His Secretive Lover (The Thorpe Brothers) (6 page)

She didn’t even look at the large, glass vase filled to the brim with ball point pens, not wanting to be tempted to get her fix with another early morning nose-snubbing
at the expense of her boss.  It wouldn’t help anyway, she told herself.  An adrenaline rush probably wouldn’t help her solve her blues this time. 

With a sigh, she pulled herself together.  Did she really want to jeopardize her parent’s security over an exciting fling?  She actually hesitated over that answer but realized what she was thinking and shook her head.  Of course not!  Her parents might be career criminals who just had the luck and intelligence to have not gotten caught, but
, except for moving all over the world, they’d been excellent parents.  They were kind and caring, giving her experiences other kids couldn’t even dream of.  So what if she’d been to twenty different countries but her official passport only had two?  She knew the languages and, in her mind, she had the memories of all of those adventures.  And if it made her stomach churn at the idea of what they did, or the fear of one of them getting caught, it was a small price to pay.  They would not be safe with her dating someone as well connected and powerful as Ryker Thorpe. 

It wouldn’t have worked anyway.  Ryker might set her nerve endings on fire with just a touch, but she had to remind herself that he was way out of her league.  And besides, what hope did she have of keeping him interested in her long term?  She was just an accountant! 

She stood up and stripped off her business suit, pulling on a pair of soft, well-worn jeans.  One leg had a ragged hem and a back pocket was missing, but these were her favorite jeans, softened by years of washing.  Adding a tee-shirt and grabbing a scrunchy to pull her hair off of her neck, she started to feel slightly better.  With her work clothes carefully put away, she padded barefoot back downstairs to find something to eat for dinner. 

Unfortunately, nothing in her pantry looked appetizing.  Her options were limited since she despised going grocery shopping so there wasn’t much left.  She hadn’t been to the grocery store in about two weeks so her choices were a can of tomato soup or a frozen meal, neither of which were particularly appealing. 

She probably should have gone out to happy hour with her friends. Unfortunately, she was finding that she didn’t have very much to talk about with Josie, Allyson and Debbie.  They were wonderful women, but their lives revolved around their kids and their husbands or ex-husbands.  It was hard to relate since she was single without kids.

She picked up the can of soup with a grimace.  If she’d gone with them, s
he might have relaxed somewhat or maybe even had something more appetizing to eat than…she opened her freezer and surveyed the stacks of frozen meals…chicken and broccoli.  Yuck!  Why had she even chosen this one?  She hated broccoli!

Then she sighed.  Dad!  He’d snuck into her house and filled her freezer with healthier choices. 

She thought of something else.  Closing the freezer, she braced herself to open her fridge and…yep!  Filled with fruits and vegetables.  She knew they hadn’t been there two days ago because she’d grabbed a yogurt yesterday morning for breakfast.  But she couldn’t guess if he’d filled up her fridge yesterday or today because she’d skipped breakfast this morning and had bought a yogurt at the deli in the building for lunch today. 

When the doorbell rang, she actually hoped it was her mother or father.  She would love to see them, maybe even cry on their shoulder. 
Her mother would be better, she thought.  At least her mother would understand what she was going through.  Her father would just pat her shoulder and tell her that Ryker wasn’t the man for her.  That she should get over him and find a nice, reliable, non-lawyerly type of man to fall in love with and give him grandchildren. 

Tossing the frozen
meal back into the freezer, she almost skipped to the front door. 

Just as she was opening the door, suddenly realizing that she hadn’t looked through her peep hole to see who was there, it occurred to her that her parents wouldn’t ring the doorbell.  They wouldn’t even knock.  In fact, if it were her parents, they would be sitting in her den, reading the newspaper or a book. 

By the time all those thoughts raced through her mind, the door was open and she was staring at a very handsome, very tall and very muscular Ryker Thorpe. 

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said as he stepped into her miniscule foyer.  “And you didn’t call me.”  He stepped closer to
her, taking the door out of her hand and slamming it shut behind him.  “So I stopped waiting,” he said and took her into his arms.

Cricket was stiff for perhaps one, maybe two seconds before the heat of his arms and the deliberate, commanding feel of his lips snapped her out of it and she was curling into his embrace, kissing him back with all the feeling she’d denied herself by not seeing him each morning.  Her arms wrapped around his neck and her body plastered against his, feeling all those delicious hard planes that were so completely different from her body and sent breathtaking zings all throughout her system. 

When he deepened the kiss, she heard herself whimper, but couldn’t stop her arms from reaching up and wrapping around his neck, her leg shifting so his…was that…?  Yes, she pressed her tummy closer, feeling his erection against her belly and her whole body melted even more.  She felt the wall behind her back and was relieved, using it to press herself more fully against him, stretching up on her toes to feel him in more places.  When she felt his hand under her sweater, she almost sobbed out with the excitement that she couldn’t control.  And didn’t want to. 

She’d never felt anything like this before and she didn’t want it to stop.  This was ten times better than sneaking through some security system!  No adrenaline rush could make her feel this…exhilarated!

Cricket felt her body lifted, her back pressing harder against the wall and she instinctively lifted her legs, wrapping them around his waist while his body pressed against her own.  She felt his hands underneath her shirt and gasped at the contact, her eyes opening wide to look into his.  Slowly, ever so slowly, his hand moved against her bare skin.  Cricket wasn’t aware of her mouth falling open, or her eyes almost closing while her hips shifted along with his hand. 

She heard him growl for some reason, but all she cared about was his hands on her skin, wanting more.  Needing more!  “Please don’t stop,” she begged when his hands moved away from her skin.

“I don’t intend to,” he growled right back, lifting her higher into his arms. 

Cricket had no idea what was happening, only that he’d moved her hips so she wasn’t feeling that delicious pressure anymore and she squirmed in his arms, trying to bring back that feeling, to appease the ache that was building in her body. 

“Ryker!  You’re not…”

“I will be,” he came back, his voice still barely above a growl. 

She sighed with happiness when she felt the softness at her back but she couldn’t stop touching him long enough to realize that it was her bed.  She didn’t care that he’d brought her up to her bedroom, not even sure how he’d accomplished something so effortlessly.  All she cared about was feeling his strong fingers against her skin again.  She took his hand and placed it against her stomach, then moved her own hands up to the buttons on his shirt, almost ripping the buttons open in her desperate need to discover what lay beneath those expensive shirts.

She wasn’t disappointed, her fingers roaming over his heated skin, feeling his muscles flinch wherever she touched.  She was so fascinated, that she lifted her head, her tongue darting out to taste that amazing skin
and all the enthralling muscles that flexed and shifted under her fingers. 

Cr
icket was only vaguely aware of Ryker pulling her sweater over her head and tossing it somewhere.  She didn’t want to think any longer.  It had been a week of worrying and denial but she couldn’t deny herself anything any longer.  She’d wanted this man three nights ago.  She’d denied herself then and every morning after.  No more! 

She arched against him, whimpering when he pulled her white, lace bra off of her shoulder so he could kiss the peak of her breast.  Her leg rose up, pressing against his thigh and her hips pressed, seeking that special pressure she’d discovered the last time he’d been here.  She wanted it, needed it! 

“Please!” she begged him when he moved his mouth away from her breast but just about sighed with happiness when he pulled the strap down on the other side, taking her nipple in his mouth and sucking.  Then it wasn’t a sigh.  She screamed out with the new feelings that jolted her.  She pressed her hips against him harder, still trying to find that special place on his body that felt so perfect. 

His mouth moved lower and she felt his fingers expertly open the button on her
jeans.  A moment later, her jeans were gone along with her white, lace underwear.  She was completely naked underneath him but she needed to touch him as well.  He was too far down her body now for her to do anything.  When his mouth kissed her stomach, she wiggled, smiling as he tickled her. 

When his mouth found that special place, she just about screamed again.  But his arm was heavy over her hips, holding her down.  She had no intention of pulling away but she couldn’t deal with that kind of pleasure.  It was so powerful and then he started sucking, one finger moving inside of her and she simply couldn’t hold back any longer.  That ache that had been building to unbearable heights exploded.  Her whole body exploded.  She closed her eyes as she screamed out, her climax shooting waves of intense pleasure throughout her whole being. 

And when it was over, she lay on the bed, panting with her eyes closed, not sure how to even open them and look at him after that kind of experience. 

Ryker stood up
and tore his clothes off.  When he was finally naked, he looked down at the woman on her bed, surrounded by flowered sheets and flowered pillows and still reeling in the haze of her climax.  Damn, he’d never been this impatient before.  He felt like a teenager again but he couldn’t deny that Cricket was the sexiest, most sensuous woman he’d ever seen.  Tasting her orgasm had made him almost lose control.  The only thing that held him back was the incredible pleasure of seeing her fall apart at his touch. 

He pulled the condom out of his wallet,
and put it on, all the while watching as she slid against the sheets in the aftermath of her climax.  Bending lower, he nuzzled her neck, finding that magic spot on her neck he’d discovered only moments ago.  Sure enough, she gasped and reacted instantly.  Her arms moved to his shoulders, a little slower this time, but when his fingers slid inside of her, he knew that she was right back with him. 

“Hold onto me, Cricket,” he said and lifted her arms so they were around his neck once again.  “Look at me,” he said and moved her legs wider so they could accommodate his hips.  With the slightest movement, he slid inside her just an inch.  When her eyes widened, he moved a bit deeper.  Inch by inch, he pressed into her heat, then out again, watching her face for signs that he was doing something she liked or didn’t like.  He felt the sweat break out on his back and
forehead as he worked hard to keep control.  He wanted this first time with her to be incredible, but it was using everything inside of him to slow down, to make sure she was enjoying this as much as he was.  But as her tight heat gripped him, he pressed deeper. 

When he saw the flinch on her face and her eyes closed briefly, he stopped and looked down at her.  “Cricket?” he asked.  “Are you okay?”

She wiggled her hips slightly, trying to get used to his size.  Biting her lip, she shifted again, not seeing the almost pained look in his eyes until she opened her own again and looked up at him.  When she saw what was going on with him, her hand moved to his cheek.  “What’s wrong?” she whispered, worried that she’d done something wrong.  “Did I hurt you?” she asked. 

“Damn no!” he groaned.  “But I think I just hurt you,” he said.  He tried not to move, suspecting that this was her first time
; he didn’t want her to be hurt any more than was needed.  He cursed himself for moving so fast.  He should have been more patient.  He should have gotten to know her better.  If he had gone slower, if he’d just talked to her like he’d planned tonight, then he might have known that she was a virgin.  Or had been. 

“I’m sorry, Cricket,” he growled, berating himself for being so obtuse.  “I didn’t know.”

She moved her hips again, the pain completely gone and the need to move, to feel him inside of her was more overpowering than she could have imagined.  “I’m good,” she said, then gasped when he moved just slightly. 

“Are you sure?” he asked, freezing once again. 

She wiggled her hips and placed her hands on his chest, the need to move becoming more urgent.  “Ryker, please don’t stop,” she gasped out and then closed her eyes once again when he did just that, shifting his weight which caused him to shift inside of her, delicious, amazing and overwhelming pleasure zipped through her whole body and she closed her eyes, arching into him to feel it again. 

That was all the encouragement he needed.  Ryker pulled slightly out of her heat, then pressed right back into her.  Over and over again, faster and faster, he watched her climb up that pleasure cliff with him and it was such a turn-on to see her like this, to know that he was the only man who had done this to her.  When she screamed out with her second orgasm, the tightness of her brought him right along with her.  He’d wanted to watch her, but the way she writhed underneath him pulled him over to his own climax.