Ransom (39 page)

I threw my arms around Lexie, hugging her to my body as tears from the past threatened to spill. I swallowed a few times doing my best to pull it all back in, forget about Ma, and the hell that had become my life after she had left me, left us.

Then our lips came together and I was kissing Lexie. Though I had kissed her in what seemed a lifetime ago, this time it was on purpose. No alcohol to dull my senses or anything that prevented me from knowing exactly what I was doing. As our lips moved together it felt like I was home, like I belonged with her.

 
Her mouth was cool on mine and she tasted of fresh air and something sweet. She sank her hands into my hair, tugging me even closer, kissing me deeper. Her tongue searched my mouth in earnest. I grabbed her hips, until her pelvis was pressed tight against an erection so hard that it felt like it would split my zipper. I lifted her up and onto me. Her legs straddled my waist as I searched her mouth with my tongue.
 

All I could think was how I needed her more than anything in my life. But what I wanted from her now was nothing like ever before. There was no animalistic need to take her, it was more than a desire for release, so much more. I had no idea what it felt like to make love to a woman, but for some reason that very thought traveled through my mind. I didn’t just want to have sex with Lexie, I wanted something more meaningful.

 
I broke away for a second, staring into her face. I ran a thumb down the line of her jaw, groaning at the feel of her soft skin, and the cold that still chilled her cheek. Lexie gazed at me with glazed eyes that were filled with a desire that seemed to match mine. Even so I still needed confirmation, that said that she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

“Do you want this Lexie?” I asked, my voice husky with need.

“More than I’ve wanted anything in my life,” she whispered.
 

It was all I needed. I supported her body with my hands as I strode down the hall.

“Not there,” Lexie said, shaking her head. “I want to be in front of the fireplace.”

I nodded. I didn’t care where we were, only that I had to be inside her, feel her warmth surround me, connected in a way that only a man and woman could. I carried her to the area rug in front of the fireplace. It was pure white and shaggy soft, and seemed to be made for having sex. I was surprised I hadn’t realized that before. I laid Lexie down on the carpet, ripping off my shirt before I laid down on top of her. I slid a hand under the hem of her shirt, then the silky fabric of her bra, until my hand captured her bare breast. I moaned as I felt her nipple go hard against my fingertips. I tugged on it until she arched her back and drew in a quick breath.
 

Hungry to see her full body for the first time, I tugged her shirt up and over her head then tossed it to the side. I took a moment to drink her in, the half moon of her breasts above her purple lace bra, the soft dip of her stomach, the way the bones of her pelvis jutted above the waistline of her jeans. I skimmed my hands down the curves of her waist; her skin felt like velvet.

 
Slowly, with patience that I hardly felt capable of, I moved back up the length of her torso. I slipped her bra straps down off her shoulders, then reached behind her, unclasping it with deft hands. Lexie shifted under me, as eager as I was to have the only material still separating our naked flesh, pulled away. With a quick snap I tossed the bra to the side. Lexie gasped in response, her eyes went wide with enthusiasm.
 

Her breasts were perfect, soft mounds of cream with pink nipples, hard and begging to be licked and sucked. I flicked my tongue across the taut peaks then nipped softly, she sucked in air in a rapid inhalation. My mouth continued to work on her breasts, my hands fondling what my mouth wasn’t touching. She pushed up against me, wanting me to take more of her, something I was only too happy to do. When I felt her hand at the waistband of my jeans, working to open the button, I released a guttural sound from low in my throat. I let go of her, long enough to unbutton my jeans. With her help they slipped down my hips. The release was instant and a little overwhelming. I wasn’t just hard for her, I throbbed, pulsing in a way that I had never felt before.
 

Her hand gripped me before I could do another thing, gliding rhythmically in a way that had me moving in time with her stroke. Even with my jeans off there still seemed to be too many clothes between us. I tore at my boxers, managing to get them off, even as Lexie continued to pleasure me. When I started to undo the snap of her jeans I was brought back to reality with a sickening thud. I didn’t have my wallet with me, so no condoms. Before I had met Lexie I had always carried a condom in my pocket, just in case I got lucky, because when it came to sex I believed in the boy scout motto “be prepared”.

“I need to get a condom,” I said, despising that I had to stop the flow for something that was both important, but also a pain in the ass right then.

“I have it covered,” she said with a seductive grin that seemed to say that this whole encounter hadn’t been by chance after all.
 

I loved it.

Without releasing her grip on me, she slipped her free hand into her jeans pocket, and pulled out a small foil square that looked a lot like salvation to me. I palmed it, then cried out in pleasure, as she quickened her moves, bringing me to the edge of ecstasy. It had been so long since I’d had a woman’s hands on me, I didn’t have the self control that I normally had. Add in that it was Lexie’s hands, and I was almost undone. Not willing to finish before her, I gently pulled out of her grasp then went to work on getting the remainder of her clothes out of the way. She wiggled her hips until she was out of her jeans. I threw them onto the rapidly growing pile of our clothes.
 

I kissed her belly button, then tugged the waist band of her panties with my teeth, inhaling the scent of her sex and arousal. I eased down her purple silk panties, a match to her bra, using my hands and teeth. As soon as her underpants were down to her thighs, I ran the tip of my tongue against the folds of her sex, already slick and ready, confirming that she liked what I was doing. I spread her wide, kissing her in a way that made her shudder. She released a loud gasp then let her legs fall to the sides, giving me absolute access to every part of her that made her distinctly female. I rolled her panties down the length of her beautiful legs, until they were off. As soon as they were gone, I ran my thumb across her, feeling that she was swollen and dewy with need. I knew that with a little care in that tiny area, I could easily put her over the edge.
 

Still fingering her, I glanced up at her face. Her eyes were lidded with wanting, but she still had me in her sights. I moved up, unable to resist another taste of her full lips, puckered with lust. Our mouths worked together, this time there was more urgency in the kiss, as if neither of us could wait to finish.
 

I worked my hand between her legs, easing in and out of the wetness that said she was as ready as I was. She moaned into my mouth when I skimmed just the right spot, deep inside her. I made it a point to go back over it again and again, until her pelvis worked against my hand steadily, grinding against me, demanding to be satiated. I was only too happy to oblige.

“Ransom,” she said in a panting whimper, moments later.
 

I almost came at the sound of my name mixed with the eroticism of her climax. She clenched rhythmically around my fingers, her body shuddering with release as she crested, rocking her hips against my hand until the orgasm tapered away. As far as I was concerned, it was just the beginning of the pleasure I planned to give her.

29. LEXIE

I had known when Ransom’s birthday was, well before I had ever met him. Which was just one more reversal in how things were supposed to go. In the time that we had been in the cottage we had talked so much that I was quite sure I knew Ransom better than most people that I had considered friends. Though I had known that his father had been horrible to him, Ransom never went into specifics, but it was easy to read between the lines and know that his life had been hell. Especially after his mother had been murdered. And it was in one of these conversations when Ransom was laid bare, that he had mentioned the Lego set that his mother had once given him.

I considered Ransom a rugged kind of guy, all hard lines and muscles, but when he had spoken about that Christmas morning his face had changed. I didn’t have to work very hard to see the innocent little boy he had once been. The next day I had started on my quest to find him a similar set. I knew it wasn’t exactly the same, but I wanted to do something special for him because as far as I could tell nobody had really given a shit about him for most of his life. Though he didn’t want for food, clothes or a roof over his head, Ransom’s life had lacked one very important ingredient, love. It brought his selfless connection with his brother Gabriel into perspective, and how without Gabriel in his life he didn’t really know how to function. I guessed if you only loved one thing in your life, and it was suddenly snatched away, it would feel a lot like a living hell.

I had searched online, managing to find a complete set for sale that matched his description, luckily the vendor had expedited the shipment and I had got the set the day before his birthday. I had hoped that he would have been happy with the gift, but I hadn’t predicted how thrilled or even how emotional it would be. But now after all was said and done, it had been probably one of the smartest things I had ever done, since the reward was far better than anything I could have predicted.

Ransom leaned over me, his gaze smoldered with longing, and it was all for me. Unlike the first time we’d had sex, Ransom was sober and completely aware about what he was doing. It only made me want him more. His shoulders were all rangy muscles, more defined with the hours he had spent working out in the gym that Dad had set up in the cottage and had never used. I hated exercising, always had, but that had rapidly changed when Ransom had started working out. I had suffered the treadmill more times than I ever would have imagined, just so I could be voyeuristic.
 

Seeing him slick with sweat, his muscles rippling and expanding with use, made me want to do things with him that I never would have thought of before. The attraction I felt for Ransom wasn’t like anything I had experienced before. It wasn’t like the crush I’d had on Mitch, it was something richer, more grown-up and it had made me silly enough that I had actually gone out and bought a box of condoms. Now I carried one in my pocket all the time. The word slut had worked its way into my mind the first time I had pocketed it, but I ignored the judgmental voice in my head that said nice girls didn’t carry condoms in their pockets, because nice girls didn’t always have amazing sex either.

Ransom’s fingers worked in time with my body, that was responding without any need for directions. And when the feeling washed over me, the same way it had the first time we had been together, it seemed even more intense than it had been before, as if I was coming apart with pleasure. He was so beautiful in a manly way. It still baffled me that he actually wanted me at all. People that looked like him didn’t give a second look at people like me. Yet he had given me a second glance, then a third and so many more. I had felt the weight of his stare on me more times than I could count, and enjoyed it so much more than words could express.
 

His perfect lips, soft and sensual, curved into a smile when I instinctively said his name. Ransom’s eyes never left my face, watching me intently as wave after wave of pleasure surged through me. The way he gazed down at me made me feel as if my satisfaction mattered more to him than his own. I fell back against the rug, needing to get my bearings after the force of it all. And if I had thought that was the end of it I was wrong, judging by the gleam in his eyes, he had more tricks up his sleeve.
 

Ransom kissed me gently, with tenderness that felt almost too much to accept, because I was a liar and a conniving bitch. I didn’t want the words of shame to cut into a moment that was as closed to perfect as seemed possible, but it seemed I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Even as my body responded to the kisses that Ransom trailed down the length of my stomach, a voice screamed how I didn’t deserve the pleasure he was giving me, didn’t deserve anything at all.
 

Before, being responsible for Mom’s death was on the top of my roster of sins, now being a manipulative witch who was playing Ransom, was number one on the list. But even as the thoughts trailed through my brain, I pushed them away. Though it might have started that way, at some point it had changed. Somewhere without me knowing it at all, everything had shifted. If I hadn’t known better I might have said I was falling in love with Ransom.

I felt his tongue, hot and wet, graze the flesh of my inner thigh and all thoughts other then being right there with Ransom were swept away. There would be other times to beat myself up. I fell back into the pillow of gratification that he seemed to be an expert at giving. He nudged my legs apart a little more, then sank into the space that made me a woman. His tongue worked over the sensitive flesh, licking and tugging with his lips, until once again the feeling of pure unadulterated desire rushed through every nerve fiber of my being. I didn’t think that I could climax again so soon, but Ransom was quickly showing me that I knew less than nothing about sex, and my body’s response.
 

When his tongue dipped inside me, I cried out in pleasure. My hands fisted in his hair, as my pelvis moved against him. He quickened his movements, seamlessly knowing exactly what I needed, wanted, even if I hadn’t known myself. He spread me even wider using his whole mouth, sucking and prodding, focusing his attention on the most sensitive parts of me. He continued to play my body with his mouth, tongue and fingers, like I was an instrument custom made for him.