Taken By The Hero (Hero Romance 2) (11 page)

Chapter Four

“You’re cold.” James pulled off his jacket and slid it over her shoulders without waiting for her response. It was so heavenly warm that she didn’t argue and she couldn’t help but inhale gently at the manly scent she pegged as a mix of his cologne and just him.

“How’d you know?” she asked as she peered down the street for a cab driver. It was classic New York traffic and there wasn’t a cab driver in sight.

“You have goosebumps on your arms.” He hesitated a moment and she looked up at him, wondering if he’d laugh at how short she was compared to him if she took off her heels. “I have a car, you know. I could drive you home if you don’t want to walk or take a cab.”

Only people with a lot of money have cars in New York, Claire thought as she narrowed her gaze. He seemed to catch on to what she was thinking and shrugged wordlessly. “Alright, but this doesn’t mean you’re coming in or anything,” she warned him as she gripped his jacket tighter around her shoulders.

James chuckled as he put his hand on the small of her back and led her across the street to a parking garage. They stepped into the elevator and were whisked up to the fourth floor where James helped her into the well-lit row of cars. They stopped in front of a shiny, black sedan that was nondescript, and yet it told her James had more money than she’d originally thought.

“Nice car,” she told him as he helped her into the leather upholstered passenger seat. Claire tilted her head back and watched him as he walked around the front of the vehicle. He had his thumb and his finger on his chin as he smiled and she couldn’t help but smile even though he wasn’t looking at her. There was something catchy about that grin.

James slid into the driver’s seat and turned on the heat so that she would be comfortable. The car purred when it started rather than roared, but it was a quiet purr that told her there was power under the hood. “Do you want to listen to some music?” he asked as his thumb hovered over the touchscreen.

“What’re you listening to?” Without answering, he pressed down on the touchscreen and music filled the interior. It was a sweet, haunting melody sung by a woman who sounded lost. “Jazz,” Claire answered for herself. She found her foot was tapping gently to the beat as James pulled out of the parking space.

“What’s your address?” he asked as he pressed a button on the screen again.

Claire recited her address and the vehicle automatically began to give directions to her apartment complex. She’d heard of cars like this and she’d thought about buying one herself, but what was the point when she lived in New York City and could get a cab at any time? Well, almost any time. They had been sparse that evening.

“So what’s it like, being the weather girl of New York City?” James asked conversationally as he took a right. Traffic was still heavy and they had to sit at a red light for a good seven minutes.

“It’s not what I thought it would be. I got the position by accident,” she admitted to him as she pulled his jacket around her tighter. It wasn’t that she was cold, but they were getting closer to her apartment and she didn’t want to leave him yet.

“How so?” he prompted as he pressed the gas pedal.

“Well, I ended up going to college to be a meteorologist, and not the kind that stands in front of the cameras. I wanted to travel the world and record all the different weather patterns. Did you know they have positions down in Antarctica? It would have been nice to end up there.”

“Seriously? You can’t even handle sixty-five degree weather in the fall,” James replied incredulously as he turned onto her street.

“But it would have been beautiful. Could you imagine the weather down there? Not to mention the wildlife.” Claire lifted her head so that she could look at his face and marveled at his strong jaw in the glow from the street lamps.

He expertly parallel parked next to her building and paid the meter before he came around to help her out of the car. Claire stood awkwardly as she wondered if he would ask for her number, but she didn’t have to wait long. He grasped her elbow gently in his warm hand and helped her up the stairs to the door. The doorman eyed her a moment to see if she was under any kind of duress, and then he stepped to the side and said a polite, quiet good evening to the both of them.

“This is a nice building,” James commented as he led her to the elevator. Claire kept one hand in the pocket of his suit jacket as she walked and looked around at the complex’s foyer before the elevator doors closed.

“It’s pretty secure and the rent is reasonable. So yeah, it’s nice,” she said as she leaned forward and pressed her floor number on the panel. There was a second’s hesitation where she wondered if it was a good idea to let him know where she lived, but it passed quickly. The man was dangerous in a way that made her feel excited and alive, but not afraid.

The rest of their journey up to the seventh floor was in silence. Claire pulled out her apartment key and cell phone from her clutch purse. She texted Marie as she and James walked to her apartment door to let her friend know she’d arrived home safely. Then she stood outside of her door and shifted on her heels as she looked into those disconcerting, brown eyes rimmed with green.

“Would you like to come in?” she heard herself ask before her brain could tell her no.

Chapter Five

His eyes narrowed infinitesimally and his fingers loosened on her elbow. Claire was afraid she had said something wrong until he leaned down until they were gazing at each other at eye level. She still had to look up, but she didn’t mind. James’ lips were a whisper from hers and when he spoke, she had to do a double take in her mind to remember what he’d said.

“I need my jacket back,” he had whispered. Claire felt her face redden and she gently slipped the jacket from her arms. “Thank you,” he told her with a smirk on his lips. Her hands were shaking and her palms were sweaty as she turned around to sluice the key into its receptacle. She’d blown it by asking him inside, and now he was going to think she was just some floozy who barely deserved a ride home.

My first real night out single in three years and I act like a teenager who's about ready to come in her panties at the sight of a man who might want her. Claire gritted her teeth together as the thought whammed into her chest and vibrated through her being.

When she turned around, he was still standing there with his jacket now on and one arm to the right of her head. She could smell the cologne he wore and her mouth grew wet.

“What are you doing?” she asked as her door slid open behind her.

“I was hoping to get a number and maybe a goodnight kiss, but I won’t be coming in tonight, Claire.” He said it so smoothly and matter-of-fact that she barely had time to bolster herself against the anticipation and the regret. “What’s the matter?” he asked as his sultry grin turned into a frown.

“Nothing,” she told him too quickly. Marie would die if she knew Claire had come only seconds away from a one-night stand. It would have been her first.

“Something’s wrong. I upset you,” James stated as he stood up straight. “Tell me what it is,” he demanded.

Claire took a step back into her apartment and she hoped he would follow, but he didn’t. “I just thought you liked me,” she whispered as she gripped her door. “I mean enough that you wouldn’t just be polite and ask for a number.” It was the first time she’d been openly honest with a man in more than a year. The reality of the situation caught her off guard and she felt a little more sober, and a little foolish.

“Claire, I do like you. That’s why I’m asking for a number and hoping that you’ll give it to me. If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t have seen you home, and I sure as hell wouldn’t be turning down a beautiful woman’s offer to come into her apartment if I didn’t have a little respect for her.”

The frustration on his face told her he was telling the truth, yet it still made her feel like she was an inch tall. “Oh, well, respect is fine; I guess.”

“Tell me, if I came into your apartment and we ended up doing what I think we’re both thinking about doing tonight, would you be able to look me in the eyes if we went on a date tomorrow night? Or would you be embarrassed and ashamed?” Claire was barely able to hang onto what he was saying after he hinted that he was thinking some of the same, raunchy thoughts she was.

“It depends,” she whispered as she trailed her gaze down from his face to look at the bulge in his suit pants. She could tell she aroused him, and she could tell that it was rather large.

“On what?” he whispered back, his fingers twitching at his sides.

“If you stayed the night or left before morning.”

“Which would you prefer?”

“If you stayed the night,” she told him honestly as she looked up at him. It would feel less like a booty call and more like something if he made it until sunrise.

James looked down at his shoes as if he were really thinking about it hard, but when he looked up, Claire could tell he’d been trying to see if she would change her mind. He took one step into the apartment and she knew that he’d be there until sunrise, and she wondered what was in store for her now that she’d invited this man into her home. “I’ll stay, but only if you promise me one thing,” he whispered to her as she stepped back and he closed her door.

“What’s that?” she asked as she felt her insides quiver. She was growing warm and she desperately wanted to see what this man who was cool and collected on the outside was like when his clothes were off.

“I want your number in the morning, and I want a date. A real one,” he told her with a sly grin as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Claire felt her breath hitch and pondered what had made him think she wouldn’t give him her number. Even if he’d told her he was leaving, she would have scribbled it down somewhere to give to him.

“Deal,” she told him before he took her mouth hard. It was so sudden that she squeaked and jumped, but that didn’t deter him.

Chapter Six

“Wait,” Claire said firmly as she pulled away from him.

“Ah, see? I knew it. You were just bluffing,” he told her with a grin as he slid away from her. She pulled off her shoes and stood at her full height of five foot five and was barely able to look at his chest he was so tall. He had to be six foot five or more, but he wasn’t willowy in the least.

“No, it’s just that, well, I have to tell you something.” She fumbled for words as she rolled her eyes to the ceiling and blew out a deep breath. “My friend, Marie, she made me wear something under the dress. Makes my boobs kind of perky,” she told him as she turned around and ran a hand through her dark hair. James followed her into the living area of her apartment and she wondered if he liked her beige furniture and the green throw rug on the hardwood floor.

“You’re wearing tape, right?” he asked as he sat down on her couch without asking. Claire had to admit she liked the way he looked there.

“How do you know about boob tape?” she asked incredulously as she made her way to the kitchenette and grabbed a glass of water. She was feeling parched from her martinis earlier in the night and the buzz was being replaced with a slight headache.

“I’ve dated other women who wore dresses like that, Claire. It’s no secret women use tape to hold those things up in a lot of those dresses, or they used it to hold the dress on. Tell me, you didn’t make the mistake of putting it on your nipples, did you?” The way he asked told her he knew it was her first time wearing it. It was a little disconcerting having the man know more about boob tape than she did.

“Uh, maybe,” she said nervously as she set her glass of water down. In all reality, she’d let Marie put the tape on her nipples and now she worried it would hurt when it came off. James shook his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose and confirmed her worst fear.

“Come here,” he told her with a dark undertone. Claire’s feet gently hit the hardwood floor as she walked toward him. He patted the couch beside him and she sat down beside him. He wasn’t having the distance between them and she felt her breath leave her lungs with anticipation when he swung her legs over his.

Finally, his warm, large hand on was on her thigh and it was sliding up, but it slid over her dress instead of under and she felt annoyed that he’d bypassed her hot, throbbing pussy. He made a tsking noise as he slid the sleeve of her dress down over her right arm, and then her left. “I’ll make it better when I’m done, okay?” he told her softly as he grasped the first piece of tape and gently peeled it off her flesh. It wasn’t bad until it was at her sensitive, peaked nipple.

Claire bit her bottom lip and was surprised by the way she enjoyed the twinge of pain mixed with pleasure. He watched her every facial muscle and tore off the second one a little quicker. Before she knew it, he was helping her out of her dress and his suit jacket, along with his shirt and pants were strewn across the back of the couch. Claire wanted to wiggle out of her underwear, but when she reached down to take it off; he shook his head and held up a finger to her.

“Wait,” he told her as he stepped back to take her in. She was a dark, small woman in the moonlight and he looked like a light, tall stranger. She wanted him to just pull her hips up and thrust into her, but something told her he wasn’t going to do that.

James looked like he was thinking about something, and she wanted to ask him what it was, but it was too late when he gently pulled off the boxer briefs he’d been wearing and his hard cock sprung out. In the dim light from her kitchenette and the moonlight shining in, she could tell that his cock was veiny and very large. So it is true about men who are tall and have big hands, she thought as she licked her bottom lip.

He advanced on her slowly as if he was approaching a wild animal, and then he was pulling her delicate underwear down her legs and tossing it to the side. Claire felt her clit tighten and she moaned when she felt his breath against her sensitive nub. “I’m not going to fuck you just yet,” he whispered against her sensitive flesh.

Claire cried out with passion when he pushed two fingers into her pussy and his thumb circled around her clit. She was always clean-shaven and he told her he liked that with a woman. She was too distracted by his magic hands to be concerned with what he was saying until he leaned in, nibbled on her earlobe and whispered to her, “Claire O’Donnell, I want to be between your legs.”

She gulped and nodded, misunderstanding what he’d meant. Then she knew when he slowly slid down her body and put his face between her legs. His tongue flicked out tentatively, tasting her sex and caressing her nub with his tongue. Claire felt her body clench and she cried out with her first orgasm. James hadn’t even begun to suck and pull on her nub, but he made short work of getting to it. His fingers sought her pussy again and pushed in, this time three, and she felt something pushing at her anus.

“James,” she cried out as she tried to get his attention. He lifted his head so he could look in her eyes, but his fingers remained in place. “I’ve never done that before,” she admitted to him as she realized it was his pinky finger twirling around a bud that had never been entered.

“It’s alright, we won’t do it this time if you don’t want to,” he waited for her confirmation that she wasn’t comfortable with it, but what his pinky was doing to her was delicious. Claire wasn’t sure if she wanted more or not. “Why don’t you just tell me if I’m hurting you and we’ll go from there?” he whispered as he lowered his head between her legs again.

His pinky found purchase at her anus and slowly began to push in, one glorious centimeter at a time. Claire was worried because she’d never been a woman that experienced more than one orgasm at a time, but James seemed to be getting close to a second one. He had his finger all the way in with three in her vagina and his thumb circling her clit when he wiggled his pinky. The explosive orgasm sent her voice up an octave and she yelled his name as she bucked beneath him. James reached up to play with the hard peaks of her pink nipples.

When she saw the hard length of him that had to be at least eight to nine inches long, Claire was worried she wouldn’t be able to take him. “It’s alright, I’ll be gentle,” he reassured her again as he put the head of his thick, large penis at her opening. Claire wiggled away from him instinctually, but he put a strong hand on her waist and held her in place as he slowly pushed his way into her.

“Oh, James,” she groaned when he was hilt deep. He waited a full minute for her tight pussy to adjust to his wide girth, and then he moved in and out at a gentle, rhythmic pace. When she whispered to him shyly that she wanted it harder, he obliged and pushed into her with precision.

When he grew taught and she could see the promise of him coming inside of her, James suddenly withdrew and used his large hand to agilely flip her over. Claire made a shocked noise when he parted her cheeks and she could feel the head of his slick, wet cock at the opening of her anus. “Do you want me to?” he asked her with barely controlled passion in his voice.

“Yes, oh yes,” she told him with a wavering tone. Claire had never had anyone so skilled at loving her, and she wanted him to be the one to take the final cherry she had.

James had pushed into her about an inch before she gripped the arm of the couch in front of her and tears sprang to her eyes. He reached forward and played with one nipple while his other hand slid between her legs and pinched and pulled at her clit until she was relaxed. Then he slid his penis into her a little more until she clenched, and he made her orgasm. It was so sudden her entire body shook with the sheer pleasure and her anus relaxed enough for James to slide in hilt deep.

The feeling of having him fill the void she’d never had filled before was so new and alien that it was exciting. Claire tried to relax like she had when he’d filled her pussy, but she was unable to get her muscles to oblige. Then he reached between her legs again and this time he put his finger in her pussy and stroked the sweet spot inside of her while his thumb circled her clit. Now that all of her orifices were filled below the waistline, Claire felt fuller than ever. It also helped that he was the biggest man she’d ever been with.

“Claire,” he moaned as he slid out of her and entered her anally again. “You’re going to make me come, Claire. You’re so hot, beautiful, and tight that I’m going to blow my load,” he pulled out and pushed in again with a little more force and she cried out. “Tell me when you’re going to come,” he commanded as he continued to tantalize her. Both his hands reached forward as he pulled on both her nipples at the same time, and then he went back to playing with her nub roughly.

Claire bit down on her lower lip and concentrated on the feeling of what his fingers were doing to her and how his cock felt in her ass, and then she felt it. “Oh, James! James, I’m coming!” she cried out to him and suddenly he was pushing into her with a ferocity so strong she was afraid he might tear something, but her orgasm masked any pain she might have felt.

She was lost in the undeniable pleasure he was giving her, and then he pulled out and pulled off his condom. Claire didn’t stop him when he entered her anally again. “I want you to feel my hot come in your tight ass,” he told her as he pounded her and made her come a final time. While she was crying out his name, oblivious to whether or not her neighbors could hear, James’s come streamed into her.

They lay panting for a long time on the couch together as the two of them tried to catch their breath. Claire finally showed him the shower and he showed her what could be done with a showerhead when a man was involved. James showed her that she was a woman who could come multiple times, and she felt as if she’d already fallen in love.