Let Me Count The Ways (7 page)

“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise. She stared at me. I stared back.

“Close them.”

For the space of maybe three seconds we continued to stare at each other. Then she breathed out a shuddery little sigh, and did as she’d been told.

My hands went back into motion; slowly smoothing across her ribs and up her sides, retracing their previous movement. “These last months, working with you, I’ve been like some little boy with his nose pressed up against the candy store window; admiring all that lusciousness, coveting it, but never expecting to actually have it. Never even expecting to get any closer to it than I was. Until tonight.”

My fingers met each other again, in the center of her chest, and then parted, sweeping outward once more and then down and around. “Tonight, you opened the door. You let me come inside. You should have known what would happen if you did that, Claire.”

“What?” she asked again, breathlessly.

Although I hadn’t so much as touched her breasts, her nipples were hard and had been so almost since I’d started. Now, as I bent close and blew alternating currents of warm and cool air across the tips, she shivered in response. “You should have realized I’d have to taste every last piece of candy. That I’d never be satisfied until I’d sampled everything you had to offer. That, even then, I’d want to sneak back in when you weren’t looking and go for seconds on all my favorites.”

Claire’s throat worked for a moment. “Mike?”

“Yes?”

“I’m not looking now, am I?”

I felt myself smile. “No, you’re not.” Leaning forward, I pressed a single kiss against her stomach, right below the notch of her ribs. “So, I guess there’s nothing to stop me from taking everything I want. Is there?”

She didn’t answer right away, but she was breathing hard and I could see her lower lip trembling.

“Is there?” I repeated softly. “Claire? Is there anything stopping me from having everything I want tonight? From taking the whole store?”

“No,” she said at last, in a voice even more breathless than before. “Nothing.”

“Good.” Abandoning any further attempts at massage, I slid down her body, leaving kisses in my wake, pre-cum leaking from the tip of my cock to mix with the oil. “Spread your legs,” I said, not really waiting for her to oblige, inserting first one and then the other of my own knees in the space between her thighs, gently forcing them apart. I could smell the scent of her arousal even as my hands slid up the insides of her thighs. Even before I pried her lips apart I knew I would find her wet and ready. “Yes. Like that.”

I stretched out on the bed between her legs, doing my best to ignore the urging of my cock, which wanted nothing more than to pump into her. To take her hard and fast, just like last time.
No. Not happening.

This time I was determined to stay in control. I pressed my forearms into her thighs, urging her to open them wider. I leaned in close. Close enough to feel myself surrounded by her soft flesh and musky scent. Close enough to slide my tongue up and down along the length of her dripping slit, learning her taste by heart.

Claire moaned and bucked her hips as I continued the caress. I tightened my grip on her legs and held her still, methodically laving every inch, over and over again, until her breathing had become a series of ragged sobs. Finally, I sighted in on her swollen clit and dove. Taking the whole of the tender nub between my lips, I lashed furiously at the tip with my tongue.

Claire jerked and cried out, a little too sharply. Alarmed, I pulled back again and looked at her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing,” she gulped, seeming to force the word out. Her face was flaming. Her chest heaved with each breath.

“Claire?”

“It’s nothing. Your beard. I, I...”

My beard? Shit. What had I done now? My glance went to the bare skin of her mound, where I’d just had my face buried. Was it too red? Too sore? Had I been rougher than I’d intended? “Too scratchy? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
Oh, God, please say no...

“Mm-mm.” She shook her head, but her expression remained clouded. “No. That’s not what I meant.”

“Claire...”

“Look, forget it,” she insisted, wriggling restlessly. “Everything’s fine.”

“That’s not how it looks to me.”

Sighing, she opened her eyes. “Well, looks can be deceiving, Mike. Haven’t you ever heard that?”

“Claire.”

“Okay, maybe my arms are getting a little stiff in this position, but that’s it. Really.”

I could barely suppress my own sigh of frustration. “Then put them down, Claire. This was only ever a game, you know. It stops whenever you want it to.”

For a moment, she said nothing. Then, very softly, “I don’t want to stop.”

Well, I didn’t want to stop either, but I certainly didn’t intend to make her suffer. There’s pain and there’s good pain; and the latter was the only kind I was interested in causing. I thought for an instant. “Give me your hands,” I said at last.

Claire’s lips compressed. She looked like she wanted to protest. I held her gaze. Arching one eyebrow imperiously, I waited. Finally, she sighed and reluctantly lowered her arms. I took hold of her hands and brought them to her crotch. “Here. Now, spread your lips for me,” I instructed, watching as heat, and maybe a trace of relief, flared in her eyes. Her breathing picked up.

“Like this?” she asked, almost shyly; fingers trembling, once or twice losing their purchase on her slick flesh.

“Yes. Just like that.” I gazed hungrily at her exposed clit. “That’s very good.” It was fucking gorgeous is what it was, and, even better, her hands were perfectly placed to protect her more sensitive flesh from my beard--just in case it really was too rough. Another thought occurred just as I was about to dip my head. I glanced at Claire’s face and met her gaze. “Do you want to watch?”

I saw the realization hit her: I hadn’t told her she could open her eyes this time, either, had I? Her lips curved. Excitement darkened her eyes. Her voice shook a little as she answered, “Please, may I?”

I nodded. “All right.” I let my gaze sweep over her one more time, before returning to her face. “I’m going to go down on you now. I’m going to take you with my mouth and you’re gonna come on my tongue. Understood?”

Her mouth opened on a soft gasp. Her tongue made a brief appearance and then retreated, riveting my attention. I could no more tear my gaze away from those moist, trembling, red lips than I could fly.

I was on the verge of changing my mind, ordering her to take my cock in her mouth instead, when she nodded again and murmured, even more softly, “Yes.”

It was a struggle trying to think back far enough to recall what it was she was agreeing to.
Later,
I promised my aching, impatient cock;
you’ll have your turn, just not now.

I didn’t exactly trust myself to speak, either. Who knows what I might have said at that point? So, I said nothing. I merely nodded and lowered my head.

The scent of her musk, the sweet taste of her cream, these were things no picture, no movie could ever capture. Until tonight, they were things I could only wonder about and imagine. Now, they were mine. Mine to sample and explore. Mine to revel and delight in.

It was like touching heaven when I thrust my tongue into her pussy and began to lap up her juices. When the first soft moan broke from her lips, it put me into sensory overload. I licked harder. Twisting my head to the side, I delved deeper. My fingers bit into her flesh as I took hold of her thighs and laid her pussy open.
Mine. All mine.
I wanted everything. I wanted to devour her. And I couldn’t, couldn’t, couldn’t get enough.

Claire. Oh, Claire. Oh, Claire!

I still couldn’t believe she was really here, that this was really happening. I was overcome with emotion, with the need to show my gratitude. I would have done anything she wanted, given her anything she asked for.

Maybe my being a fan
was
all the reason she needed for being with me tonight. Who was I to judge her motives anyway? It’s not like I could lay claim to any moral high ground. I knew she’d been drinking. I knew this was, most likely, no more than a whim on her part. I’d still caved.

And, come to think of it, why shouldn’t I have? Show me the man who wouldn’t jump at the chance to bed the woman of his dreams--for any reason, or none at all.

Claire’s legs were trembling when I moved up to take her clit. She gasped again, but not as sharply as before and, this time, I resisted the impulse to ask if she was okay. I had to trust her to tell me if I was hurting her. I had to believe that she was enjoying this as much as I hoped she was. As much as I was enjoying her.

Curving my fingers into her heat, I stroked the bundle of nerves that lay just inside her entrance. When I felt her muscles start to tighten, I lifted my head. I wanted to watch her come. I wanted to see it in her face.

Claire’s eyes, dark, hooded, glazed, met mine and satisfaction filled me. I knew that look. I’d seen her in the throes of passion so many times before--But I hadn’t really, had I? Not like this. Not in person. Not when I was the one doing her; putting that flush on her cheeks, making her moan, making her cream, making her come.
Oh, God
. I slid another finger into her heat and pumped faster, harder.
Yes. Like that. Give it to me.

Claire moaned again, louder this time, and her eyes rolled back. I couldn’t help smiling. “That’s right. That’s what I like.”
All of you. I want all of you.
“Now.”

As the first spasm shook her, I felt my heart swell with something very much like pleasure, very much like pride. Very much like love.
Oh, Claire...

Suddenly, watching wasn’t enough. Pulling my fingers away, I surged on top of her. Claire’s fingers dug into my shoulders as I mounted her. Her eyes met mine.

“Don’t stop coming,” I said as I rocked into her.

She gasped and her fingers tightened their grip. “Mike, I...”

“Don’t stop,” I repeated urgently.

She murmured something incoherent as she wrapped her legs around me.

The hot, velvet slide of her skin on mine made me groan with pleasure. “God, yes. Like that.”

Dipping my head I kissed her; a quick, bruising brush of my lips against hers, to thank her. Then I leaned lower still to take a nipple with my mouth.

She cried out, her body arching against me as a new set of contractions seized her.

Her muscles milked my cock relentlessly. I threw back my head, eyes closed, teeth gritted, and tried to maintain control, to stretch things out as long as I could. I didn’t want to come yet. Not yet. I wanted the ride to go on forever.

But Claire’s grasp on my shoulders weakened suddenly. Her nails raked down my arms and that was all it took to push me over the edge. Chills raced down my spine. My balls tightened and I broke. Pumping my seed into her. Jerking hard against her. Mindless and blind with pleasure.

When I could think again, I realized my arms were shaking with the effort to keep from collapsing on top of her.

“Oh, my God,” Claire murmured beneath me. “Oh, my God, Mike, that was... What was that?”

I couldn’t answer right away. I was so drained I was surprised I was still conscious. I pulled away slowly, barely able to move. “That was what you asked for.”

I lay down beside her. I was sweating and breathing hard. So was she.

She stared at me. “What I asked for?”

“Yeah.” I smiled faintly. “In the car, remember? ‘It’s fun. It feels good.’ That’s what you said you wanted, right?”

“Right.” She sighed and shook her head. “I must have been out of my mind.”

I gazed at her worriedly. “It wasn’t good?”

“What?” Claire frowned at me. “Mike--Of course it was good! What are you talking about? It was... amazing.”

“Well, what are
you
talking about? You said you were out of your mind.”

“Yes! For thinking I needed to convince you. Obviously, you already had things figured out on your own.”

“Oh.” I chuckled in relief. “That’s okay. I’m yours to convince. Convince me of anything you want.”

“You’re that easy, huh?”

“For you? Always.” Yawning, I reached beyond her, blindly seeking for the comforter. I knew it had to be there, somewhere. “But tomorrow, okay? I’m too tired right now.” Finally, my fingers found what they were searching for. I pulled the comforter over us both and tugged her closer.

“G’night, Claire,” I murmured, as I wrapped my arm around her. If she made any answer, I didn’t hear it. I was already asleep.

Claire

I should
never
have quit all my exercise classes after Derek and I split up. That might not have been my very first thought upon waking up the next morning, but it was definitely the most coherent. My body had that deliciously decadent ‘well-used’ feeling that only really good lovemaking leaves in its wake but, oh, my God, I could barely move! It was obvious that the personal work-out regimen I’d been following was just not strenuous enough.

I lay still for a while and took stock of my surroundings. Sunlight streamed through the window. Birdsong filtered in from the canyon. Emptiness radiated from Mike’s side of the bed.

I felt both disappointed and relieved about that. Disappointed because one of the things I’d been looking forward to was waking up to a warm body in the bed beside me. Relieved because, to be honest, I was feeling a little ambivalent this morning.

Mike had gotten too close last night. Somehow, he’d tapped into a facet of my personality that I hadn’t shared with anyone in...

Well, actually, come to think of it, I hadn’t shared it with anyone
ever
.

When I was young and sex was new, I’d been too naive to appreciate or even understand the subtle pleasures of power exchange. By the time I was older, wiser and more jaded I’d learned to protect myself, to protect my vulnerability, to protect my heart. I’d also learned how to act. I’d have liked to pretend that’s what I was doing last night. Acting. Playing along with the scene he’d created. But that wasn’t the case and I was pretty sure we both knew it.