Game, Set, Match (A Humorous Contemporary Romance) (Love Match) (12 page)

He groaned when she pulled his head back to hers. Firm lips molded to hers. When she parted her lips to allow him deeper entry, he took full advantage. His tongue thrust and teased as it mated against hers.

Izzy couldn’t believe this was about to happen She’d dreamed about this since she’d first laid eyes on him. She ran her hands over his broad shoulders. Heat radiated off of his body and scorched her fingertips as they roamed. Emboldened, she let her hands roam lower.

“Izzy, oh m…” He didn’t finish the thought when she unsnapped the button of his jeans.

She’d never been so bold in her life. But tonight, she could do anything, say anything. Including caress the hard length of him. She drew in a sharp breath, and her gaze flew to his. There was no way they would fit together.

He must have seen the alarm on her face because he bit off a colorful curse and stepped away from her. “Izzy, we can’t do this. I—I can’t do this.”

“Why not?” She told herself she wouldn’t cry. That didn’t stop the pinpricks of tears from stinging her lids.

He leveled his eyes with hers. “This isn’t right. It shouldn’t be like this.”

He didn’t want her? This time, she couldn’t keep the tremble from her lips. She’d gotten it wrong. He trapped her face in his strong hands, despite her attempts to wrench away. Wasn’t she humiliated enough?

“Izzy, sweetheart.
I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life.” He looked down and smiled ruefully. “You feel how much I want you.”

She blinked tears out of her eyes. “Then why are you stopping me?”

He took her hand and sat her down on the bed. “For once in my life, I’m trying to be the good guy. You deserve the good guy.”

“But you are—”

“Izzy, if I were the good guy, I never would have kissed you. You’re sweet and perfect, and I want you so bad I can’t think straight most of the time, but this isn’t right.”

She tilted her chin up and crossed her arms. Every bit the petulant seventeen
year old. “Jason, I know what I want.”

He shook his head and indicated the bottle of wine on the peeling Formica counter of the shabby kitchenette.
“Really? Then why did you need the influx of liquid courage?” He sighed before adding, “You’re seventeen.”

She glared at him. “I’ll be eighteen in a couple of months. If you don’t want me, all you have to do is say so.” She sobbed as she continued. “I can’t believe I listened to Sabrina.”

He kneeled in front of her. “I don’t know what Sabrina has to do with this, but she doesn’t matter. I care about you enough to want to wait till you’re fully sober and fully aware of what you’re doing. I can barely breathe, I want you so bad. But for you, I can be a good guy.”

She hated to admit it, but her head was swimming. She’d had way too much wine. But it was the only way she’d
have ever had the courage to go after what she wanted.

Bleary eyed, she asked. “Can you hold me for a minute? You don’t have to stay long, just for a little while.”

He smiled at her. “That I can do.”

He pulled her into his arms on the bed and held her tight, kissing her temple as he caressed her back. After several moments, his phone rang. They ignored the insistent ringing at first, but the caller wouldn’t give up.

The moment he picked up the phone, his body language changed. Shoulders tensed and voice tight, he turned to her. “I have to go take care of something. I’ll be back in an hour, I promise.”

Izzy sat bolt upright from her dream, sheets tangled around her ankles. Damn it. It wasn’t enough that he haunted her waking hours, but memories of him had to take over her sleeping hours too? Her entire body felt flushed from the memory of Jason’s kiss. The flesh between her thighs tingled and throbbed begging for release from a man’s touch.
From Jason’s touch. 
No!
 Not Jason. Simon.

Izzy flopped on her side, trying to will the feelings of need back into their lockbox. Sleep wouldn’t come quickly today. What’s the point? She rifled through her happy drawer and pulled out her battery operated boyfriend. “How nice it is to see you again, B.O.B.”

Shifting position, she turned B.O.B onto mild vibrate and closed her eyes in anticipation of the predictable bliss. At first, she kept the vibrations low to reflect how she liked to be teased.

Teasing her slickened folds to coax them into response, she pinched her distended nipple, hoping to speed the process along. But nothing happened. She needed incentive. Maybe picturing Simon was what she needed. If she could imagine herself with him, maybe she could feel something.

Frustrated, she increased the speed of vibration, closing her eyes and tried to picture Simon—the way he’d kissed her the other day. Simon’s tongue traversing her dew slickened folds. Simon’s strong hands massaging her breasts, plumping them into response.

Simon inserting first one finger, then two into her, groaning as her juices dampened his hand. Simon’s dampened fingers circling around her nipple. His gaze locked on the puckering bud.
His head lowering to the nipple, tongue peeking out to tease before tasting.

In her mind’s eye, she pictured his head lowering with aching slowness. Blond locks tousled and tangled from her attempts to draw him closer.
 
Blond?
 That wasn’t right. Black men didn’t have blond hair. Her eyes flew open, and she sat up as she moaned with the need to climax. Why couldn’t Jason leave her in peace even now?

Flopping back on the bed, she groaned.
Might as well go with it. After all, it was only a fantasy. Not like it was real. She closed her eyes again, shifting to make room for B.O.B.

Jason’s roguish smile flashed in her brain, and she whimpered as the need crashed into her blood. She pictured his head lowering to her nipple covered in her essence. Tongue traversing around the nipple, he mumbled.
“Mmmm, delicious.” As his teeth grazed and his lips suckled at her nipples, his fingers acquainted themselves with her folds. He mumbled love words as he paid homage at her breasts. “So wet…hot…beautiful…”

Izzy moaned his name as her fantasy took on a mind of its own.

Jason finally released her nipple with a pop and lowered himself between her legs. “I’ve had a teaser, now I want the whole thing.”

His first lick forced a full body shudder form her. His second ripped a moan from her throat. On his third, he circled her clit slow and easy, refusing to give her the harder stimulation she needed. He circled the distended nub with his lips and hummed.

Izzy’s hips bucked off the bed. Calloused hands gripped her hips to keep her in place. “Oh no you don’t. I want my feast.” With his thumbs, he parted her plump folds and took in the view. “Gorgeous.”

She whimpered his name and a plea. He rewarded her by licking a path of heated need all the way from her clit to her perineum and back again. He repeated the process, though this time, he stopped at her clit, placing a soft kiss directly above it.

“Jason…more…”

When he didn’t give her what she wanted, Izzy peeled open her eyes to look at him. The purple latex of B.O.B. looked back.
 
Damn
.

She needed to get over her Jason fantasy before it ruined her life. Why couldn’t she get over her mental blocks? She and Simon cared about each other. They were friends. Maybe they could be more than friends. Besides, she needed to focus on the reality of her life, not the fantasy she wished her life could be.

How long had it been since she’d had sex? It couldn’t be that long ago. She counted back the months but had to stop after she ran out of fingers. Damn, over a year. And if she remembered right, it hadn’t even been that good.

Well, I have no one to blame if I sit around and don’t do anything about it
. She brushed her covers aside and hopped from the bed to find the perfect seduction outfit. She could just call Simon to come over. He’d moan about the late hour, but this way, he wouldn’t be able to refuse her.

Finding the wispy bits of red lace in her drawer, she changed in a rush, arranging herself on the bed in what she prayed was an alluring manner. Extending her arms trying to take a picture, she realized that wouldn’t work. Spying the dresser she smiled.
 
Perfect
. She set the timer, quickly hopping back on the bed before she could chicken out.

The camera clicked, and she giggled. Jessica would never believe this. She’d never done anything so daring. She picked up the phone and hastily typed out a message with the attached photo. “I’m so lonely. Want to come over and keep me company?”

She selected speed dial number one and hit send. When the little message envelope said sending, she lay back with giddy anticipation. Any moment now, Simon would call and tell her he was on his way from Century City. That he’d dropped everything and couldn’t wait to be with her.

Any moment now.
Except, as she waited for the message to send, she noticed the area code as 323, not Simon’s 310. Panic shot through her, cold and fast, knotting icicles of tension in each muscle. Oh shit. “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. Oh Shit. God, if you’re up there, please tell me I can recall that message.” She shook the phone and tried to stop the send process. When that didn’t work, she sped through the message options looking for some sort of recall button.

Oh God, oh God, oh God
. This could not happen. It was a dream, a terrible, horrible nightmare. All she had to do was wake up. She pinched herself, then muttered curses at the frisson of pain that shot up her arm. “Ow. Damn it.”

Defeated, she sunk onto the bed, shoulders slumped. She was grounding Nick tomorrow for changing her speed dial numbers. If it was Jessica, she was so fired. After several deep breaths, she fought back the tears in her eyes. She had no one to blame but herself. Nick didn’t tell her to be irresponsible. Jessica didn’t stuff her in the see-through lace and tell her to try her hand at seduction. All of it was her stupid idea.

Fuck
.

The sounds of Star Wars filled the room, and she stared in horror at her phone LCD.
 
Jason
. Equal parts shame, misery and fury washed over her and rendered her unable to move. Maybe he’ll hang up and leave me alone? The phone stopped ringing, and she would have cheered if she’d been able to move. Though, her cheer didn’t last, as the phone rang again. Jason—again.

I can’t be a sissy all my life, can I?
 Forcing the motion of her fingers, she answered, stumbling over her words. “Look, I’m mortified enough. Nick changed my speed dial settings, and you were first, but it was supposed to go to Simon, and now you have it, and I—”

“What’s your game, Izzy?” His tone, husky and lazy, washed over her like much needed sunlight.

“I—I—It’s not a game, Jason. It was a mistake, a complete horrible, nausea inducing have-to-pack-it-in-and-move-to-Timbuktu sort of gaffe. I’m embarrassed, and I never should have, but Nick messed with the phone and I was lonely and Simon…” She trailed off when she noticed the sounds of a highway in the background. “Are you driving?”

Voice still husky, he let out a brief, pained chuckle. “This is one of the times I regret living in Malibu. Babe, it’ll be a while to get to you, but maybe we can start with phone sex. I already know what you’re wearing, so how about I start with are you wet?”

Izzy couldn’t process his last question, because she was too focused on the first thing he’d said. On the road. From Malibu. 
Shit
. And because the fates loved to see her squirm, she realized with painful horror that she was wet. 
Oh God
. Heat suffused her skin all over, and she prayed for a hole to open and swallow her. 
I am not having phone sex with Jason Cartwright.
 “Jason, don’t come over. I beg you.” She didn’t recognize the silken husky voice as her own.

A horn blared in the background. “You’re insane if you think after what I’ve seen, I could pretend I haven’t.”

“Please don’t. This was a horrible mistake. I swear I will never do anything so reckless again in my life. Please don’t come over.”

“Too late.
I need to see if you taste as good as you look.” He mumbled a curse. “I don’t care if I have to wake every neighbor you have. I’m seeing you tonight.”

Damn, she didn’t stand a chance if he kept at her like this. Any woman in the world would be beside herself to have Jason Cartwright breaking traffic laws to get to them.
Any woman. 
Every woman
. How many women had he seduced with the smiles and the sexy voice and the urgent pleading in his voice? That thought had her rationale returning to her.

“Jason, you show up here and wake up the neighbors, the press swarm this place in a heartbeat.”

That brought him to his senses. “Shit. You don’t play fair Izzy Connors.”

Neither do you
. “I—uhm. I really am sorry again. How about we both just forget this ever happened? We still have another shoot to do. This will be something we can laugh at and humiliate me with twenty years in the future or something. I am so sorry, Jason. Never again.”

Jason was so silent for several moments she thought he’d hung up. “You never did answer my question, Izzy.”