Bachelor Unleashed (7 page)

When her coat was off, he tossed it to the other side of the backseat and his gaze slid down the length of her outfit, which wasn’t much. What little it was seemed to have his attention.

“I like blue,” he said, running his fingers along the hem of her dress. “Do you?”

“Yes. It’s my favorite color. And these boots look good on you.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“So tell me,” he said, easing closer to her after removing his own coat and lowering his head to whisper huskily in her ear. “What does a man like me have to do to get you out of a dress like this?”

She grinned and looked at him. “Umm, I don’t know, Mr. Kane. You’ve always seemed to be a very innovative kind of guy. What do you have in mind?”

She couldn’t help but take note that her hand was still on his thigh, still in contact with his throbbing erection. For some reason she couldn’t let go just yet.

“What I have in mind is stripping you out of every stitch of clothing you have on. Here and now. What do you think about that?”

She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Umm, not sure that’s a good idea.”

“But you would consider it?”

She smiled upon seeing the challenging glean in his eyes. “Let’s just say I don’t have a problem with you trying to convince me that I should consider it.”

He didn’t say anything for a minute, as if giving her words some thought. “I hope you know I can be very convincing when I want to be.”

“I’m very much aware of that.”

She knew Xavier well enough to understand her words were like a carrot dangling in his face. A carrot he intended to devour. This was the most fun she’d had lately. The summer months had been a complete bore to her and autumn hadn’t been much better. When Natalie and Donovan had returned from their honeymoon, the amorous newlyweds hadn’t socialized a lot, preferring to stay inside behind closed doors, probably burning the sheets. So with no lover to sleep with, no best friend to talk to, Farrah had had a lot of free time on her hands and had wondered if she’d done the right thing in breaking things off with Xavier.

But then, all it had taken was running into Dustin, his wife and daughter at the mall one Sunday evening in mid-October to recall why it had been the only thing she could do in order to protect herself and not get hurt by any man again.

“So what do you think about the view?”

She looked past Xavier to glance out the window. It was hard to believe they were in a car, riding down the Hudson on a barge. If he had deliberately set out to impress her, he had achieved that goal. “The view is beautiful. You definitely know how to wow a girl. I’m impressed.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.”

“Enough to let me take this dress off you?”

She shook her head smiling. “You won’t give up, will you?”

“Not until I have you naked.”

There was a determination in his tone that made shivers run up and down her spine. Heat began spreading through her stomach, and she felt a tingling sensation take life between her legs. She wondered if he had any idea just what was happening to her, how much she was fighting the temptation of giving him everything he was asking for. And then some.

She looked past him out the window again. Only Xavier would go to this trouble to impress a woman. And it was working.

Farrah glanced back at him, and the look he was giving her sent a burst of desire exploding through her. She found herself leaning toward him and his masculine mouth that was so sexy it should be declared illegal.

“And once you have me naked, what’s next?”

The erection beneath her hand seemed to get larger. “Then I plan to taste you all over.”

With his words, blatant and hot, her thighs seem to automatically spread apart, and she couldn’t help but remember how it felt to have his tongue between them, licking her with hungry strokes to sweet oblivion, fueling not one orgasm but several.

“So what do you think of that, Farrah?”

She swallowed, not wanting to think at all. Her body was pushing her to feel instead. Making her crave things she was better off not having, but making those damn hot memories invade her mind anyway. They were just too delicious to ignore.

She met his gaze, felt the heat emanating from the dark depths. And it was heat that was generating a slow yet intense sizzle within her. “Why are you doing this to me, Xavier?”

Without responding, his gaze seemed to say it all. The heat from his eyes nearly burned off her remaining clothes. Lust flowed up her spine as a fierce degree of need filled her all over. He continued to look at her, saying nothing, yet saying everything.

“I think you know the answer to that, Farrah,” he finally said in a deep, throaty voice. “But in case there’s a possibility that you don’t, the reason is simple. I never got over you. Our split was your idea, not mine.”

She lifted a brow. “But you didn’t disagree.”

“Because I knew it was what you wanted.”

“And now?”

“And now I plan to convince you that decision was a mistake.”

She saw the determination in his gaze. “What if I said you can’t do that?”

A smile touched his lips. “Then I would say I intend to die trying. I want you back, Farrah.”

Farrah knew he was dead serious. She forced herself to breathe in before asking, “And you think wanting me back is simple?”

A smile touched the corners of his lips. “Yes, wanting you back is simple, but
getting
you back will be the hard part.” He paused and then said, “And speaking of hard…”

She held his gaze as the throb beneath her hand increased, and she could feel his erection grow and harden even more. “Yes, what about it?” she asked, not even trying to ignore the burning sensation in the pit of her stomach.

He placed his hand over hers. “For the past six months, I’ve been working hard, Farrah, harder than I wanted to. But I had to do it as a way to try to forget you. And I failed at doing that.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip, surprised that Xavier would admit something like that. It would have been just as easy, less messy and a whole lot simpler for her to think he had moved on without any passing thoughts of her and what they’d shared. But to know he had thought of her, had worked doubly hard to forget her, yet failed, made something inside her swell to gigantic proportions, and that wasn’t good.

“And can you honestly say you didn’t think of me, Farrah?” he then asked.

That question was a no-brainer. Of course she had thought about him. Constantly. Every day. In the middle of the night. When she woke up in the morning. And she’d definitely thought of him during those times her body went through a physical meltdown when it needed the kind of toss between the sheets only he could give her.

She could admit such a thing now, while sitting here with him alone, in the privacy of a car where they had a spacious backseat. She had no qualms saying it because regardless of all of that, she believed she had done the right thing in ending their affair.

And she would be doing the right thing in not letting him talk her into starting things back up again between them.

“Yes, I thought about you, Xavier, but I
had
to end things between us for all the right reasons,” she said quietly.

“And what are these right reasons?”

Now that would be a little harder to explain. How could she eloquently break it down so he would understand that she had to end things to keep her sanity? That with him, for the first time since breaking up with Dustin, she had begun to feel things, want things and need things that she knew could only cause her heartbreak.

How could she explain to him that every time he showed up at her place, looked at her, touched her, tasted her and made love to her until she screamed her throat raw, her heart swelled? That was the part she wouldn’t try explaining since there were some things about a woman’s emotions that a man didn’t need to know or understand.

She had gotten a lot smarter since her Dustin days, but because of Xavier, the part of her heart that had hardened had begun to soften each time she saw him, each time he held her in his arms and kissed her with that sinful tongue of his.

“Tell me, Farrah.”

Gathering her control, she removed her hand from his thigh and shifted in her seat, placing her hand into her own lap. For this she needed some semblance of detachment and distance…as much as she could get. But she was well aware that no matter how much space she put between them, she would still be able to feel his heat, the same heat that could succeed in melting the ice encasing her heart. But he needed to hear what she had to say.

“You know my history with Dustin.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

She drew in a deep breath. Discussing her ex-husband had never been on the agenda. But one night when Xavier had come over she’d been caught in one of her melancholy moods. She had run into Dustin earlier that day in a department store, and he’d tried of all things to flirt with her. The bastard who’d left her for another woman had actually tried coming on to her, tried to entice her to leave the department store and have an evening of sex with him in a hotel across the street. He’d said his wife would never find out and that they would be doing it for old times’ sake.

Dustin had claimed his problem with her had never been in the bedroom, but said her constant travels for her job were to blame for the loneliness that had forced him to seek out other women. He had actually tried to make her feel responsible for his adulterous behavior.

Any other woman probably would have fallen for his pitiful spiel, but she had stopped being Dustin’s fool the day he’d asked her for a divorce. She doubted she would ever forgive him for the hurt and humiliation that he’d caused her.

“I don’t ever want to go through anything like that again,” she heard herself saying.

Xavier’s mouth drew in a tight line. “I can respect that, but what does that have to do with me?”

“A good question,” she murmured softly to herself. He probably didn’t see the connection because, for him, there truly wasn’t one. Nothing about his purpose in seeking her out then and now had changed. He was footloose and fancy-free and intended to stay that way. He shied away from serious relationships, preferring to make his booty calls whenever, wherever and to whomever he desired with no strings attached. He was a man, and he could go through that type of program without any emotional attachments. She’d tried the same but found that she just couldn’t do it. Especially with Xavier.

“What it has to do with you, Xavier, is that I felt the time had come for me to take a step back from our little affair. Eleven months was way too long for me. We were getting too complacent.”

She wanted to express herself in a way where she didn’t come off sounding like a needy woman. God knows she didn’t want that. Since her divorce she had tried not to depend on anyone—especially a man—for her happiness. But with Xavier she had found herself slipping.

When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “That first night you came over we agreed to have a no-strings-attached affair, and I felt we had run our course.”

He nodded. “Have there been any men since me, Farrah?”

His question surprised her. It would be so easy to say it wasn’t any of his business and let him assume there had been others. After all, he’d probably slept with other women since her. Something kept the lie from forming on her lips, however. Instead she said, “No, I’ve been too busy.” That really wasn’t a total lie.

“And I haven’t had another woman since you,” he said in a throaty tone.

His words shocked her; in fact, they left her speechless. He hadn’t had another woman since her? Xavier, the man with a sex drive that never quit? At that moment she couldn’t explain the satisfied pleasure she felt blooming inside of her. Why had he denied himself?

“Seems like we have the same problem, Farrah.”

She pulled herself back into the conversation, trying to tread lightly while all kinds of wicked thoughts flowed through her. “And what problem is that?”

He reached out and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip. “We need to get unleashed. You need a man to make love to you like I need to make love to a woman. Bad. But I don’t need to make love to any woman, Farrah. I need to make love to you. I so miss hearing you scream.”

More sensations washed over her, wetting her panties, causing every nerve ending in her body to respond to the sensuality in his voice and the heat in his words. She had definitely missed him making her scream as well.

“So you think we need to get unleashed, huh?” she asked in a low tone, while her heartbeat throbbed in her chest.

“Yes, but due to schedule restraints, I’ll just have time to prime you for now.”

Oh, she knew all about his priming methods and just what setting up for that stage of seduction could do to her. They’d never made out in a car before, and just the thought of doing so was downright naughty. But she felt like being naughty tonight. She had been a good girl for a long time and felt the need to sexually unwind. But more than anything, she wanted to scream. She shuddered at the thought of all he was offering her on a sensual platter.

“So what do you think about that plan, Farrah?”

At the moment she didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to talk.

Instead she leaned close to him, deciding she needed to respond to him this way. She intended to start off by initiating a game they’d often played when he’d come over to her place. She leaned close and offered him the tip of her tongue. Just as expected, he swooped down quickly and all but sucked her tongue into his mouth.

She moaned deep in her throat as familiar sensations burned in her soul. The strength of the passion he was evoking within her was the same as it had been from the first. Xavier could make a woman want things she was better off not having.

As she proceeded to melt under the force of his kiss, she knew that somehow she would take whatever he was offering for now and then find the strength to walk away and not look back when their time together in New York ended.

Chapter 7

X
avier knew the moment Farrah surrendered.

He was practically on his back with her draped all over him while she took his mouth with a hunger that he was more than willing to reciprocate.

God, he wanted her with a vengeance. It wouldn’t take much to zip down his pants, pull out his shaft and ease right into her. She had made it easy to do so with the way her thighs were positioned over his. He remembered—not that he could ever forget—that she preferred wearing skimpy panties, thongs or the barely-there kind. He’d bet nothing had changed in that area. Hell, he was hoping as much.

She pulled back, breaking off the kiss, and he drew in a deep breath as he gazed up into her face. She was the spitting image of a woman unleashed, a woman who knew what she wanted and planned on getting it. A woman who had gone long enough without a lover. He intended to change that. Right here. Right now.

He drew in a deep breath and swallowed hard when, not bothering to unbuckle his belt, she jerked his shirt from the waistband of his pants before proceeding to ease down his zipper. He didn’t have to ask what she was about to do; he just hoped he would be able to survive the experience.

When she smiled at him while licking her lips, his heart began beating frantically in his chest. She had effectively turned the tables on him. He was supposed to be seducing her and not the other way around. What about that control he was known for? Hell, it was slipping, and there was nothing he could do about it now. At the moment he couldn’t deny her anything, especially the piece of him she obviously wanted.

And when he felt her warm fingers probing inside his pants, anticipation sizzled up his spine, and it took all he could do not to moan out loud. After she pulled his erection free, he watched through lowered lashes as she studied his shaft, as if she was savoring the thought of tasting him and trying to decide the best way to go about it.

Then her fingers started moving as she began to stroke it, palmed him in her hand, pumped him with her fingers. His body shuddered, and heat surged through him, especially in his groin.

She glanced up at him and smiled as his belly clenched with the look he saw in her eyes. The fire he saw there not only sharpened his senses but had his erection expanding right in her hands.

“I’m about to show you, Xavier Kane, that you’re not the only one who knows about priming. And don’t you dare think about pulling my mouth away until I’m ready to let go.”

She didn’t give him a chance to think, let alone respond, when her mouth lowered and took him in.

“Heaven help me.” He murmured the words in a heated rush of breath, closed his eyes and released a deep, guttural groan.

Her mouth seemed to expand to encompass his erection all the way from the head to the root, and when she began using her tongue in full earnest, pleasure—which he hadn’t felt in six months—shot through every part of his body.

With slow thoroughness, she took her time torturing him, letting him see that she was the one in control of this, and when her mouth deliberately began exerting pressure to the head of his erection, he clenched his jaw, and his body rumbled into one hell of an explosion.

When he gripped the side of her head and tried pulling her away, she planted her teeth on him with enough pressure to remind him of her earlier order. She was in control.

When his turn came, she was going to be sorry, he thought as his jaw clenched tight and the climax shook him. He wondered if he was still breathing. Surely he had died, gotten buried and gone to heaven.

Then before he could recover from that first explosion, another one hit; this one even stronger, and he felt all kinds of sensations tear up the length of his body and back.

“Farrah!”

If he thought she was ready to let go, then evidently he was out of his mind. The latter was true anyway. He was definitely out of his mind with all the scintillating excitement thrown in the mix. And he saw that she was determined not to release him until the last shudder eased from his body.

It was then that he slowly forced open his eyes and stared at her. It took every ounce of energy he possessed to reach out his hand to caress her cheek. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining things or not, but her entire face took on an ethereal beauty that was more vibrant, more soul-touchingly exquisite than ever before.

And when she tilted her lips in a smile, he dragged in a staggering breath and felt his body getting hard all over again as desire once again enflamed him, filled him to capacity. But something else happened at that moment, too. He wasn’t sure just what it was, since it was something he couldn’t put a name to at that moment. But he was convinced it was something he’d never felt before, and he suddenly felt totally consumed by it.

“So what do you think, Xavier?”

Instead of answering, he moved quickly, and, ignoring her shriek of surprise, he eased her back and loomed over her. He caught her chin in his hand as his mouth came down on hers, effectively absorbing whatever words she was about to say. He intended to show her just what he thought.

His kiss tried taking control of her mouth, but Farrah refused to let it. She enjoyed sharing his heat, participating in such a sensual duel as their tongues tangled. Electricity flowed through her body.

And she still wanted more.

She intended to get it, and it seemed he was just as determined to give it to her. Okay, she could handle this, she thought. Then she wasn’t all that sure when she felt his hands under her dress. When he finally released her mouth, she was breathless, left in a state of pure enthrallment. Totally awestruck. Mesmerized.

“You should never have pushed me over the edge, Farrah.”

She met his gaze. Had she actually done that?

“You do know what that means, don’t you?”

She nodded. Yes, she knew exactly what that meant. She’d had him in her mouth, and now he intended to have her in his. He didn’t waste time pushing her dress up and out of his way before pulling her barely-there panties down past her thighs.

“Xavier, don’t we need to talk about this?”

“No.”

And that was the last word he said before lifting her hips with his hand and lowering his head between her legs. The moment the tip of his tongue eased between her feminine folds, she cried out, closed her eyes and reached out to grab hold of his shoulders.

How had she gone without this for so long? How had she survived without the feel of his mouth on her, in her, his tongue lapping her up before delving deeper and deeper. He was feasting on her, pushing her legs apart to treat himself to more of her.

A soft moan flowed from her lips. Then another. Pleasure began rolling over her in melodious waves, pushing her over the edge while at the same time taking her under. No inner part of her was left untouched. If his tongue could reach it, it was stroked. Mercilessly so.

Farrah suddenly cried out when she couldn’t take any more, and rapture struck every inch of her body. He continued to devour her, as she quivered from an orgasm that would have topped the Richter scale. When he pulled back and captured her mouth, his tongue was still hot and hungry.

And she knew he wasn’t through with her yet when she heard him tear open a condom package.

Then there it was. The head of his erection probing where his mouth had been. He lifted her hips up in his hands the moment he thrust into her. The surge of pleasure that ripped through her with this coming together made her scream. That only pushed him to go deeper, made his strokes stronger. “Xavier!”

He lifted his head to stare down at her, and the primal look in his eyes almost made her lose her breath while at the same time it triggered another explosion within her. She had wanted to be naughty, but he was making her crazy.

And then he bucked, thrust harder, went deeper and her boot-clad legs tightened around him, greedy for everything he wanted to give and ready to take it. She didn’t have long to wait for his release. Hot molten liquid shot everywhere inside of her, lubricating her inner walls with the very essence of him. “Farrah!”

He had thrown his head back and her name came out as a deep growl from his throat, and he then lowered his head to take her mouth, to feed greedily off of it, as his body continued to thrust insatiably inside of her. Harder.

She screamed again as spasms shook her. When had making love to any man been this good? And she knew at that moment it could only be this way with Xavier.

He broke off the kiss, and his forehead came to rest against hers when their bodies slowed. She breathed in a deep, trembling breath as she stared up at him.

“Satisfied?” he asked, staring down at her. His shirt was unbuttoned to his waist and he was still wearing his pants. She could just imagine how erotic things would have gotten if they’d been naked.

“Very,” she said, smiling up at him and meaning every word. He was still inside of her. Still hard. The man had more staying power than anyone she knew.

“Good.” He paused a minute then asked, “So what do
you
think, Farrah?” It took her a moment to follow him. He was deliberately countering the question she’d asked him earlier.

She released a deep breath. “I can’t think at the moment. Ask me again later.”

He chuckled as he slowly eased out of her and proceeded to pull her panties back up and pull her dress down. He then buttoned his shirt.

“I can just imagine what your driver is probably thinking, though,” she said, sitting up.

Xavier chuckled. “Jules is probably grateful he got to spend time with his old Navy buddy. He’s worked for me for a while and knows—”

“How you operate?”

He glanced over at her while tucking his shirt back inside his pants. For some reason, that statement bothered him. “And how do you think I operate, Farrah?”

She leaned back against the seat of the car and closed her eyes. “Ask me later. I told you, I can’t think now. I just want to savor the moment.”

And he thought he wouldn’t mind savoring some more of her. Not understanding why he needed to do so, what exactly was driving him, he caught her off guard when he leaned over and kissed her with the same degree of passion he’d demonstrated earlier but with far less desperation. He wanted this to be slow pleasure that was meant to be savored, relished and enjoyed. And from the unhurried and leisurely way her tongue was mating with his, he knew that it was.

When he released her mouth, her head fell back against the seat cushions, and she stared at him as if she was incapable of saying anything. He couldn’t help but smile, pleased he’d kissed any words from her lips for the time being.

“What was that for?” she finally was able to ask.

“Ask me later. I can’t think now,” he said rezipping his pants.

She laughed and playfully punched him in the arm. “Funny. You’re a regular comedian who happens to be a damn good kisser.”

“Earned brownie points, did I?”

“Yes, you most certainly did. I don’t know many guys like you.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said, pulling his cell phone out of the pocket of his jacket and punching a lone number. “Jules, how far are we from port?” he asked, glancing out the window while working his arms into the sleeves of his jacket. He nodded and then said, “Good.”

He clicked off the phone and replaced it in his jacket and glanced over at Farrah. “When we get back to your hotel, do I get invited up for a nightcap?”

“After what we did just now do you really think you need an invitation? Better yet, do you have the energy for more?”

He couldn’t help but smile at that.

She frowned at him. “Forget I asked. Silly me. How could I forget your endless amount of energy? You know, this was the first time we did it some place other than my house,” she said, reaching for her purse. He watched her pull out her makeup compact.

“First time for everything. I plan for us to start being adventurous,” he said, working his tie back around his neck.

She clicked the compact closed and glanced over at him. Surprise lit her eyes. “You do understand that nothing between us has changed.”

Something fluttered in his chest. “What do you mean?” he asked.

She shrugged as if she assumed they were in one accord with what she was about to say. “Going back to our conversation earlier about restarting our affair… Spending time with you like this, here in New York, is wonderful, but when we return to Charlotte we won’t be seeing each other again.”

The hell we won’t!
He fought to keep the frown off his face while wondering just how she figured that. “I don’t see why not. You’ve missed me. I’ve missed you. So there.”

“Yes, which is the reason we’re spending time together now. A holiday fling is just what we evidently need. It’s the season to be jolly, and we can even act a little loony, out of character, even behave like sex addicts and all that good stuff. We’re adults with needs. But when it’s all said and done, eventually things have to get back to normal, and when they do, it will be life as we know it.”

“And what kind of life is that?” he asked, trying to keep anger from burning the back of his throat.

“I can’t speak for you, but mine will be one with no serious entanglements. I have too much baggage for any man to deal with.”

Try me.
He decided now was not the time to tell her that their entanglement was already as serious as it could get. He also decided not to break the news that he had all intentions of resuming what they had shared before. The only kind of life he planned on having was one with her in it.

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it when he heard them docking back at the port. A short time later the car door opened, and he knew Jules had returned. That gave him a chance to sit and ponder why he had this burning obsession with getting back with her. And he knew the reason had nothing to do with the off-the-chain sex they’d had tonight or all those other times before. It was way too deep for him to try and dissect at this moment. Especially when she thought she’d delivered the last word.

He fully understood why she intended to keep him at arm’s length again once they returned to Charlotte. She’d been burned once and didn’t intend for any man to light a match to her again. Well, he had news for her. He was not going to let her lump him in with that poor excuse for a husband any longer.