Exposed (Free Falling) (27 page)

Another sigh and then he confessed what he wasn’t able to
before.  “If I had to pick any one thing that I couldn’t get enough of, I’d say it’s the sounds you made.”

I smiled and felt my body going through changes it hadn’t gone through in forever.  Licking my lips at the thought of him touching me, I almost begged him to tell me more.

“What about you?  What do you miss?” he asked

There were too many things to name – how sexy he used to make me feel with just a glance, the way he’d own my body while we made love.  Oh….and let’s not forget orgasms.  I missed that part most of all.  My pride wouldn’t let me admit that that hadn’t happened since the last time we’d had sex, so I
summed these feelings up by simply stating, “All of it.” 

He got quiet again.

“Ok, I’ll leave you alone.  You’re trying to be good now and I’m corrupting you,” I said, feeling like I should retreat before things got too far out of hand like he’d warned.  “Even though you started it,” I added with a smile.

He laughed a little.  “
Now
who’s punking out?”

“Whatever…”

AJ fell silent when I put the phone on speaker.  “What’re you doing now?” he asked, unable to hide the genuine curiosity in his tone.

“
Washing, so I can get out and go to bed, Nosy.”

Silence
.

“
You got quiet on me,” I said teasingly, reaching for my sponge.  “You okay over there?”

“Been
better,” he replied with a heavy sigh of frustration.

I laughed
, imagining him sitting on the other end of the phone, hard as a rock thanks to our suggestive conversation.

He sighed into the phone
again.  “Is it terrible that I can envision exactly what you look like right now?”

I pa
used and stared at my phone incredulously.  “AJ, you haven’t seen me naked in years, so I highly doubt – “

“Trust me…
,” he interjected.  “I’ve been staring at you enough these past few days to know what you’d look like without your clothes on.”

I burst out laughing.  “Quit before you get yourself into trouble
, Anthony Hahn.”

He chuckled.  “I know you meant to scold me, but why does it sound hot when you use my full name?
  I think you should say it again.”

I rolled my eyes and fought back a s
mile, deciding not to say anything at all.

“Do you have any
idea what I’d do to you if you’d let me?”  His voice was so serious that I paused with my sponge at the back of my neck, imagining it.

“
Nope.  But why don’t you tell me,” I said by accident…kind of.

His tone was different
when he answered – deeper, breathier.  “Or….you could let me show you?”

At first I couldn’t even think,
imagining the way his hands would feel against my skin, remembering what it was like to kiss him, but then I sobered up quickly.  I didn’t want to mention Kira’s name out loud because it would ruin the mood, but in the back of my mind, I knew that neither AJ nor I were willing to put any of these words into action because of his relationship.  However, he wasn’t acting like any of that mattered at the moment.  All he seemed to be focused on was
me
. 

“You should l
et me come over,” he managed to say without sounding like he was begging. 

I rinsed my sponge and pulled th
e plug to drain my water.  “Or not,” I said playfully while blowing out my candles.  “Besides, you’re probably already stretched out on that super-comfy air mattress of yours,” I joked as I wrapped myself in my favorite purple towel and walked to my room to find some pajamas.

“Let me come over,” he said casually
once again.

I looked at mys
elf in the mirror over my dresser while I listened to the silence on the other end of the phone. 

“AJ….”

When he didn’t respond, I cocked my head to the side.  “You’re serious, aren’t you?” I quickly realized that our game had transitioned into a real-life dilemma.  I honestly thought he was just talking junk for hell of it. 

“
I’m definitely not playing,” he laughed softly.  “Is that a yes?” 

His persistence did something to me.

“I….wait…come over for what?” I asked naively. 

This amused him even more. 
“Because I’m tired of wondering.”

I ran my hand down
the side of my neck anxiously while trying to deny how badly I wanted to give in and invite him over.  The moment we shared in the hallway the night before confirmed that the chemistry I thought we revisited on the dance floor at the reception wasn’t a fluke.  The spark between us was still very much present…making him coming here a terrible idea.

“Wondering what?”
I finally asked, biding myself some time while searching for a substantial response.

AJ’s
next statement made my heart stop cold in my chest, sending me into a frozen state of shock when he replied with a challenge of sorts: “Open the door and find out.”

C
hapte
r
F
ifteen

Sam

Instantly, my eyes darted through the dark living room, to the entrance of my apartment.  Sure enough, a shadow blotted out the sliver of light that should’ve been streaming beneath the door from the hallway.  With silent footsteps, I crept to the window and peered down to the street below.  Seeing AJ’s car parked beside the sidewalk gave me a hot flash.

“But….
,” I stammered.  “When did you…I thought…”             

“Are you
gonna let me in?” He asked, shutting me up instantly.

What the hell was he thinking coming here?  Didn’t he know how bad this was
? 

Twice, I doubled back, thinking I should put clothes on first.  Deciding not to leave him standing out there, I just re-secured my towel over my chest and crossed the living room. 
I snatched my ponytail-holder from my hair and shook out what was left of my curls – the few that my long workday and the steam from my bath hadn’t ravaged.  My fingers lingered on the knob and my thoughts ranged from
‘leave the door closed and send him home – he’s engaged’
to
‘why the hell isn’t he already in your bed?’ 
I shivered and chewed my lip nervously as I opened the door and stared into the eyes of the one man who’d always been able to peel away my inhibitions and make me do his bidding.

There he was, hands braced at either side of the doorframe, looking like he’d just stepped off somebody’
s runway right before heading over here to see me.  My eyes trailed from the tie hanging loosely around his neck to that smile that’d been my undoing since I was a young, unsuspecting, teenage girl.  This man was the embodiment of sex and I felt my legs getting ready to give way just at the sight of him. 

I pressed the ‘end’ button on our call when I realized that I was still
holding the phone to my ear and then the next sound I heard was that of my cell hitting the floor and my bedazzled case shattering to pieces.  My hands were on top of AJ’s when he gripped the sides of my face and touched his lips to mine, kicking the broken case aside and only pulling his hand away long enough to slam my door shut behind him.  His tongue wandered inside my mouth as a white-hot flame of lust stole every ounce of oxygen from the room. 

I couldn’t breathe. 

…didn’t want to. 

All I needed to survive was this kiss.
 

My lips were his and he took them like he knew this to be a fact.  I noticed that his hands were
trembling despite how sure he seemed about being here…about kissing me.  As badly as I’d wished I could just be in the moment, I couldn’t help but to think of all he was risking, all he’d built since I tore his world apart in the past.  I reclaimed an ounce of the strength he’d stolen from me and pressed my hands to his chest, creating a few inches of space between us.

“What’re you doing?” I asked, breathless
, staring at his lips through the darkness.  I wanted more, but my subconscious was too loud to ignore.

His eyes shifted as he searched for an excuse for his actions, still clasping my
cheeks in his hands. The truth is, there
was
no excuse – not one that made what we were doing okay.  AJ was simply overtaken by the same energy, the same magnetism that I’d been fighting since we reconnected at the wedding.  I watched him, my hands still braced against his chest.

When he breat
hed the words, “Kissing you,” I’d nearly forgotten the question I asked only a few seconds ago.

Remembering, I blinked several
times and refocused.  “I mean, I know
that
, but…what about-“

“Don’t say it,” he uttered softly, running his thumb over my dampened lips
right before I would’ve slipped and said Kira’s name.  “You want me to stop?” he asked.

‘
No, don’t stop!  I want this.  I want
you!
’
was what I
wanted
to stay, but instead, I lied.  “I just don’t think this is a good idea.”  The words sounded so weak and flimsy leaving my mouth that even
I
didn’t believe them, but I was trying with all my might to do what I thought was best for
him
…not me.

Sure, he wanted this right
now
, but I wasn’t positive that regret and resentment wouldn’t be awaiting us when this was all over.

I watched AJ’s every move as
he ignored my plea and slipped one hand away from my cheek, tilting my chin up toward him.  I’d just finished telling him that this shouldn’t be happening, but when he came closer, all I did was close my eyes and let him kiss me again.

Slowly, he sipped at my bottom lip as if sampling the flavor first.  It made me dizzy, standing there perfectly still
while he lit my body on fire from the inside out.  A contradictory chill raced down my spine at the exact same time.  The warmth of his hand on the side of my neck made the last of my thoughts jumble and I forgot about the conviction that had almost stolen this pleasurable moment from my grasp.  His tongue traced my lower lip before he took it into his mouth, the warm moisture causing something inside me to stir.

This isn’t right….

We’re not supposed to be doing this…

My mind told me to pull away, but I couldn’
t.  I fought it as hard as I could, but my moral qualms were no match for this feeling that AJ’s touch evoked.  His tongue caressed mine over and over and over again, coaxing me into kissing him back.  The wet stroking motion taunted me as I was overtaken by a myriad of dirty thoughts and vivid images – remembering how he used a similar technique when he’d go down on me, wondering if he knew how wet I was, wondering how hard
he
was…thoughts like that.  Most of all, I wondered how far I would let this go.

AJ sensed my weakness and contin
ued to push, slowly inching me backwards until my calves touched the couch.   Without separating his mouth from mine, he undid his shirt and tie, tossing both aside before lowering me down where I lie sandwiched between him and the cushion.  I pressed my palms flat against the warm skin of his toned back while his fingers dragged longingly up my naked thigh.  This felt so right.  It was like no one but him was ever meant to touch me. 

Raking my fingers
through his hair, the hunger between us grew and intensified.  With haste, he pushed my towel aside and snatched me down a few inches by my hips until the persistent bulge at the front of his pants pressed against my sex.  He cursed softly against my lips when our bodies made contact, only separated by the thin material of his pants.  Imagining what it would feel like to have him inside me, I sought after his tongue again. 

I hadn’
t wanted a man this badly before or since him…not even Jason.  In the back of my mind, I was focused on the mounting tension between my legs, the sensation that left me wondering if tonight would be the night that AJ proved that I wasn’t incapable of enjoying sex again.  Not being able to climax was probably to blame for the coldness Jason had accused me of earlier, if there was in fact any truth to it at all.  It was no secret that I’d been a little tightly wound these days.

AJ pulled away an
d I managed to steal one last kiss before he was out of reach.  Slowly, with his eyes locked on mine, he unfastened my towel from around my chest and let the material fall aside.  The sight of my breasts made him bite down on his lip with lust heavy in his expression as one hand gravitated to them.  I lie there beneath him, completely nude, feeling like I’d dreamt this all up.  Clearly, I’d fallen asleep in the tub and all our flirting and fantasizing induced this hallucination.  There was no way on Earth he was here touching me right now.  This couldn’t be real.

As
if to kill my theory, AJ craned his neck down and traced a slow, teasing circle around my nipple with his tongue before drawing it into his mouth.  My head pressed into the cushion as my back arched toward him, silently surrendering whatever power I hadn’t already handed over.  There was a familiarity in everything that he did – every touch, every kiss – and yet, this all felt new somehow.