Words of Lust (12 page)

“God, yes!”

“Ride me hard, fuck my cock all the way in.”

The roughness of his words, the sensation of her sore ass hitting his thighs, brushing the coarse hair, combined with the incredible feel of him inside her. It bordered on pain as they slammed together with desperation. Ecstasy. When their movements were so fast and violent that the slap of their flesh echoed wetly through the apartment, when she didn’t think she could stand another stroke, he latched on to one breast, nipping and biting, and then pinched her clit. She came with a sob as a massive orgasm swamped her. His cock swelled inside her as he thrust upward a last time. Their bodies throbbed together for a long, blissful moment.

Then they both lay spent and panting in the aftermath of the frenzy.

“That was a surprise.”

She lay draped over him, her head resting on his shoulder as she breathed in his scent. “A good surprise, I hope?” She laid a kiss on his shoulder and another on his neck.

“Feel free to take the bull by the horns any day. I like the feisty you.”

He was leaning back against the sofa and she remained straddling his lap. He was still inside her and his orgasm hadn’t affected his size. He was still steely hard and stretching the walls of her cunt with exquisite tension.

“That was fun. We’ll have to do it again sometime.” He kissed her with lazy thoroughness, his hands kneading her breasts until her nipples peaked. The kissing grew longer and less lazy and his hips moved up and down, making her body yearn again.

“Since I’m good with my hands, and a lathe, maybe I’ll whip you up a nice paddle. We’ll give that a try the next time you need correction. What do you think about that?”

“It sounds wonderfully hot.” She blushed at the thought.

“Have you ever done this before?” When she didn’t answer, he repeated himself in a stern voice. “Have you?”

“No, I haven’t. If I’d even mentioned it to my past, um, gentlemen callers, I’m sure I would have been shown the door posthaste with cries of ‘harlot’ ringing in my ears.” She threw her hand melodramatically to her forehead.

“Dumb guys. Me? I’ve played around a little. But you really got into it. Watching your ass get all red and hot was pretty damned exciting.”

“Then I suppose we should move on and explore our options, no?” She let herself fall against him until she could concentrate on kissing him. She loved kissing him. He tasted wonderful, his lips were firm and the invasion of his tongue into her mouth was nearly as erotic as having his cock inside her.

“I can’t wait. To tell the truth, every time I think of you another kinky idea comes to mind. How about you?”

She took a deep breath and fought against her lingering shyness. “I expect there are a few things outside my comfort zone, but I’m willing to entertain your kinky ideas. Sir.” She grinned down at him and the kiss went on for a long, satisfying time until the darkness outside registered.

“Mmm.” She stretched against him and decided she could fall asleep lying on top of him. No doubt that would be uncomfortable for him, however, so she slowly and awkwardly climbed off, wincing as he pulled himself out of her. She felt the sting on her ass, and the pain from an exuberant fucking elsewhere.

“Shower?” He nodded. They stripped off their clothes and despite the tiny size of her shower, managed to fit in together.

“Tight fit. Like someone I know.” He had taken the washcloth from her and was soaping her all over. It was a wonderfully relaxing sensation. Until her got to her breasts and began a rougher massage, pausing to tweak the slippery nipples and stretch them until she whimpered just a bit. He kissed her beneath the warm spray. “I love being inside you. So hot and tight and when you make all those little noises, it really gets me going.”

“It almost feels like it’s too much, almost a little pain, but it’s too fantastic to care.” She leaned back against the wall and her breathing notched up when he lowered the cloth between her legs and rubbed back and forth, ceaselessly, until she was leaning into his hand, holding his wrist tight against her.

“Turn around. Face the wall.” He dropped the cloth and positioned her as he wanted, spreading her thighs wide. “I’m going to fuck you again.” He reached out of the shower and pulled another condom out of his jeans pocket and put it on. Then he shoved himself into her with a sharp thrust and fucked her hard and fast until they both collapsed against the wall, his body pinning her as they fought to catch their breath.

“You feel so good.”

“Was I too rough?”

“God, no. I love it. That little bit of pain when you’re rough makes me wild.”

He took a deep breath and slid his hands up over her body, touching her everywhere, firmly and possessively, as if memorizing every inch. “Good to hear you getting into the swing of things. For a minute or two there at the beginning I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get past that shy Professor. Aren’t you glad you let your wild thing out?”

“Niccolo, you have no idea.”

Chapter Eight

“I wish I could, but I’ve got my book group tonight.”

His sigh was exaggerated against the backdrop of site noise. “Can I at least hope it’s a dirty book group so you’ll have some steaming-hot ideas of nasty things to do to my body when we finally can connect in the flesh?”

“Well,
Pride and Prejudice
does seethe with an undercurrent of restrained Edwardian lust.”

“I’m guessing that’s a no for a fictional fornication smorgasbord?”

Her giggling made the department secretary, Alice Keyes, look up with a smirk. “You certainly do have a way with words.”

“Just call me the Shakespeare of smut, Professor. Okay. Have fun and I’ll call you after and warm you up. It’s chilly today.”

“A dose of Nick is far superior to hot cocoa. I’ll be home by eleven. Have a safe day.”

“Think of me naked.”

“Always.”

“I have got to get me one of those,” Alice muttered in a stage whisper as she fanned herself with a departmental budget report.

As she was feeling expansive, she took pity on the girl. “It just so happens Nick has two big, bold brothers who are currently unattached. What’s your preference? Handsome security specialist with a rather immature but appealing personality? Or a hunky fireman with a similarly immature bent?”

“Can I have both?”

“Stellatos are best in small doses, Alice. I’ve learned it’s possible to have too much of a good thing.”

“Too much of a good thing could be wonderful.”

“But exhausting.”

“I’ll stock up on Red Bull. Give me names, addresses, keys to their apartments.”

“Why don’t I do some matchmaking?”

“Ooh, goody! And I just made an appointment for my Brazilian. Get me a Stellato of my very own and I’ll be your servant for life.”

“Aren’t you already?”

“I’d stick my tongue out at you but that would be petty.”

The lighthearted banter added to her already great mood. Amazing what lots of vigorous sex could do for a person.

“I can’t believe you’re going to miss out on a sexy study session with your guy to talk about
P
and P
.”

“Alas, it’s true. And it’s probably the only time I’m going to have until the weekend to see him. Tonight I’ve got book group, and tomorrow we’ve got the departmental meeting starting at seven.”

Alice finished stacking the copies of the next term’s budgets and handed her one before heading for the mail cubbies. “So why not miss one book group? Liz and Fitz aren’t going anywhere.”

“As I was saying, tomorrow I’m busy, Thursday evening he said he was visiting his sister and Friday I have student meetings for who knows how long. All of us in the group are so busy it’s nearly impossible to find a night where we can all get together. I can’t cancel after all the trouble everyone goes to.”

“Sad. Very sad.”

“Don’t be shallow. There’s more to life than sex. We’ll have a lofty discussion of one of literature’s most timeless novels and have some tasty treats.”

“No, you’ll get drunk and talk trash.”

“That would be another interpretation.” Then she waved at Alice and headed off for her last class.

* * *

“I hear there’s a new sheriff in town.” Ellen Dugan poured herself a glass of pinot noir and dropped down onto the sofa next to her.

“Ellen, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Serafina, what class does Ellen teach?” Caroline Edwards sat opposite them, with her single malt scotch.

“The Literary Tradition of the American West.”

“Exactly. Wild West, sheriff?” She shrugged and Ellen and Caro both rolled their eyes. “The tall, handsome sheriff rides into town to rescue the virtuous schoolmarm? You, Nick? My God, for a genius you can be remarkably obtuse.” They laughed at her and she joined in.

“Shouldn’t we be talking about our book?” Her attempt to steer the conversation off her sex life and into safer waters proved fruitless.

“Those tired old farts? Come on. We all know how it comes out. She’ll still be calling him Mr. Darcy when he busts her maidenhead on their wedding night.” Ellen swallowed some more wine. “I’d rather talk about hot sex with a studly Italian and live vicariously.”

“I’m not going to share my sex life with you!”

“It’s only fair. After all the wastes of testosterone you’ve dated in the past, we’d begun to despair. Now that you’ve hit the jackpot, man-wise, we deserve at least the highlights.” Leslie Hamilton urged her on with a Groucho eyebrow wiggle.

“All I’m going to say is—” she paused for dramatic effect and all three women leaned forward with avaricious expressions, “—wow.”

Caro raised her glass. “Here’s to Serafina Luca, celibate no more. I’m so proud of you! About time you took your hoo-ha out of mothballs and found a man to put a smile on your face.”

“Let’s it hear it for Serafina. It’s great to see you smiling.” Leslie was the sweetest of the bunch and she patted Serafina’s arm softly while she smiled. “Most importantly, does he make you happy?”

“He does make me happy. He makes me laugh and I feel perfectly comfortable with him.” She touched her napkin to her eyes as the women waited quietly.

“And?” Caro prompted.

She looked at them, surprised to find her eyes filling. “He makes me feel beautiful. Desirable.”

“Oh, honey.” Caro’s smile was one of genuine compassion for her. Despite her acerbic bent, the woman was a solid friend when it mattered most. “You are an incredibly beautiful woman and no doubt so desirable a man can’t help falling to his knees in worship.”

“And hopefully he already has. It’s a rare man who knows his way around a gal’s hoo-ha these days.” Ellen’s comment had them all chuckling again.

* * *

“So how are things with Nick?”

She and Caro were enjoying one last drink as the gathering wound down. “He’s—well, he’s more than fine.” She had already discovered the merest thought of him brought a smile to her face.

“Sounds like things are moving quickly. Do you feel better now that you’ve found a good man to erase the memories of Stan and Patrick? I know how much they hurt you.”

She nodded. “I do, except, well, it’s getting a bit intense.”

“In what way?”

“It’s not the sex. Though that’s rather eye-opening. It’s that he seems to be very serious about us.”

“Why is that not a good thing? You like him, don’t you? You’ve been smiling like a well-satisfied woman for days now.”

“I do like him.”

“I sense a ‘but.’”

“For one thing it’s only been a little more than a week, but it’s more than that. He’s very domineering. It’s annoying that he doesn’t think I’m capable of taking care of myself. When we had our argument with Elizabeth, I asked him if he was angry because she’d insulted his job and he told me he was mad at her for insulting me. And that I’d better get used to him defending me.”

“What, exactly, is wrong with a big strong man taking your side?”

“I’m not a child and I can take care of myself.” The testiness the subject always roused was clear in her tone.

“This is what people who care about one another do. They take care of each other. Has he given you any indication he doesn’t trust you to take care of yourself?”

“I certainly could have handled Elizabeth without him making her even angrier. Then he insisted on giving me money for a cab the other night. I told him I have plenty of money—”

Caroline’s laughter halted her statement and she stared peevishly at her friend. “Good lord, Serafina, what a hideous affront! He tried to pay for your cab? The swine.” She shook her head.

“Women don’t need men to pay for them in this day and age and I can’t see you standing for it either.”

“Well, you’re wrong there, as a matter of fact. I am as independent as the next woman, and I’ll wipe the floor with any man who says I’m not as valuable, intelligent or worthy of respect as any man. I can hold a door open for a man, but civilization won’t come to an end if I allow one to hold a door for me. You can have the best of both worlds, you know.”

“You don’t understand. I’ve fought so hard to be treated with respect. Take Nick’s sister Gia. She never backs down. She doesn’t let anyone tell her what to do. In fact I’m ashamed of all the times I’ve compromised for the sake of expedience. I don’t want to do it with Nick.”

“There is a difference between the world at large and your romantic partner.”

“I don’t see why.”

“Because with a partner you are supposed to communicate, share and yes, compromise. Why can’t you compromise with him? Let him feel protective. Let him open a door, pull out a chair or pay for a cab if it makes him feel better. That is the point, after all. To make your partner feel good. In bed or out. Allow him to have his moments of generosity and giving.”

“Does Kurt ever go over the top? He’s strong and athletic and has that same air Nick does when it comes to women. Like a hulking guard dog.”

“Ah, Kurt. Well, there’s a bit of a difference there, Serafina.” The woman’s smile was purely feline and her eyes sparkled. The couple had only been dating for a year and it wasn’t common knowledge around campus, but Caroline was deeply in love with the handsome professor. Then she frowned. “What are you squirming for? You’ve been twitching in that chair all night.”

“Oh, well.” She blushed furiously. “Nick is kind of, um, kinky.”

“Don’t tease. Now you absolutely have to spit it out.”

“He spanked me last night.” The words tumbled out but when she looked up, Caroline was smiling.

“Don’t laugh at me!”

“I would be the last one to laugh at you. Serafina, Kurt and I also prefer our sex kinky. He and I are in a dominant and submissive sexual relationship. He is my dominant partner. I am submissive to him. But only in the bedroom. We don’t live it twenty-four-seven. My point being, I am not submissive in any way, shape or form beyond the bedroom. Kurt doesn’t control me, run my life or tell me what do to. We live perfectly equal lives. Now, you clearly enjoy Nick physically, even though he is quite dominant sexually, yet you are very annoyed, uncomfortable even, when he behaves in a way you perceive to be dominant outside the bedroom. My question for you is, is he being himself, behaving in a dominant way, or is he being domineering and trying to control you?”

“I don’t like to be considered incapable.”

“But is that what he’s doing? While Kurt wouldn’t get away for a minute with telling me how to conduct my life, he does give me advice. And he is a dominant man in all respects, so his advice may be delivered in a dominant fashion. It doesn’t mean, however, that he doesn’t trust me or my decisions. That is the point. Dominant does not mean domineering. Thank the Goddess.” She held up her wine glass in a toasting gesture and smiled.

“I see your point.”

“But do you concede my point?”

“I don’t know.”

“Trust me. If you simply explain yourself to Nick I’m sure it will clear the air.”

“I still won’t like it.”

“Then the question will be whether you like him enough to compromise. To give him some slack when he gets a tad macho and remind him of it gently, and to reward him for the fact that he compromises when confronted with your tendency to pout.”

“I do not pout.”

“Yes, you do. Now let’s have a toast to the joys of the macho man.” They clicked their glasses and Caroline’s old smile was back. “And do not think for a moment that you will get away without telling me every little detail about your foray into the kinky world of spanking.”

“I liked it.”

“But of course you did. What girl in her right mind wouldn’t?”

After that, the evening deteriorated into a raucous excoriation of bad sex, the men responsible for bad sex, the necessity for women to be responsible for their own orgasms, and the delights of battery operated appliances. She was still laughing when they all went their separate ways.

* * *

She arrived home just before eleven, still smiling over her friends’ supportive words, and opened the door in time to hear the phone ringing. Expecting Nick, she dashed to grab it.

“Hello?”

The only sound from the other end was heavy breathing. She immediately dropped the receiver back in its cradle and frowned. When the phone rang again moments later, she waited until the answering machine picked up. It was Nick. She snatched up the phone, breathless with nerves.

“Nick!”

“In the flesh. Or at least I wish I was. How was book group?”

“Oh, well, we got to talking and didn’t get around to discussing the book.”

“Should I be afraid to ask what you were talking about?”

“I guess there’s no harm in telling you that you, and our sex life, were the primary topics of conversation.”

“Why am I not surprised? What is it about ladies getting together that it always ends up being about sex? So did this conversation get you all hot and bothered? It’s pretty late but if you need, we can take care of that right now. What are you wearing?”

* * *

She lay in bed later, smiling, sated with wine and comforted by a long, sexy chat with Nick, who’d teased, cajoled and threatened her with all the things he wanted to do. By the time they said good night she was hungry for the man, in the flesh. Hungry for everything he promised.

She felt as though she was living two lives. The staid professor who calmly discussed erotic literature with her students, and the wild hedonist who had no boundaries when it came to Nick. The sex, whether in person or telephonic, was blisteringly hot and only by dint of sheer willpower was she able to focus on anything else. Perhaps this was what it meant to be consumed by a man, as her heroines were. So that nothing else in life mattered except being in your lover’s arms and having him inside you. She’d never been so utterly overwhelmed by sensations and emotions and her much valued sense of self-control, her ordered life, seemed to have been replaced by a yearning physical hunger and increasingly impetuous actions.

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the little mote of worry forming in the back of her frazzled mind. She pushed it away, but when she wasn’t concentrating, the stray thought would appear. She just wanted to enjoy the time with him, not worry about futures or commitments or the downside of romance. But he was aggressive and everything was happening so fast. Not just the lusty interludes, but all of his attention. She just couldn’t bring herself to believe it was more than sex. So what, exactly, was happening between her and Nick Stellato?