Scalded (4 page)

“That’s why all the parties? One almost every night except for tonight, right?”

“How did you know that? I never said a word about my schedule.” She thought furiously, but could recall no conversation in which her parties came up.

His shoulder lifted in an unrepentant shrug. She was really starting to hate the gesture when he spoke. “I looked through the planner in the kitchen this morning. Sue me, I’m a cop. We’re paid to be nosy.”

“You arrogant jackass.” All the laughter fled. “What gave you the right to go through my personal papers? How would you feel if I breached your privacy that way?”

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“Go ahead. I have a feeling it’s not going to matter in the long run. Damn Sky anyway.”

The last was muttered in a strange tone that didn’t leave itself open to questions, even as she desperately wanted to know what the hell he was talking about.

He didn’t say anything for a matter of minutes. Just sat there, looking at her with a strange intensity in his golden-brown eyes, his lean runner’s build completely at ease in the formal setting. A thick strand of mocha-colored hair fell over one eye.

“What?” She tried tugging her hand back, but the man managed to keep his grip tight without hurting her. “We’re in the middle of a fight.”

“Good,” he stated with irritating calmness. “Fighting means we get to have make-up sex. I hear it’s the best kind.”

“You want to fight with me in order to have sex?” Men really were from another planet.

“I think it’s time I got a better look at those toys of yours.” His low voice sent shivers of need down her spine and straight between her thighs. Without looking away Reed raised his free hand in the air. “Check, please.”

Halli wondered what the hell she’d gotten herself into and why she looked forward to getting into even more.

* * * * *

Reed had to force himself to concentrate on driving on the way back to Halli’s. His cock was so hard he was afraid if he bumped into something it would break. What was it with this woman that he couldn’t get enough of her? Every other woman he’d known had been just a really good fuck buddy—fun, enjoyable, hot in bed and then
adios
.

But not this woman. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to spend.

Dangerous, Reed! Very dangerous!

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But he was obsessed now with seeing the toys she sold and finding out how they worked. Oh, he’d played before with some of his women who had a toy or two. He loved watching them pleasure themselves with vibrators as much as he enjoyed using them on them. One of his playmates had a thing for his handcuffs, and he’d finally bought her a pair of soft, fleece-lined ones to keep from hurting her wrists. Then there were the nipples clamps his most recent fun friend had loved. When he sucked on her engorged nipples, the tight clamps surrounding them, he almost came from that act alone.

But now he was fascinated to see what some of the things were that had fallen from the plastic container in Rick’s driveway.

“You’re not saying much,” he told Halli as he followed her up the stairs.

“I thought we already talked.” She unlocked the door and pushed it open. “What you want now is action, right?”

Well, okay. Yeah. That’s what he wanted. But even when his women knew this was a relationship going nowhere there was always a little play, a little slap and tickle, some joking. It occurred to him—and not so pleasantly—that Halli might be the female version of himself. Fuck ’em and leave ’em. Why did he find that so disturbing?

“Take off your jacket and tie,” she called as she headed for her bedroom. “Get comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

Reed dropped his tie and jacket on a chair and loosened the collar of his shirt. Once again he looked around the main area of her apartment. Everything was pretty basic but Halli had added some colorful and whimsical touches in throw pillows and framed prints and little odd pieces of statuary. He was about to head into the bedroom to see what she was doing when she reappeared wearing only a short satin robe.

“How about some wine? I always like wine with sex.”

“Wine? Yeah, sure. That would be great.”

She pulled a bottle of white from the fridge, filled two goblets and handed him one.

Touching her glass to his lightly, she said, “To fun with toys.”

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He nodded. “I’ll drink to that.”

Halli studied him over the rim of her glass. “Did you have some idea where you wanted to start?”

Reed shrugged. “How about a better look at some of the things that fell out in Rick’s driveway?”

“Okay.” Her lips curved in a mischievous smile. “I have just the thing to start with, too. But first you have to take off your clothes. No fair being dressed. Come on.”

She grabbed the plastic tub with her free hand and beckoned him to follow her into the bedroom. Placing the tub on the bed and her wine on the bedside table, she turned to him and began unbuttoning his shirt.

“I can do that.” He reached for a button but Halli brushed his hands away.

“Uh-uh. My toys. My rules.”

Reed stood there, his cock pulsing, while she slowly removed his shirt and tossed it aside. Her fingers danced through the curls of hair on his chest. When she found his nipples and scraped her fingernails over them his entire body tensed, fighting the heat rushing through him. And when she closed her lips over one nipple and sucked he had to pull her head away.

“Careful, sugar. I want this show to last for more than one act.”

“Oh, it will.” She looked up at him, carnal heat flashing in her eyes. “Trust me on that.”

With the same careful deliberation Halli undid the button on his slacks and lowered the zipper, pushing the fabric down his thighs along with his boxers.

“Lose the shoes,” she whispered.

He toed off his shoes and kicked away slacks, boxers and socks. Halli’s eyes fastened on his cock. She licked her lips and his legs trembled. When she dropped to her knees, took his shaft in one hand and ran the tip of her tongue over the swollen 29

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head he groaned. Then her other hand cupped his sac and played her fingers over its surface his heartbeat altered to an erratic syncopation.

“Halli,” he begged. “Be merciful.”

“I am, honey. Don’t you worry. Just give me a minute here.”

She stroked his cock from root to tip, lapping at the sensitive head as she did so. At the moment he feared he’d lose it altogether she rose gracefully to her feet, reached for the tub and flipped it open. What she pulled out looked like either a very tiny dog collar or a very small bracelet.

“What’s that?”

“This,” she grinned, the heat in her eyes all but burning him, “is a cock ring.”

Reed’s eyes widened. “A what?”

“It’s to help you, um, stay erect for a longer period of time.”

She was down on her knees again, this time fitting the strip of leather around the base of his cock, threading it through the buckle and pulling it tight. He was afraid for a moment it would hurt, but the minimal amount of pain produced an incredible sensation of pleasure. And he suddenly felt as if he could stay hard until the next morning.

Halli rose to her feet and gave him a feathery kiss. “Slows down the blood flow to your magnificent cock so it stays hard longer. Now I get to play in the game.”

She shrugged off the robe, tossing it to the side, and pulled three items from the tub. Pulling back the covers, she moved the tub to the far side of the bed before sprawling in the center, the three items resting on her stomach.

“Time for the next demonstration,” she announced.

Halli was equal parts of nervousness and arousal. She’d used a couple of her toys with men a few times but somehow it had all seemed more mechanical than what was 30

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happening here. There was some kind of connection between her and Reed that she didn’t understand, and wasn’t sure she wanted to.

“This,” she held up her best-selling vibrator, “is supposed to feel as good inside me as you do.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Supposed to? You have these amazing toys and you don’t play with them, all night every night?”

She tried to make her shoulders do a casual shrug, but it came out more like a full body jerk. “I have a few control issues.” Then hurried on to the next item. Anything to change the course of this way-too-personal conversation.

She picked up the next item and held it up. “The butterfly.” And the final toy. “A mechanical feather.”

“Feather?” His eyes were curious. “What do you do with it?”

“When I’m good and wet, and really ready, you run it up and down either side of my clit.” Her pulse was racing now as she recalled how her clients boasted about its effects. “People say it will drive me nuts.”

“Oh, it does? Well, we’ll definitely have to use it. But let’s see how ready you are for anything.”

Ready, ready, ready.
She was dripping cream and the tiny nerves inside her cunt were firing in rapid sequence.

Reed knelt between her legs, bent them so her feet were planted flat and bent down.

His mouth closed over her clit, jolting her, and tiny tremors vibrated inside her channel.

He sucked on her hard, drawing that very sensitive bud between his lips until she cried out with pleasure.

“Now,” he said, sitting back on his heels and picking up the butterfly. “Tell me what this is all about.”

“You put it right here,” she touched her clitoris, “and push the little knob on its body. It has a miniature battery inside that makes it vibrate.”

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His eyes darkened as he looked at the little toy. “What I’d like, sugar, is to put this on you in just the right place and then watch you enjoy yourself with that almost real-looking dildo.” He leaned forward and pinched her nipples. “Will you do that for me?”

Halli had never done this before, much less with an audience but with Reed she was willing to try anything. Tamping down her sudden nervousness she nodded and reached for the toy, clutching it in both hands while Reed licked every inch of her slit and swirled his tongue around the hard knot of sensation. God! If he kept this up much longer she wouldn’t need the dildo. She might not even need him.

But just as she was ready to close her eyes and give herself over to the feeling, Reed pulled at her clit and carefully put the butterfly in place. In a moment it began to hum, the vibrations rocketing through her.

“Now, Halli.” His voice was so thick with carnal need she almost didn’t recognize it. “But don’t make yourself come. Do not come, you hear me?”

“No. I mean, yes, I hear you. Don’t come.”

She turned on the dildo and began to move it around her inner and outer cunt lips, trying to time her movements somehow with the vibrations of the butterfly. Usually when she did this she closed her eyes to lose herself in the enjoyment, but she seemed unable to tear her gaze away from Reed’s. She watched him grasp his cock and slowly stroke himself from the edge of the cock ring to the dark head and back again. A dark flush of passion stained his cheeks and his breathing took on an erratic rhythm.

Whenever Halli felt her orgasm begin to rise she backed off, ran the dildo up and down the inside of her thighs or across her tummy. But it was getting much more difficult with each hum of the butterfly, each pass of the dildo. When Reed picked up the feather she nearly opened her mouth to beg him not to. She was so close it was getting harder and harder to hold back.

He stroked it up and down her pussy lips, almost purring with satisfaction as he watched her move the dildo and saw her liquid spilling from her.

“Your cunt is so pretty,” he breathed. “Dark pink and soaking wet.”

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He dropped the feather, slid one finger inside her and withdrew it, her honey glistening on the skin. Very slowly and deliberately, still stroking himself, he licked every bit of moisture from it.

“You taste like peaches, Halli. I’ve always been partial to peaches.” He dipped his finger and licked it again.

“Please, Reed,” Halli begged. “I need to come.” Her hips were moving as her body sought relief.

He bent low and lapped at her again, taking the dildo from her and pushing it to the side. Fingers not quite steady he unbuckled the cock ring and dropped it, also.

“Condom,” he growled.

“In the tub.” She reached for the plastic tub at her side, tugging it over in her haste and fishing a foil packet from it. She held it out to Reed. “Ribbed. They’re great.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Please hurry.”

He left the butterfly on as he pressed inside her, moving in barely an inch at a time until she screamed, “Reed! Now!”

One heavy roll of his hips and he was home, the head of his cock touching the mouth of her womb. Halli wrapped her legs around him and locked herself to him. The little ribs on the condom teased the inner flesh of her pussy as Reed hammered into her again and again, the butterfly sending waves of shivers through her.

They pitched over the edge together, the climax reaching up and grabbing them both at the same time with unexpected hunger. One minute they were caught up in the rhythm, the next spasms ripped through them, shaking them with incredible force.

They tumbled through space together, clutching each other, Reed’s cock throbbing inside her, her hot liquid bathing her as the walls of her cunt squeezed him again and again.

At last, spent, they collapsed in each other’s arms. Reed’s warm breath whispered over her neck as he nuzzled her. When she could make her muscles work, she unlocked 33

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her legs from around his body and let them fall limply to the bed. Reaching between them, she managed to shut off the butterfly.

Reed pushed himself up and slid slowly from the hot grasp of her vaginal walls.

Carefully easing from the bed, he went to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. Halli heard water running, then he was back. She barely had strength to move, so she was glad when he just knocked the tub to the side, tumbling its contents to the floor, and climbed into bed beside her.