Degrees of Passion (18 page)

Sasha fisted the base of his shaft, working her hand up at a leisured pace, then ran her fingers down again, only to repeat the process. With each pass, she gripped him tighter, peeking up to watch his reaction. His hips moved in rhythm to her hand. He bit his lips, his eyes closed tight. The hand on her shoulders moved to her hair, pushing harder than before.

Cupping his balls, she moved to the sensitive piece of flesh buried beneath the soft globes. He let out a surprised yelp of excitement. Sasha continued to rub him with her hands as she drew a circle with her tongue over the tip of his erection. She kissed gently at first, twirling her tongue over the head, letting it move across the firm ridge. A muffled groan rang out over her. Nibbling along the sides, she teased and bit her way down the sides before latching on once more.

This time she took him deeper, sucking as much as she could into her mouth. Kevin was too big to fit fully, so she kept working her hands to cover the extra length. The harsh panting became a moaning whimper of approval. His hands tightened on her hair, taking control of her slow pace, forcing her lips to roll faster. She sucked harder, not caring about the immodesty of their situation.

‘Ah, fuck me, Sasha,’ he groaned, the words almost like a curse. ‘I want to come so badly. Come here. Get on the seat.’

Obeying the harshly grunted command, she released his shaft and moved to lie down. His insistent hands stopped her, flipping her around so she was on her hands and knees. There wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver, but he didn’t stop as he brought himself up behind her. She wiggled her hips, parting her legs the best she could. The car bumped, bouncing them as the limo sped up. She braced her weight on the floor with one foot.

‘Hurry,’ she whispered, the sound not as soft as it should have been. Odds were, the limo driver couldn’t hear them. These vehicles were built for privacy.

Kevin brought himself to her sex. The limo hit another bump and the motion forced him to fill her from behind. The vibrations of the moving car only added to her pleasure. Her heart beat fast and hard.

He reached around her hips, massaging her sensitive clit. After being aroused for most of the day, it didn’t take long for her climax to hit. Kevin pulled out, grunting as the car jerked, tossing him back. The sudden loss of his support caused her leg to give out and she rolled onto the floor. Sasha laughed at the absurdity of her landing.

‘I think we’re getting close to my apartment,’ Kevin said, reaching for his pants.

Sasha scrambled into action, jerking her panties and jeans on at the same time. When they were both dressed, she knocked on the privacy window. She smiled innocently at the driver through the rear-view mirror. ‘I’ve changed my mind. I’ll be getting out at this next exit.’

‘Very good, Miss,’ he answered seriously, before rolling up the window once more.

‘You changed your mind? You’re staying?’ Kevin asked, a grin spreading across his features.

‘We do need to study, don’t we?’ Her smile matched his.

Kevin whistled, flipping a blueberry pancake into the air. The mix came from a box with the artificial blueberries already blended in. It wouldn’t taste as good as if he’d made it with fresh fruit, but it was the best he could afford in New York City during the winter. He tried to catch it with a plate as it fell. The pancake hit the edge, bouncing onto his countertop.

‘Well done!’ Sasha said, clapping her hands from across the living room. She wore one of his shirts and nothing else – at least nothing as far as he could tell. The sleepy elegance of her ruffled hair and his crumpled shirt stirred tender emotions inside him. He liked having her in his home. When she smiled, her mouth pursed as if she wanted him to kiss her. It was strange to think that he’d done without her for so many months. She’d only been his for not even two full days and he never wanted to let her go. Her presence calmed his overactive brain, stopping the racing thoughts and making him focus on something other than studying.

‘You’re finally awake,’ he teased, liking the lightness in her tone.

‘I actually stayed up and watched the end of the movie. You fell asleep on me.’ She gave him a playful pout.

‘What can I say? You take a lot out of me.’ He held up a plate. ‘Hungry?’

‘Depends.’ She crossed the living room to the breakfast bar, peering in at what he was doing. ‘Did you drop it on the floor?’

‘You’ll have to take your chances.’ He handed her a small stack of pancakes.

‘Ooh, blueberry. I feel like a princess,’ Sasha inhaled deeply, smelling the food. ‘I could get used to this, even if they are floor-cakes.’

Hope filled him. His breath caught in his throat and he felt slightly dizzy. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to say anything that would scare her off or make him seem overeager.

‘I called my mother about spring break this morning while you were sleeping. She says they’re booked next week with a snowmobile enthusiast group, but they’ll make room. The good news is the other guests will be out most of the day, so we’ll have plenty of quiet to work on our presentation.’

‘I had an idea about that,’ Sasha said, cutting her food with her fork. ‘We could do a pre-recorded presentation on my laptop. I have a new webcam.’ She didn’t meet his eyes as she stared at her plate. ‘That way we could edit it however we want. Professor Collins loves technological gadgets.’

Kevin chuckled. ‘What guy doesn’t?’

‘Exactly,’ Sasha said. ‘So I figured, we’d get some still shots this next week. I’ll see about borrowing Kat’s camera. Her family allowance seems to have a way with Prichard, so I’m sure he’ll say yes if she tells him she wants the presentation to show potential donators. Prichard’s happy, we complete our internship on good terms and a possible letter of recommendation, Collins gets his final presentation, Project Aztec gets some publicity – it really is a worthwhile project.’

‘I like it,’ Kevin said.

‘Good!’ Sasha set her plate down on the coffee table and went to grab her messenger bag. ‘I’ve got a rough script outline written out and a really badly drawn storyboard idea. I was going to show you a couple nights ago when we were studying, but it didn’t come up, and then we –’ she paused, glancing at the couch ‘– got distracted.’

Kevin reached to take the offered notebook. ‘You’ve put quite a bit of thought into this, haven’t you?’

She stiffened. ‘Contrary to what you seem to think, I do care about my future. I might not be as certain as you are about what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I care. I do want to do well. And—’

‘Whoa, easy there, Sasha. I didn’t mean to imply you don’t care. You’re too sensitive.’ Kevin flipped through the pages, seeing little stick figures that represented the both of them with little notations along each box. ‘I think it’s a great idea, better than the slideshow and speech I’d been thinking about.’

‘You really like it?’

‘What’s not to like?’ he asked. ‘Though it might be better if we can get hold of an actual video camera instead of a webcam.’

‘I thought about that. Kat and Ryan are into print film. That’s why I think Kat will part with her digital camera long enough for us to use it. I could ask my roommate. She’s a film major and I might be able to convince her to help us out. I can’t promise she’ll have time right now. She’s trying to shoot a small horror project. Actually, I just thought of something.’ Sasha dug into her bag, pulling out her cell phone. ‘I’m going to make a few calls.’

Kevin stood, smiling at the way Sasha’s eyes narrowed in concentration. ‘While you’re doing that, I’ll be in the shower.’

Sasha dialed her phone and held it to her ear, thrilled that Kevin liked her idea. Excitement filled her at the prospect of doing the short film. She loved organizing projects.

‘Please tell me you haven’t run out on him already,’ Kat said by way of an answer. ‘I know you went to his house last night. The Richmond chauffeur cannot keep a secret. But if you’re calling me to give all the details, then scoop.’

‘Hey, Kat, I have a big favour to ask.’ Sasha ignored her sister’s demand for gossip. ‘You know those scary-looking bugs I asked for? Well, I need Vincent to say yes to the horror film so I can trade Carrie her editing skills for my presentation to complete the internship.’

‘Vincent’s not going to like the idea,’ Kat answered. ‘He gets really protective over his insects.’

‘Tell him I’ll babysit once a week all summer so the two of you can go out,’ Sasha said.

‘Hmm,’ Kat mused. ‘I tell you what. You help Mom re decorate. Tell her you absolutely want to do it and I’ll get you those bugs.’

Sasha groaned. ‘Babysitting twice a week?’

‘Redecorating with mother.’

‘Babysitting whenever you need me. I’ll even be your live-in nanny,’ Sasha negotiated.

‘Sorry, it’s dealing with Mom on her new project or no deal.’ Kat held firm.

‘Fine. I’ll help Mom.’ Sasha groaned again, for effect. ‘But I’m going to need your camera this next week or two.’

‘You’re kidding, right?’ Kat laughed. ‘My camera?’

‘Just the digital one,’ Sasha pleaded. ‘I’ll sign a contract saying I’ll give you my first born if I break it.’

‘That won’t be necessary. Just know, if you break it, I’ll tell Mom you’re dying to help her redecorate her entire house – not just the bedroom.’

Sasha giggled, feigning horror. ‘You’re so mean, Katarina!’

‘I do try,’ her sister answered wryly. ‘I’ll talk to Vincent today at lunch. Don’t worry. I know how to make my husband say yes.’

‘Too much info!’ Sasha declared.

Kat giggled. ‘I’ll be home later today if you want to stop by and pick up the camera.’

‘Perfect, thank you.’

‘Don’t thank me, just call Mom and get her to quit calling me. I’ve brought her three color samples so far and she’s hated every idea, but she won’t stop. Something to do with her chi alignment and a book she just read because a talk-show host recommended it. I honestly don’t remember. By that point I snuck on my headphones and stopped listening. Do you know she called and talked for four hours yesterday? I couldn’t get her to hang up.’

Sasha could think of another person in their family with a phone addiction, but thought it better not to point that out to Kat while she needed so many favors from her. ‘I’ll call her just as soon as I get off with Carrie. Bye, sis.’

‘Bye.’

Sasha hung up, then automatically rang Carrie. It took several rings, but her sleepy roommate finally picked up. ‘Mmm?’

‘Carrie, it’s Sash. I can get you the bugs, but you have to do me a favor.’

‘I don’t want to change my long-distance provider,’ Carrie mumbled, only to give a small squeak of surprise as she came fully awake. ‘Sasha? Did you just say I can have my bugs? Omigod, I love you! You are the best. I’ve got the whole short—’

‘Carrie,’ Sasha said, getting the woman’s attention. ‘I’m going to need a favor.’

‘Name it.’

‘I need you to help me put together a presentation so I can pass Collins’s internship.’ Sasha stood, pacing as her mind raced. ‘Something professional looking, kind of a documentary style, slash, promotional piece on Project Aztec. Kevin Merchant, my intern partner, will be doing it with us. And we’ll need you to check out one of those cameras for us. I can’t since I’m not in that department.’

‘Can I use whatever we put together for my film class?’ Carrie asked.

‘I don’t see why not.’

‘Hell, yes I’ll do it! I need more documentary stuff on my resume.’ Carrie’s side of the conversation became muffled by a crash and muffled curse. ‘Oh, hey, I’m going to need actors for my film. Can you and your partner help me out? I’m going to need attack victims for a montage scene. Should only be a few hours’ worth of work.’

‘That shouldn’t be a problem,’ Sasha agreed. ‘I’ll see you later to go over all the details.’

Sasha hung up on her roommate to call her mom as promised.

‘Hello?’ Beatrice Matthews’s excited voice answered.

‘Hey, Mom,’ Sasha said.

‘Oh, honey, this is a surprise. Are you cancelling on us tomorrow? I told Kat you might.’

‘No, I’ll be there. Kat mentioned you’d heard from Ella and have pictures.’ Sasha sat back down and picked up her plate, eating as her mother talked, reporting every detail of Ella’s message and describing the pictures Sasha would see the next day. By the time her mother was finished, Sasha had finished her breakfast and had taken her dirty plate to the kitchen to wash it.

Lathering dish soap on a sponge, she held the phone to her ear by wedging it against her shoulder. ‘I can’t wait to see her. Do you think she’ll come home this year?’

‘I hope so. The navy gives her thirty days a year, but she’s been traveling and exploring the world on her time off,’ Beatrice said. ‘I miss her, but she needs this adventure in her life right now. In fact, I think that the adventurer life is perfect for her. I’ve never seen her so happy.’

‘Speaking of adventure,’ Sasha artfully changed the subject. ‘Kat mentioned you want to redecorate your bedroom. Need any help?’

Her mother launched into an excited babbling of plans and ideas. Sasha listened patiently, saying all the right things to keep the conversation going. She finished the dishes and set them out to dry.

‘Did you turn on the water?’ Kevin’s voice called from the living room. ‘It got really cold in the shower.’

‘Oh, sorry!’ Sasha yelled.

‘Who’s that?’ Interest filled her mother’s tone.

‘Lulu’s brother,’ Sasha lied. ‘He’s a freshman in high school visiting for spring break.’

‘It’s early for break, isn’t it?’ Beatrice asked.

‘Not in North Dakota,’ Sasha lied. ‘Mom, I have to go. I’m looking forward to our decorating project and I’ll see you tomorrow. I can look at those samples you have then.’

‘OK, dear. I love you.’ Her mother fumbled on the other end before finally managing to hang up.