement had become a mere sidebar to the real event.

And the real event was the turning of Jaye’s head. She thought of her mother’s admonition and had to laugh at herself. All these years of protecting her heart, of keeping her head on straight, of working hard at taking care of herself and Hayden meant nothing in the face of her growing feelings for Alex Carmichael.

Damn. Alex had her heart messed up and her mind confused. All her life she’d avoided men who didn’t work, didn’t have goals, didn’t take pride in accomplishing what they set out to do. The only thing Alex had set out to do was seduce her. She’d been so easy it was laughable. But seducing her body was one thing. After all, she hadn’t had a man in years.

For Alex to seduce her heart and mind was quite another thing. She wouldn’t, couldn’t allow it.

On the far side of the garden, the hedge ended on a wide gravel parking lot. Standing on the other side was Jeffries, waiting in front of a huge square building with triple wide doors open and waiting.

He hadn’t forgotten her request to show her the stables.

She followed him inside and was surprised to see a line of stalls on either side. The center consisted of a riding ring. “There must be ten stalls on each wall,” she said.

“There are. We could fill them in under a week if Mr. Carmichael were to say the word, but he’s not a breeder nor much of a rider.”

She couldn’t respond without making the poor man see his double entendre so she kept silent. Alex was a helluva breeder and an exquisite rider. Just not of horses. She warmed in spite of the damp air.

Curious, she headed down the center aisle, keeping a sharp eye out for a haystack. “Guess you don’t need hay in here if there are no horses.” She bit back her disappointment and let go of her fantasy of wearing nothing but English riding boots and one of those funny round hats she’d seen on television. Alex would have liked her in them, she was sure.

“We’ve got people near here who would like another boarding stable. Even know a man who’s looking for a place of his own.”

“You mean to run the stables as a small business? Separate from the estate?”

“Aye. He used to be in charge here before the horses got sold off. With some help, he could make a real go of this place.”

“Have you mentioned this to Mr. Carmichael?”

“No chance, Miss. The gentleman’s rarely around and it isn’t my place to accost him while he’s here, now is it?”

She grinned. “I’ll see if I can ‘accost’ him about it then.” She didn’t think Alex would find having a boarding stable on his land too much responsibility. And if the place provided local jobs, all the better.

“I never meant to put my nose where it doesn’t belong, Miss. Let him know that, too, will you?”

“Don’t worry Jeffries. He’ll get the picture.”

The conversation with Jeffries saved her bacon, she thought later. She’d been too close to forgetting where she came from and about the people who needed her.

She pulled her heart back into its place and locked it down. No way was she going to fall for the man. This was supposed to be all about frivolous fun. And from their conversation, Alex’s whole life seemed frivolous. She shouldn’t judge him for his lifestyle because she hardly knew him. Maybe he’d made some disastrous decisions and no longer trusted his own abilities. That would make for a very cautious man.

She wandered the grounds for a short time, soaking up the atmosphere and gathering her thoughts. She had to keep this vacation fun, had to lighten up and ride it out to the end. Her life would go back to normal soon enough, the demands of her clients would set her mind straight in no time. And if that didn’t do it, saving for Hayden’s college tuition would get her back on track.

Not to mention that she and Alex had agreed on two weeks. After that, she’d be nothing more than a pleasant memory to Alex. A smart woman would keep that detail uppermost in her mind. A man who refused to do more than
manage his investments
would never take on the demands of a real relationship. He didn’t have to. He probably picked up women like her all the time.

And didn’t that idea flatten out her bubbly happy fantasy.

She rounded a corner of the hedge and found a garage tucked behind the east wing of the house. Following a noise, she found Carl seeing to some business under the hood of the Bentley. “Jack of all trades, Carl?” she asked, giving him a startle.

His salt and pepper head popped up out from under the hood. “No, not at all, but I couldn’t resist a peek under this hood, or bonnet as they call it here. Fine piece of machinery, this.”

“I guess. I don’t know much about British cars, just the ones my brother works on.”

“He’s good, your brother David. Best in the business from what I’ve heard.”

She smiled. “He thinks my son’s going to follow in his footsteps, but I’ve got other plans for Hayden. He’s going to college for a degree.”

Carl nodded.

“Is there a way I could call someone in the States?”

“Sure, there’s a phone in the closet by the front door.”

“The closet?”

“It’s an old house. Phones were originally installed in booths in the front hall.”

She followed his directions, found the phone and called one of her clients. The conversation was quick and breathless and punctuated with giggles. She ended the call with a quick thank you and stepped back into the hall.

Alex leaned against the staircase banister, waiting for her.

“I had to call a client. I think I forgot to pay a tax bill on time.” She frowned and clucked. “I just had so much on my mind before I left home.”

“Like?”

“I had a family wedding, all my clients’ payrolls, not to mention my son wanting to go off for the summer with my brother.”

“Surely David is a good influence on a teenager.”

She rolled her eyes. “I suppose. But David and Tina are newlyweds so he’s been distracted.” She grinned. “Just the way we are,” she said on a husky note. “Distracted, I mean.”

He stood straight and opened his palms in invitation. She drifted into his hard embrace and breathed in the scent of him. Alexander Carmichael. Playboy jetsetter. All hers. For now. She burrowed close and set her lips to his neck, letting him feel her desire rise.

“What was that thing you used on me?” she whispered next to his ear. “It felt like a feather, but sometimes it was scritchy too.”

“Listen to yourself and don’t doubt your words.”

She tilted her head back, read the humor in his eyes and laughed with him. She smacked his shoulder. “It was a feather!”

“The pointy end is great for those tantalizing scritches.”

“You know I’ll get you back for that.”

“Looking forward to it. Now, to bed, wench, we need to sleep for a couple hours before heading back to the airport.”

“I thought we’d sleep on the plane.”

He palmed her ass, spread her cheeks and filled his hands with her flesh. He squeezed. “Come love me, Jaye. I’m lonely for you.”

“Your dick aches for me?”

His grin was mysterious. “Something like that.”

He took her upstairs, loved her like a man possessed and held her to his chest for a long time before they drifted into sleep.

Alex’s trip to the airport didn’t go at all like the one the day before in Arizona. Jaye was distracted and her lack of interest put him out of sorts. Something was on Jaye’s mind, and she refused to share.

Alex clasped her hand on his thigh. Her hand looked thin, competent, with well tended, unvarnished nails. It was dotted with freckles he’d spent considerable time tracing with his tongue when they’d woken, hot and achy for each other before dawn.

He’d slipped up badly last night in the tub, had wanted to feel her flesh enclose him, wanted Jaye to feel what she asked for: his flexes, his spurts, his come drenching her inner walls, bathing and mingling with her juices.

So instead of being smart, instead of staying in control, he did what he’d never done before. He entered her without a condom. If she’d noticed she hadn’t spoken of it.

This morning they’d used hands, tongues and fingers to bring each other to mind blowing climax and still she didn’t mention the screw up in the tub.

He needed to say something, but he also wanted room to maneuver if she came back to him with news he’d be happy to hear.