Indulgent Pleasures (27 page)
Read Indulgent Pleasures Online
Authors: Karen Erickson
Wouldn’t that be fabulous? She’d be thrilled to get a job with any New York magazine publisher. It had been her dream since she was a teen.
She just wasn’t quite sure if an article such as this would be the one thing to push her into that realm.
“Let me write the article, Zoe. You can give me input, we can work on this together and when it comes out, it’ll be the biggest scoop of our lives.” He touched her again, his fingers skimming across her cheek, brushing against her lower lip and she closed her eyes for the briefest moment, already damp and aching for him.
God, she was so weak when it came to a good fuck.
“She wants to write one more article before we close out her end of the column. It was my suggestion.”
“Perfect. She can write her little article and then we’ll follow it up with our expose. It’ll all fall into place.” He kissed her, his mouth wet, his tongue insistent and Zoe greeted it with her own.
He broke the kiss and she groaned at the loss. “They won’t know what hit them. The media blitz will be extraordinary. Superstar baseball player’s sex life wide open for all to read. Everyone will have a field day with it.”
“But what about Stephanie? Won’t this hurt her?” She tilted her head, allowed Caleb better access as he brushed kisses down her neck.
“She knew what she was getting into, screwing around with someone famous. Then taking it a step further and writing about their sexual antics, getting them published for fuck’s sake. I think she’s a bit more ruthless than you think.”
The man could rationalize anything, she knew this. He could also make her feel so good, like he was doing right now. His hands skimmed her body, sliding over her breasts while he kissed her. He reached down, palming her sex and she moaned against his mouth.
“I want to fuck you right here on your desk, Z.” His tongue thrust into her mouth and she imagined his cock doing similar things to her pussy.
A shiver moved through her and she nodded. “You locked the door, right?”
“Fuck yeah, I did. I’ve been thinking about this since I got here this morning.” He nudged his hard cock against her belly and she sat on the edge of the desk, anxious to get him inside her.
“Fuck me, Caleb. Please,” she begged, breathless. He was the only man to ever make her beg and she liked it. Liked him. Why, she wasn’t quite sure but he made her body feel so good.
“It’s gonna be perfect, Z. We’re gonna be perfect. I can feel it.” Caleb undid his belt, worked on the snap and then the zipper of his pants. Within seconds, his cock was hanging from his fly, semi-erect and she went down on her knees, ready to suck him off.
He always liked it when she sucked him off.
“It is,” she agreed, her fingers circling his cock. It was long but on the thin side and he knew what to do with it, though sometimes he was a tad selfish.
That was okay. She had fingers. If he started thrusting too fast, she always played with her clit and helped her orgasm along.
“We’re gonna conquer the world, right sweetheart?” He gripped her hair with both hands, bringing her face closer to his dick and she wondered if he was referring to them personally or professionally.
As her lips wrapped around his cock and she heard his muttered curse from up above, she had a feeling it was more about the professional relationship.
And right now, that was okay with her.
Chapter Twenty-Five
No matter how much she tried, no matter how long she stared at the screen of her laptop, Stephanie couldn’t get into writing that final article for Zoe.
She’d planned on detailing the night Justin blindfolded her, how far he’d taken it and how spectacular that entire night had been. The night had started on such a sour note and then ended with a bang.
Quite a bang. At least on her part.
A little smile curved her lips and she shook her head. Okay, she could admit Justin’s night had ended with a bang as well.
Every word she typed felt as if it had been pulled forecefully from her gut. And she’d barely written three paragraphs. At the rate she was going, she’d finish the article in about two weeks.
She needed to get it to Zoe in two days.
With a sigh, Stephanie turned away from the laptop. She couldn’t stand looking at it anymore. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, the ache inside that had been nagging at her all day only intensifying with her every move.
Only one thing could ease the ache and he wasn’t here. He was out of town, working at his new job, probably growing more distant from her with every day that passed.
You said you wanted to distance yourself from him. This is exactly what you wanted.
Yeah, right. She was such a liar. He was growing distant and it was all her fault. She’d blown it that night and couldn’t get back in his good graces no matter how hard she’d tried.
Well, not that she’d been able to try too hard. He’d been busy getting ready for his new job, packing and then eventually leaving within three days of her last seeing him. He’d been on the road ever since and that had been almost two weeks ago.
She missed him terribly. Realized that night she’d made a mistake and should’ve never told him she wasn’t ready to take their relationship further.
The guilts had gotten to her and made her react that way. Now that she was going to be guilt free, back working in the department that she’d told him about in the first place, well she felt better. Ready to tell Justin she
did
want to be with him.
Maybe she could even admit she was in love with him.
Stephanie sighed, staring blankly at the kitchen sink. She wanted him here, wanted to talk to him, laugh with him, kiss him, strip him naked.
Unfortunately, she had no clue when he was coming home.
Her phone rang, jolting her from her reverie and she went to it, checking the caller ID. Eagerly she snatched it up and answered it when she saw who was on the line.
“I was just thinking about you,” she greeted, happiness coursing through her veins, making her stomach jump with a combination of nerves and pleasure.
“Really? I’ve been thinking about you, too. I haven’t called you in a few days and I wanted to apologize.” His deep voice resonated within her, making her warm, renewing that incessant ache.
“It’s okay, I understand. You’ve been busy.”
“I shouldn’t be too busy for you, babe.” He paused, as if he realized what he just said. “Well, you know what I mean.”
“I’m glad you said that, Justin,” she said softly, wanting him to know how she felt about him in return. “I’ve missed you so much.”
He was a quiet for a moment, as if her statement shocked him. “I’ve missed you, too.”
He sounded cautious, as if he didn’t quite want to admit that.
And she hated that cautiousness. Beat herself up all over again at being the one to cause that unease in him.
“How’s it going with your new job? I saw you on TV a couple of nights ago.”
“Ah hell, you did? How’d I do? Be honest. It’s been crazy, hard work actually. I never knew how difficult it was to stand in front of a camera and talk. They all make it look easy.” He sounded so full of doubt, so worried about the impression he made and she found it endearing.
“You were wonderful.” He had been. So handsome, so composed, talking to the other players with ease as if he’d been interviewing since the day he was born. They’d opened up to him, laughing and joking within seconds of starting the interviews and she’d marveled at how he
made it look so easy.
“You’re just saying that.”
“No, I mean it. You were great.”
“Well, thanks. I know I could use some polish but I’m trying. That’s all I can do right?”
“Right,” she laughed, loving the sound of his voice, wishing that he was closer, with her.
She wanted him with a fierceness that overwhelmed her.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in New York. I’ll be here through the weekend.”
“Ooh, I’m jealous. I’ve never been to New York.”
“You should come see me.”
“I should,” she agreed, meaning it.
“You want to? I’d fly you in on Friday and send you home on Sunday so you could be back in time for work.”
Excitement bubbled up inside her. “Are you serious?”
“Absolutely.” His voice lowered, reminding her of how he sounded when he whispered to her in bed. “I miss you. I want you here with me. I have to work Saturday afternoon but I could get you into the game. That is, if you want to go.”
“I’d love to go. That sounds great. And Justin?”
“Yeah?”
“I’d like to—talk to you. Regarding what we talked about before you left.”
“Really?” Hope lit his voice.
“Definitely. I think I made a mistake.”
“You did? How so?”
“Well, couldn’t we talk about it this weekend?” She didn’t want to tell him this over the phone. She’d rather say it face to face.
“I don’t think I can wait till the weekend, Stephanie. I want to hear what you have to say now.” He sounded nervous and she knew if he’d said something similar, she’d worry the entire time until she actually saw him.
She sighed, pausing to gather the courage. “When you talked to me before, you caught me unaware and I was scared. I didn’t know how to answer you so I tried to put you off and I’m sorry.”
“Yeah?” Goodness, he wasn’t making this easy.
Not that she could blame him.
“Yes. I’m sorry. And if you’ll still have me, I’d like to try and work this out. See where this relationship takes us next.” She swallowed hard, the seconds that paused beneath them feeling as if they passed for an eternity.
“Oh I’ll still have you Stephanie.” His voice lowered, smoothing over her nerve endings. Easing her fears and making her melt. “I’ll have you any way I want you.”
“Promises, promises,” she murmured, a little smile tickling the corner of her lips. Relief flooded her at the familiar teasing, the sexual promise that hung between them.
“So tell me, what are you wearing right now?”
She glanced down at herself. “You want the truth or what you really want to hear?”
He chuckled. “I want the truth.”
“Boring old sweats and a tank top.”
“Color?”
“The sweats are blue, the tank top red.”
“Of course.”
“Of course what?”
“You always wear red. It’s your signature color.”
Stephanie liked the fact that he noticed. Not every man she’d dated had paid attention. How they could’ve missed it, she didn’t know. “It is my favorite color.”
“I figured.”
“What’s your favorite color?”
“Whatever you’re wearing.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere.” She laughed.
“Mmm, so I’ve heard. Tell me what you would’ve said you were wearing.”
“Oh, I would’ve said nothing at all.” She smiled and wandered back into her bedroom, plopping down in the middle of her unmade bed.
A strangled choke sounded over the phone. “I like that version better than the truth.”
“No surprise there. So what are you wearing?”
“You want the truth or what you really want to hear?” Justin threw her words back at her.
“The truth.”
“My underwear. I’m about ready to go to bed.”
“What color?”
“Pervert.” He chuckled again. “Black boxer briefs.”
All the air seemed to leave her at the image of Justin sitting in his bed, nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs covering his magnificent body.
“I wish I was there with you,” she admitted in a small voice.
“I do too, babe.” He sounded gruff and more than a little aroused.
“If I were there I would tear off your underwear and have my way with you.”
“What would you do?”
She paused, wondering how far he wanted to take this.
“Come on, Stephanie. Tell me what you want to do to me. Give it to me in graphic detail,” Justin encouraged, his voice even gruffer.
Taking a deep breath, she decided to go for it. “I would slowly pull off your underwear and take your big cock into my mouth.”
“Yeah? And then what would you do?”
“Suck you off. Run my tongue all over your cock, suck you deep until you came down my throat.” The words left her in a raspy whisper and she swallowed hard, surprised at her boldness.
“Shit babe, you’re making me hard just saying those things.”
“Really?” She wasn’t surprised. Her nipples tingled beneath her sports bra and she bet if she tested between her legs she’d find herself wet.
“Hell, yeah. I’d give anything to have you here so I could sink inside your wet pussy. I’d fuck you until you screamed my name.”
“Justin.” Her protest was weak and she sank against the pile of pillows beneath her head, her hand wandering to cup her left breast. The nipple was beaded hard, throbbing with need.