Catch Me Falling (14 page)

She grinned despite herself. She had done that. She had gotten him that wound up.

“You okay?”

She grinned. “I'll just need to hold you down next time.”

He raised his eyebrows, as if daring her. And she winked.

Before she noticed, she was on her back, looking up at him. Part of her protested, the part of her that was still scared. The rest of her kind of liked it, liked that he was gentle when he manhandled her. Her body was on fire. She knew something was coming, but didn't know what.

He kissed her, his naked body spread out against her. “I’m going to fuck you,” he said softly, his voice dropping a few octaves. “I’m going to fuck you until you come clenching around my cock.” He had a wicked smile, one that promised naughty things. She whimpered, looked away. Her cheeks were on fire like the rest of her, and her body sizzled at his language. His voice was filthy, and she loved it. She had never thought she was one for dirty talk, but apparently she was.

He rolled on a condom, and then he kept eye contact with her, searing eye contact, as he slid inside of her, bit by bit. It was agony, that way. She wanted him in there, but he went slowly. By the time he was fully inside her she was whimpering, trying to wriggle onto him from where she laid. She wanted all of him, wanted him to fill her up, to have her.

“Better?” he asked when he was fully seated.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Talk less, screw more,” she said, lifting her hips out of impatience. He laughed, and he did it his way, kept it slow, torturous. Making sure that each little bit of motion was felt thoroughly by her.

“I love the way my cock feels when it goes into you,” Isaac murmured to her, punctuating each word with a thrust. “You’re so tight around me, clenching my cock with your pussy.”

It was horrible, it was torture, oh God, it made her squirm. She whimpered, groaned, moaned. She wasn't screaming, but it was close.

“You want this, don’t you?” Isaac continued, leaning down and kissing her even as he continued to thrust into her. She nodded. Yes, yes, she did.

“Say it.”

“Oh God, I want it,” she whimpered, she begged. She could barely think, the way he kept taking her, the way he was talking to her. She almost convulsed when he entered her again, almost there. So close to tilting over the edge, to coming. He moved faster, the slow, sweet forgotten and want taking its place. Over and over, over and over, and then she moaned and came, clenching her pussy around his cock. Her muscles around him sent him over the edge, and he groaned and followed her, his last few thrusts sending waves of pleasure through her pleasure-wrecked body.

When she finally opened her eyes and look to him, there was a warmth, and nakedness on his face that she hadn’t seen before. He smiled at her, kissed her gently. She smiled at him, dazed. It felt oddly like that they had done a few days before, the closeness they had achieved, just better.

“Thank you,” she said. He kissed her again, slowly, tenderly. Gentle.

“That was number three,” he said. And she looked at him, her eyes wide. Was he really going to –

He pulled off the condom, throwing it away, and then slithered down her middle. He kissed her hips, and she couldn't help but try and pull her knees together, her clit aching at the thought of more attention.

There was that wicked, enigmatic smile on his face. “I’m a man of my word,” he said.

She looked at him, mildly horrified. He gently nudged her he knees open, and she let him. Tentatively, slowly, he looked up at her. She shivered, gasped. But he leaned down and opened her up, licking and sucking even harder than he had before. It was but a few minutes later before she was crashing over the edge again, her body so depleted she could barely open her eyes.

She could see the pride, the amusement on his face. She thought about how lucky she was to have him, how much he cared. He settled next to her until the aftershocks faded, kissed her gently.

“Let's take a shower,” he said. Alexa laughed at the thought that she could get out of bed, smiled faintly. Then nodded. He helped her up from the bed, arm wrapped around her, and together they walked into the small bathroom.

W
hen Alexa met
up with Isaac at the airport, she felt as tight as a violin string. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? She had never flown with somebody else before, not with somebody she actually paid attention to. They had arranged their seat assignments so that they were next to each other, and while she was pleased with that, it also made her nervous. She wasn't particularly fond of flying or of the claustrophobia. So most of the time, on flights, she read a book, or took a nap to ignore what was going on. And this was a substantial flight; three and a half hours.

They had been booked on the same flight, booked in the same hotel. At least it wasn't the same hotel room or she would have really been getting suspicious that someone was setting them up. But they had been booked on one of the cheapest flights into Baltimore. It was probably convenience, more than anything else.

She smiled at him. They were settled in at one of the little restaurants, having lunch before their flight left in an hour. It wasn't too long to wait, wasn't too long to have to hold off doing anything. Like being able to kiss or touch him. But it still made her nervous.

She glanced around, half expecting to see somebody from their work there. Somebody who would judge them for what they saw, who would assume that what they were doing was more than what it was.

Then Isaac’s feet touched hers under the table. She jumped, looked at him, startled. “You're very jittery,” he said, his gaze intent on hers. She blushed. She was, and she knew it. “No one will see us.”

She scowled at him, more annoyed that he had accurately predicted what was bothering her than anything else.

“If they do, we're two colleagues who are just getting to know each other.” He smiled at her, collegial, then took a bite of his lunch.

She muttered something unintelligible, and then went back to eating her food. It was very good, some kind of Asian dish. It was definitely something she would get again when she had to fly.

“We’ve got about an hour before we board,” he said.

That was her fault, them getting there ridiculously early. It made her nervous to think about being late, about missing her chance to board. She always got there far earlier than she needed to.

“Is there any place you'd like to see?” he asked, taking a sip of his soda.

She blinked, realized he meant Baltimore, not the airport. “The Inner Harbor,” she said. “The aquarium.” She looked at him and frowned. “Have you been to Baltimore before?”

He smiled. “Yes,” he said.

She wasn’t entirely surprised. He seemed too cavalier about this whole trip to have not been there before.

“It's going to be fun,” he assured her.

She tried to relax. “I don't like flying,” she admitted.

He looked at her, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “I can tell,” he said.

She scowled at him, her cheeks flushing.

“Do you like seafood?” he asked.

She nodded. “Fish especially, sometimes crab.”

He chuckled. “They've got the best crab,” he said. “In Baltimore. Fresh off the bay.”

She was calming down, a little bit. Or so she hoped. “Really?”

“Yes.” He studied her for a few moments, his eyebrows knitted together in concern. “You okay?”

She grimaced. She was probably getting pale, probably little bit shaky. “I really don't like flying,” she repeated. He looked to her, glanced around. Reached out and gently put his hand on hers.

“You should probably stop eating,” he said.

Indigent, she raised herself up. “Are you insinuating something?”

He stroked her hand with his thumb. “Only that I don't want to get thrown up on while you're on the plane with me,” he said.

She scowled at him, but she felt a little bit lighter too. If he could joke with her like this, he really wasn't that worried about her, about spending time with her outside of their normal places. “I'll try not to barf on you,” she said finally.

“Thank you.” He stroked her hand once more and then let go.

Alexa smiled but didn't meet his eyes. For second, she felt like she was doing something wrong, going against the rules. She shoved the thought away, focused on what they were doing. “Do you sleep on planes?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I have trouble sleeping on moving things.” He winked.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. Her stomach fluttered in giddy excitement. He was calm, he was relaxed. He was joking with her. “Worst joke ever,” she informed him.

He looked affronted. “I didn't think it was that bad.”

She kicked him playfully under the table. “I did,” she said with a long-suffering sigh. She shook her head, amused, and finished her food. She looked at him, he looked at her.

“So what are we going to do next?” His gaze was intent on her, and she could feel her body grow warm. He wasn’t thinking - that, was he? They couldn’t do that at an airport.

Could they?

“We could read a book,” she suggested, trying to keep her face straight and ignore the way his foot was pressed against hers.

“Or…” he trailed off, his hand reaching out and catching hers.

She swallowed. “Not here.”

He studied her for a moment, nodded, drew back. “We could read a book.”

Her cheeks aflame, she led the way back to their gate. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to - her body had reacted to his touch as he always did - but what if they were caught? What if someone saw them? It was exciting, and she wanted him. But – it was different, being outside of their safe zones.

“Alexa Matthews, please report to the desk at gate A19.”

Alexa stared at the ceiling as if it had the intercom. She looked at Isaac, anxious. “What if they overbooked?”

He smiled his enigmatic smile. “I'm sure it's nothing.”

She frowned at him, mildly concerned, but she did head over to the front desk. A few minutes later, she heard Isaac's name called too. She frowned, worried. What if they were separated?

“I’m Alexa Matthews,” she told the lady at the front desk.

“We’ve overbooked the plane and need to bump up a few passengers. You’re the closest eligible passenger, so we’re upgrading you to first class for free.” The front desk lady smiled at her.

Alexa stared at her, her eyes wide. “What?”

Isaac stood next to her, talking to the other woman at the desk. Alexa glanced at him, still disoriented. When she sat back down, she sat down with an upgraded ticket. First-class and, while she wasn't entirely unused to flying first class, it was rare that workplaces sprung for it. When she got back to where Isaac was, he too had an upgraded ticket. And again, they were traveling together.

“I wonder if they know we're dating,” she mused.

He shrugged. “So what if they do?” he asked.

“Did you have something to do with this?”

“No.” He stared out the window at the plane, not looking at her. Then he turned and smiled at her, settled into his chair. As first-class, they would be boarding early. Luxurious, a nice break from regular accommodations. Free alcohol.

She sighed, leaned back into the chair. It was a nice surprise, she had to admit. She glanced at Isaac, studied his face. There were no shadows on his eyes, just a warm smile. Maybe things would be okay.

“First class passengers may board now,” came the overhead page some time later.

“That's us,” Isaac said cheerfully, picking up their luggage. He looked over at her, smiled. “Let’s go.”

“
R
eady
?” Isaac asked. He looked at Alexa, a faint smile on his face. They were standing on the first floor of their hotel, dressed in their jackets and ready to go outside. She looked gorgeous in the thick wool jacket. Maryland was colder than normal, this early in the fall.

“Yes.” She grinned at him.

He linked his arm with hers and led her out of the hotel. It was strange, walking like that. Domestic. But he liked it. It sent warmth flooding through him, embedded happiness inside his heart. They were skipping the last evening of their conferences in order to go to dinner, then to the aquarium.

Neither of them spoke as they walked the two blocks to a local restaurant. It was a small seafood place, with fresh fish and crabs from the ocean when they were in season. There was a grin on Alexa’s face that didn’t seem to be wiped off by the cold. She was happy. She was relaxed. She was perfect.

They tucked into their dinner. Blue crab quesadilla for him, crab cakes for her. “Tell me about your conference?” he asked, his feet touching hers under the small table.

Her face lit up. Apparently her conference had been more entertaining than his. She filled him in on the seminars she had gone to (medical law and malpractice), the networking she had done (apparently someone from Sinclair, Bates, and Roberts had been there), and how much fun it had been despite the fact it was a gathering of lawyers.

Apparently lawyers knew how to party.

He watched as she continued to talk, detailing the big things, the small things. She was so animated, her hands moving as she talked. She snuck bites of food between stories. Some stories made him smile, and others sent his eyebrows shooting towards the ceiling.

Sure, they had seen each other at the end of the day. Every night, one of them had ended up in the other’s room. But it wasn’t for talking.

“Are you paying attention?” Alexa tried to look stern, but there was a grin tugging at the corner of her lips.

“I’m listening to every word that falls from your lips,” Isaac assured her, leaning forward and propping his elbows on the table and his chin on his interlocked hands.

She bit back a laugh, her happiness infectious. “Then what did I just say?”

He pretended to think for a moment. “Oh, Isaac, you have the most wonderful eyes.” He winked.

Alexa snorted. “I did not!”

He grinned, and her laughter was like bells. “Ready to go?”

She smiled at him. “Yes.”

When they made it outside, he pulled her to him and kissed her, slow and sweet. Her lips moved against him, turning the kiss deeper, hotter. Part of him was tempted to skip the aquarium and just go back to the hotel right that moment. But he had seen the way her eyes had gotten dreamy when she had said it. He wanted to take her somewhere she liked, spend time with her. He wanted to make her smile.

The moment they walked inside the aquarium, her eyes went wide. They walked from exhibit to exhibit, her pointing out various creatures, her, her fingers trailing over the cold glass. “I’ve never been to lakes, but I’ve been to aquariums,” she said, most of her attention on the large, multi-colored fish tank they stood in front of.

“This is the first time I’ve been to one.” He slid an arm around her, drew her close. The aquarium was beautiful, that was true. But so was she.

She stared at him, aghast.

He chuckled, kissed her softly. She smiled.

“Thank you,” she said quietly.

He looked at her quizzically. “For what?”

She glanced at the tank, then back at him. “For this,” she said with a self-conscious shrug.

“No thanks needed.” He leaned down and kissed her sweetly. Even the sweetest of kisses made heat coil in his stomach. It was her, it was all her. She pulled back, looked at him. Her lips were parted a tiny amount, and it made him want to take her lower lip between his teeth. They were free in the city. They could be them. They could want each other without restraints, without thinking about reputations or what people would think.

He kissed her again and again, soft butterfly kisses, feeling her body shiver against his, hear her quiet whimpers as she tried to hide them.

“We should go,” she murmured against his lips.

“Before we’re arrested for public indecency?” He raised his eyebrows, grinning.

She laughed, kissed him one last time and then pulled away, linking her arm with his. “Let’s go to your place.” She winked.

“Ah, yes. The third floor, instead of the fourth.”

“It’s got a bigger bed.”

Her voice was teasing, but her eyes were dark, needy. Wanting. He liked that he made her feel that way, that she wanted him. It was intoxicating. “Then let’s go.”

A
lexa sank
down onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been two days since she had gotten back from the conference, back to real life. It had been so nice, seeing him outside of work. Spending time with him, away from people who knew them, who could identify them.

She crawled under the covers, stared at the ceiling. What did she feel about Isaac? What did she think about him? They were dating, they were together. She – she loved him. But what did that mean?

Her phone buzzed on her night stand and she stared at it.

I hope that trip to Baltimore was worth it.

It was an unknown number, something that sent fear surging through her. It wasn’t Damien’s number, but there was nothing that stopped him from getting a new number, especially not once she had blocked him. Had he gotten her new number? How?

Who is this?
She texted back, her hands shaking.

Did you get a new frame for your photo?

Alexa inhaled sharply. Maybe it wasn’t the janitor who had gone through her office.

WHO IS THIS?

No reply.

An hour later she rolled over, trying to sleep. It was harder than it should've been, harder with all of the thoughts going through her mind. The paranoia made her hyperaware, hypervigilant. It was the worst part. She thought of Isaac, someone far more pleasant than the mysterious texter. She sighed.

Alexa didn’t know what she thought. He made her feel warm, when he touched her. HIs mouth and his body could send her to places she had never imagined. He didn’t hit her, not yet at least. She - she wanted to be with him. She didn’t know why, but she did.

And the thought terrified her.

Grabbing her phone, she pulled up a game to play until she got sleepy. But instead, her phone beeped. She looked at it, her heart speeding up. Was it the texter again?

When she saw Isaac’s name on her screen she couldn’t help a smile.
Hello
, was all the text read. Was he at work, bored? Or at home, not able to sleep either? She hadn’t seen him since she had gotten back, hadn’t talked to him. She wanted to see him, wanted to feel him against her.