Her Secret Thrill (7 page)

She was finding herself entranced with the very idea that she actually could do that. Actually take time away from everything and do this just for herself. No denying it was exciting, enticing even. But could they really sustain it?

She watched him pop a plump blueberry in his mouth and sigh as he ate it.
Yeah,
she thought,
I might be able to watch him eat for, oh, another ten or twenty years at least.

Of course, he'd said nothing about his proposition. Maybe he'd changed his mind.

“Here—”

Her attention was jerked away from the bowl she'd been mindlessly stirring, her thoughts stirring right along with it. When she looked up, she found him offering her a strawberry.

She went to take it with her fingers, but he shook his head. “Wait.” He rubbed it on his own lips, then dipped it in the confectioner's sugar. “Now taste it.”

He held it closer, intending her to take it from his fingers right into her mouth. In the middle of a restaurant.
Anyone watching this little interaction would assume they were not having a business breakfast.

The look in his eye was more a dare than a question. And she knew that if she took the strawberry, she was tacitly agreeing to his previous offer.

“Do you always debate taking something you know you want?”

She smiled at that. “How do you know I like strawberries?” She knew that wasn't what he meant, but he was fun to tease. And he returned it so well.

“Who could resist this one?”

A better woman than her, apparently.

Even as she leaned a fraction of an inch closer to take the fruit, he was already lightly rubbing it over her lips, coating them in white sugar and berry juice.

She quickly took the fruit, almost swallowing it whole and trying like hell to resist looking around her to see if anyone else was watching. She ducked her head and licked her lips, dabbing at them with her napkin.

“It bothers you, then?”

She looked back at him. “What?”

“That people might see me feeding you?”

Her face colored, and there was no way to stop it. “You offered me a piece of fruit and I took it. No big deal. People taste each other's meals all the time.”

He merely smiled. “It bothers you.”

“Okay, so I'm uncomfortable with being…I don't know—open about what we're doing.”

Now he leaned forward, his gaze so intent she could feel herself respond by tightening up almost to the point of cramping. “
What
are we doing, Natalie?”

“Having breakfast?” she said weakly.

He slowly shook his head. Then he picked up a small chunk of chocolate and wedged it in another strawberry before dipping the whole thing in granulated sugar. He held it out. “This isn't about breakfast.”

She started to look around the room.

“Don't.”

She stilled, then wondered why she listened to him. She'd look around if she damn well wanted to.

“Do you know any of these people?” he asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Do you care what they think of how we choose to eat our meal?”

“I suppose not.”

“And if they realize there is more going on at this table than merely breakfast between two business associates…do you care?”

She paused before answering that one. “I shouldn't.”

“But you do?” He rolled the plump fruit between his thick fingers.

She shrugged lightly. “Habit, I suppose.”

“Always have to be decorous, do you? Always put on the polished front?”

“Something like that.”

“So what if you didn't? What do you think is going to happen?”

She thought about that. “Nothing, I guess.”

“Then, take the fruit, Natalie. Take it like you want it. Enjoy it like you know you will. Don't hold back because someone else might be watching.”

She took the fruit. The sweet of the chocolate exploded through the tart of the strawberry as it slid down her throat. Looking at him while she did it made
her want to moan. Breakfast would never be the same again.

“People are looking at you,” he said softly.

“I'm trying not to care.”

A little grin quirked the corner of his mouth as he offered her a blueberry this time. She took it.

“Wonder what they're thinking?”

“No. I really don't want to know.”

“What if this is turning them on?”

“What if it is?” she asked, working hard to stay in the moment and not let herself care that they were in a crowded restaurant.

“What if watching you eat fruit from my hand is the most erotic thing they've seen in years? What if it makes them leave here and go find their significant other and feed them some fruit?” He grinned now as he fed her another strawberry in powdered sugar. “Who knows, we could be personally responsible for an entire city ending up in bed today.”

She'd just taken the fruit as he said that, and now laughed as she chewed and swallowed. “Yeah, that's me. A one-woman pied piper of sex.”

Jake laughed, too. “There are worse things to be.”

Natalie nodded, then stifled a sigh as Jake went back to his own oatmeal.

He was stirring some brown sugar into his bowl, not looking at her, when he said, “So, do I get to taste some of your food?”

She dropped the spoon she'd been balancing several blueberries on, but gamely recovered. “What, you think you can be a better pied piper than me?”

His eyes were twinkling, but only for her when he
looked at her. “No. I just want to taste a strawberry that's been rubbed along those lips.”

“Oh.” She managed a shaky smile.

“Feed me, Natalie.”

She didn't look around the room this time. She deliberately selected the fattest strawberry in the dish and ran it slowly over her bottom lip. She was going to dip it into the sugar, but Jake took hold of her wrist and guided the fruit to his mouth.

“Nothing can top the taste of you,” he said quietly, holding her gaze as he took the strawberry between his white teeth, then sunk them slowly into it.

That did it. She clenched so hard she was pretty sure it counted as a minor orgasm. And minor just wasn't going to cut it. “Do we—” She cleared her throat. “Do you want any more of this?”

“Oh, I want a
lot
more of this.”

“Here?”

Mercifully he shook his head and stood. But not before pocketing the rest of the fruit in one of the restaurant napkins. “Come on.” He held out his hand. “Let's finish this meal in private.”

Natalie paused only for a split second, then took his hand. “Yes. Let's.”

J
AKE RAN
the sliced strawberry around Natalie's nipple, growing harder—if that were possible—at the way it peaked for him. She moaned under her breath, and he felt himself climb closer to the edge. The edge that had begun the moment he'd read her note.

He honestly hadn't expected to end up in his hotel with her today. But the moment he'd felt her standing behind him in the restaurant, he knew he wasn't going to let her run away again without a good reason. What they'd shared back in New York had been a memory that clung to him as resolutely as the scent of her had clung to his skin.

He'd sensed from the note and from the short time frame she'd allowed for them to meet that she was still undecided about his offer. But not so much so that she'd been able to resist contacting him.

He leaned down and licked the trail of sweet red juice he'd drizzled all over her breast. Now he was the one groaning, when she arched easily beneath him. It was as if they'd never left each other's arms.

And if he had his way, before they left here today,
they would have a time and place where they could meet again.

She'd been so incredible in the restaurant. Worldly on the one hand, and yet sweetly insecure on the other.

He traced the strawberry to her other breast, following it with his tongue. He finally pressed the soft fruit down over her nipple, then sucked the whole thing into his mouth.

She groaned and arched violently.

“Do you think everyone in the restaurant is picturing us just like this, Natalie?” he murmured as he worked his tongue along her collar bone.

“I'm not thinking about anything except—” She gasped as he bit her earlobe at the same time as he gently rolled her nipple between his fingers.

“Except?” he urged, when she went breathlessly silent.

“This,” she managed faintly. “Dear God, Jake.”

His body twitched hard at the sound of his name, the way she said it, all needy and amazed.

He had thought a great deal about the things he learned about himself when he'd been with Natalie the first time. He'd promised himself that if he were ever fortunate enough to explore with her again, he'd push the boundaries and learn more about himself. And push her to learn more, too.

He wasn't an exhibitionist, had never once fantasized about people watching him in an intimate situation. Until today, when Natalie had blushed at the idea that he was feeding her in front of others. At the time, he'd been so focused on her that he'd forgotten all about where they were. But the instant she'd become aware, the idea of pushing that had been irresistible to him. He'd given
her the option of backing away from it…but she hadn't. Which had told him she wanted to push some barriers, too.

And look where that had led them.

He pushed her blouse open farther. She immediately moved to take it off. “No, leave it on.”

She lifted her head off the carpet. “I suppose asking to get off the floor and find something a bit softer is out of the question, too?”

He laughed, then licked at her nipple, making her gasp. “I was hungry. I never finished my breakfast.”

“Haven't you ever heard of breakfast in bed?”

He rolled on top of her and pressed his hips into hers. “We'll get there.” He shoved her skirt up. She shoved his pants down. He groaned as her hands skimmed his bare backside, then groaned in frustration when he realized one little thing they'd forgotten. “We missed a pit stop on the way here.”

Her head was tilted back, her eyes shut as she ground her hips up into his. So it took her a second to respond. “Pit stop?”

Her hips tucked into his too damn well. “Condoms. We need some. Many. Now.”

She laughed and groaned at the same time, as they both kept moving against each other, almost desperately. “It's okay.”

“No, it's really not okay.” He pushed her into the carpet, shoving her skirt higher, knowing he should be pulling it back down, instead.

“Oh God,” she whimpered when his hands brushed over her silk panties.

“Exactly.”

“Take them. Off.” She arched into his probing fingers. “Now.”

“But—”

She grabbed his face and kissed him, then whispered, “I'm on the Pill.”

That stopped him. “Since when?”

Her cheeks bloomed and he grinned, knowing it was full of smugness, yet not caring. It brought the defensive, cocky light to her own gorgeous eyes, and he enjoyed that immensely.

“It had nothing to do with you,” she said. “With this. It was for—”

“Medical reasons?” He slid a finger beneath the elastic band.

She managed a tight nod, then her eyes shut on a long moan of satisfaction, as he slid his finger deep inside her.

“Damn convenient timing,” he said, enjoying himself far too much.

“You can say that again.” She gasped as he pushed more deeply inside her. “Again.”

Jake gladly complied. She was so damn responsive. He loved how she moved at his touch. It was incredibly heady, having this power over her.

Then it hit him. No condoms meant one more barrier removed. In this case, one made of latex. He'd truly feel her, rubbing all wet and tight directly against the full length of him. His body tightened so violently, he felt the rush surge right to the very tip.

Slow down, savor this.
But it was almost impossible to do. He wanted inside her now. Hard, fast, with that powerfully crushing climax he knew would happen an
instant later. Yet, as badly as he wanted that, he wanted to make it last. For both of them.

So he turned his focus to her and recalled what had started this whole thing—this time.

He rolled off her, gently removing her seeking hands and pinning them by her side. He straddled her and pushed their joined hands up until they were on either side of her head. “Keep them there,” he told her as he slid his fingers free.

She said nothing, merely held his gaze in a way that told him she was up for this game, but that she was more than willing to turn the tables at any second. The fact that she might, and that she'd likely succeed, only jacked up the sexual tension.

He opened her blouse fully, then pushed the silk cups of her front-clasp bra completely to either side, fully exposing her to him. He'd done this before, had her submit to him looking at her. As he recalled, they'd both enjoyed that more than a little. Now he wanted to take that to the next level.

“Look how your nipples peak when I look at you.” He lightly brushed his fingertips over first one, then the other, eliciting a soft moan and the sweet pressure of her hips lifting into him. He swallowed hard and pushed on. “You like being looked at, don't you, Natalie.”

She slowly turned her head.

“Yes, you do. Your body doesn't lie.”

“This is different.”

She knew where he was going. And she was right.

“Because I'm pushing you. And we're totally alone.”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving his.

“So the idea that any one of those businessmen in
that restaurant this morning might enjoy looking at you, picturing what your sweet breasts look like beneath that designer silk blouse, with crushed strawberries dripping red, sticky juice all over them…” He let his gaze linger as he slowly looked from one rosy peak to the other, then back to her eyes. “That does nothing to you?”

Her hips were squirming under his, even as she shook her head no. His grin was slow and knowing. “Don't lie to me, Natalie. Here, in this room, or whatever room we're in…we're honest with each other. And more importantly, we're going to be honest with ourselves.” He let his fingers barely whisper over the tips of her breasts, eliciting a strangled moan from her. “We can do anything, say anything…admit anything. And it stays here.” He leaned down and circled one tight, still sticky bud with his tongue, then traced after it with his finger. “Between us.”

She was grinding beneath him now, her eyes sliding closed.

“Look at me, Nat.”

She did. The need and passion all but glazing her brown-sugar eyes close to undid him the rest of the way. But they were going to see this all the way through.

“Imagine yourself back at the restaurant.”

A tentative nod.

“Imagine those men, watching me feed you.”

“Imagine their appreciation of you, how your lips close over my fingers as you suck the fruit from them. Imagine them growing hard as they watch you lick the sugar off me.”

Her hips continued to rock.

“What if you knew you were making them hard?”

She said nothing. But she didn't have to.

“Would that turn you on, Natalie? Would you maybe lick my finger a little longer, pull it deeper into your mouth?” He pressed his finger into her mouth. “Would you purposely go to the ladies' room, making sure you walked past every one of them? Maybe even lick the tip of your finger as you went by?”

She pulled his finger deep into her mouth, sucking on him, her hips pistoning now.

“Would you like it if I followed a moment later? I'd come into the ladies' room, lock the door and take you right on one of the sinks. They'd know exactly what we were doing in there, Natalie. And you would know they were thinking about it with every thrust I made.” He pulled his finger out of her mouth, then pushed it back in. “Would you try not to scream as you came, Natalie?” He leaned down then, close to her mouth, and slowly slid his finger back out. “Or would you want them to hear you come?” He leaned in and slid his tongue deeply into her mouth, taking his wet finger and rubbing it over her nipple.

Her scream filled the back of her throat as she roared over the edge into an almost convulsive orgasm. He kept at it, pushing her over again. Then again, until she trembled limply against him.

He was panting hard, fighting his own climax with everything he had left. He was going to be deep inside her when he came. As deep as she could take him.

She was ripping at him now, clutching at him to fill her. He shoved her skirt the rest of the way to her waist and tore off her panties, then, without waiting, thrust hard into her. She screamed, and he felt her clench around him as she climaxed again. He came instantly.
It was a hard, fast rush, and he gave himself over to it totally. As if he had a choice.

They lay side by side, their bodies sweaty and limp. He had no words to tell her what the gift of her trust meant to him. He was almost afraid to look at her, afraid he'd see embarrassment now at where he'd taken her, what he'd made her understand about herself.

As it turned out, he didn't have to worry about that.

She turned her head to where he'd buried his against her neck and whispered in his ear, “Next time, I sit on top. And I tell the tale.”

He turned his face so it pressed against the fine line of her jaw, already grinning. “Gee,” he said hoarsely, “twist my arm.”

She chuckled, and it was a supremely self-satisfied sound. He decided he rather liked it.

“If you think I'm going to torture you with visions of women watching you, you're wrong. You're a guy. Of course you'd like that.”

He lifted his head now, surprised. “A tad sexist, don't you think?”

“You're saying the idea of knowing you're turning a woman, or women, on in a public place is something you'd have to force yourself to imagine you'd enjoy?” She just looked at him. “I was there this morning. I don't think you're going to sell that one.”

“You know, I've never once done anything like that. In fact, I wasn't even thinking about it being a public place, until you blushed.”

She promptly blushed again. Which he enjoyed the hell out of, considering what they'd just done and discovered together.

“So you want that scenario?” She paused, pondering.
“Nope. Too easy a sell. Not far enough outside your comfort zone. You took to the game far too easily today.”

It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her this wasn't a game, not to him. But the fact he'd even thought it, and so quickly, so naturally, stopped him. This
was
just for fun, he reminded himself. He could handle this and not get attached. It was the thrill of discovery he was attracted to here, not her. Not in that way, anyhow. Because he couldn't. That would ruin everything. So he just wouldn't allow himself to go there.

Even as he shoved the whole thing out of his mind, the first teensy thread of worry began to form.

“So what will it be?” he asked, getting his head firmly back into the game. Such as it was.

Now her smile was downright wicked. “Oh, I don't know. It will take some time to figure out.”

His heart leapt inside his chest.
Because of the sex,
he told himself. What else would it be? “So you'll see me again?”

“If we can work it out.”

He wanted to leap up and do a dance on the bed. Instead he lifted his head enough to run his tongue along the shell of her ear. “When do you have to leave today?”

She craned her neck, looking for a clock. “Four. I've got to turn my rental in before I board.”

Jake felt around behind him until he found the linen napkin he'd filched the fruit in. He plucked a blueberry from the folds, amazed they hadn't smashed all the fruit. He rolled it between his fingers in front of her face. “What say we give breakfast in bed a try?”

Her eyes widened a bit as she watched him roll the berry back and forth. “I thought you had a meeting.”

“I'll reschedule. Now, breakfast in bed?” He put the berry between her breasts and began slowly rolling it down the center of her body. “I'm still hungry. And I'm thinking this would taste really good dipped in you.”

Her head dropped back and her hips actually undulated. “I give up,” she groaned in pleasure. “You're way better at this than me. Who knew cowboys were so imaginative?”

He continued rolling the berry over her belly, nudging it into, then back out of her navel. “Who knew lawyers could be so…responsive.” She gasped when he let the berry tickle through the first few curly wisps. “Why don't you let me lead today. That will give you until next time to think up a few things. Research a few…briefs.”