Jezebel (27 page)

In shock, she watched him
lean forward. The situation was cliché for sure, but she was
a willing victim of this little play of seduction as he kissed away
whatever was on the corner of her mouth.

“
It
was only peanut butter.” He said it so softly Celeste barely
heard him. Or maybe it was only because her heart was slamming in her
chest. Even her stomach was doing that butterfly thing.

He’d just kissed her,
and yet it felt like he’d touched her all over. But to have
felt all of him just then would’ve have been too much for her
senses, already hanging by a tenuous thread of control.

“
I think we’d
better go.”

“
Huh?”
Head still in the clouds, Celeste tried switching gears from his kiss
to the sudden change in subject and failed.

She
wasn’t the only one who’d gotten hot and bothered. His
green eyes sparkled with an emotion other than merriment. The
intensity of his gaze was unnerving. And yet, he seemed perfectly in
control.

“
Let’s go,”
he stood, holding out his hand. “We’ll end up missing the
movies.”

“
Why are you so
different?” Embarrassed, she didn’t mean to voice her
thoughts out loud, Celeste groaned. “I—I didn’t
mean that.”

“
Yeah, you did.”
Entwining their fingers, he pulled her into him. Rock hard and
unyielding, his body was in direct contrast to hers. Heck,
practically every man she’d been with. Shane was a man’s
man. Built to work hard and play even harder.

“
You’re
wondering why I’m not like all those other clowns out there.”
He tipped her head up with a finger under her chin. “You’re
wondering why I never paw you or take liberties.”

Celeste nodded. He’d
hit it on the head.

“
I’m leaving it
up to you.”

“
Up to me?”

He cupped her face and his
bare fingers were hot against her skin. “When you’re
good and ready,” he leaned in and kissed the corner of her
mouth, “I want you to tell me you want me.” He angled his
head in the other direction and kissed the other side of her mouth.

“
Just say the words.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Celeste
squeezed her eyes shut to curb the damage, regain some control. It
was bad enough that the sight of him, the sound of his voice, his
touch took a constant toll on her, but to be given the choice. He
was worse than any drug!

Tired of
fighting the inevitable, Celeste whispered, “I want you.”

His expression,
what she saw in his green eyes, told her what he was going to do
before even before he lowered his head. His tongue slipped between
her lips and she followed with her own. She couldn’t hold
back. His mouth was too damn intoxicating.

Without
releasing her lips, Shane slowly guided her backward until her bottom
brushed against the kitchen table. Lifting her with a hand under each
butt cheek, he placed her on the table top.

Inch by inch,
he lifted the hem of her dress. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs
around his waist and drew him closer.

The
imperceptible rip of fabric was followed by a cold rush of air along
her spine. Celeste gasped as he cupped her breasts gently, almost
reverently. He lifted and rotated them slowly, while his thumbs
grazed her nipples, turning them into hard little peaks and her
insides into quivering mush.

He dipped his
head at the same time he gripped the edges of the back of her dress
and tugged. The fabric stretched then gave way with a loud popping of
stitches. Instead of removing her clothes, he’d ripped them
right off her back.

Celeste had
little time to dwell on the loss or the fact that she was naked from
the waist up. As soon as he divested her of her garments, he closed
his mouth over a throbbing peak. Groaning, she gripped the back of
his head and held him against her breast.

He suckled her
with his tongue and blew softly across the wet tip, causing her to
buck and arch against him. The room tipped and revolved around them
in the most peculiar fashion. Celeste felt tossed about, caught up in
a tidal wave and swept along with the quickening rush of her blood
and the erratic hammering of her heart. It wasn’t like she was
a virgin for goodness sakes, but he seemed to know exactly how to ply
her flesh and create sensations she never knew existed.

Driven by sheer
primitive instinct, Celeste snatched at his shirt, yanked it open and
sent buttons flying in all directions. She was desperate to touch
skin to skin.

Of the same
mindset, Shane lifted her dress until it floated around her waist and
he quickly divested her of her silk tap pants.

“
Hurry,”
she panted as he plucked furiously at the buttons of his trousers.

But once
undone, he didn’t come inside. Instead, he rubbed the flesh
where her legs joined her hips. Each stroke opened her wider and
brought him closer to her center, yet never touching.

“
What are
you waiting for?” Celeste gripped his lean hips with her
thighs. “You’re torturing…”

The rest of her
plea wedged in her throat as his fingers slid inside her.

Oh, God!
Celeste thought dazedly. This wasn’t some drunken fool’s
fumbling that always left her dry and irritated. Shane’s
fingers were pure magic as they moved with tantalizing slowness over
her sex with bold strokes. Long fingers parted her folds and latched
onto the hard nub. In varying degrees of intensity, he pinched and
played with her sensitive flesh.

Celeste
clutched his shoulders.

“
Easy.”
His fingers—long and thick and perfectly capable of driving her
out of her mind—pressed deeper, making her toes curl. “I’m
going to give you what you want soon enough.”

Temporarily
conceding, Celeste rode him out. Smart move. He touched her where and
how she wanted to be touched. Even the rough texture of his clothes
excited her. He was her drug, his lips, his tongue, his fingers.
Altogether they targeted nerve endings that had her thrashing
uncontrollably, moaning and close to tears.

But what moved
her most was the fact that he made her feel cherished Celeste thought
bemusedly as he stroked, traced and kissed every curve and dip on her
body until she became light headed and her inner thighs became slick.

Ashamed, she
buried her face in his neck. Unfortunately, his cologne, a spicy mix
of orange, cedar and tarragon shot through her system.

“
I want
you,” she groaned against his neck.

“
Shhh,”
he soothed. His gaze hers and held it. He positioned himself at the
apex of her sex and pressed upward. An uncommonly tight fit, the
smooth, fat head wedged between her folds and she gasped.

“
Be
careful,” she whispered.

He promised,
but it soon became unnecessary as he proceeded to seesaw himself
deeper and deeper. And with each subsequent thrust, the pain gave
away to another kind of feeling, which made her welcome each stroke.

***

Shane meant to
take it slowly, to take his time. Ease her into it. But she was
begging it for it and running those little hands all over his body.
She had him so on edge, he was afraid he’d spill his seed.
Before he embarrassed himself, he buried his cock to the hilt.

“
Are you
okay?”

Relieved, Shane
squeezed his eyes shut and placed his forehead against the bookcase.
She was so warm and tight, like a custom glove, he was beginning to
see stars.

In an effort to
remain in control, he concentrated on establishing a rhythm. It was
hard when her words kept bombarding him.

No
matter how much he tried
denying
his
feel
ings
for this woman she kept sucking him in, each time deeper and deeper
until he couldn’t walk away.

Despite the
obvious risk and his overriding guilt, she proved to be an
irresistible force he couldn’t readily forget despite his best
efforts.

And now as he
pumped into her over and over, he knew without a doubt he was
claiming her as his own.

Yes, she had a
past, but so did he. One, that if he were as forthcoming as she,
would make her hate him…perhaps forever.

Shane
cursed his bad luck. One moment of cowardice and he’d derailed
his entire future, his dreams. And now he’d added her to his
mess of life.

He should’ve
walked away after the wake. Paid his respects and made a clean
break. But that night he’d found a kindred spirit trapped in a
dark isolated world, pretending they didn’t need anybody or
anything.

Only their
defenses were different. She’d built her walls with booze,
good times and men, while his were fortified with selfish desires and
violence.

Tonight, she’d
become privy to both. He’d let loose on three men who hadn’t
deserved the beating they’d been dealt. And now his
single-minded obsession and hard fought pursuit had been won. She was
finally his.

With
a loud, lustful grunt Shane buried his face in the soft spot between
her neck and shoulder. Despite his tortured thoughts, his body
continued to move of its own volition like a pulsing, mindless
machine.

He liked it
that way. He didn’t want to think about his tattered future.
He didn’t want to dwell on the consequences of his misguided
choices.

All he wanted
was to feel. Feel the crush of her perky breasts against his chest.
Feel her arms wrapped around him as he thrust into her welcoming
heat. Feel the soft texture of lips as he plundered her delectable
mouth.

His guilty
conscience gave way to a strong surge of lust. Like the adrenaline
rush he experienced whenever he stepped into the ring, it pumped
though his veins and filled his groin. Gripping her hips, he drove
himself home.

But
the ride wasn’t smooth, she gave as good as she got. She
kissed him with the same vigor he used on her. He stroked deeper, she
bucked back. This was like nothing he’d ever experienced
before. This passionate sensual creature was making him her slave,
reducing his reality to nothing but her body beneath his, wrapped
around him, filling the emptiness he’d run from since he was a
boy.

Caught up in
the moment, his need suddenly shifted to high gear and demanded
satisfaction. He took one of her nipples in his mouth and clamped
down. His free hand massaged and played with the nipple. Her breath
came in choked gasps as he pushed in as deep as she could take him.

“
S-Shane,”
she panted as if out of breath. Shane wasn’t in any better
shape. He could barely breathe and he’d popped a sweat. Still,
he outlasted her in the end as she arched her back and cried out.

Shane gritted
his teeth. In her release, she’d continued to move against him
while planting wanton kisses down his throat. For the second time
that night, Shane cursed his luck. Known for his endurance in the
ring, it also came in handy in the bedroom. He could usually hang on
for two or three more rounds.

Not now. Not
with her. The force of her release sent him over the edge as well.
His groin tightened and his stomach muscles clenched.

Unable to hold
back or maintain control, Shane as promised pulled out and ejaculated
on the floor between their feet. Whispering frantically, he exploded
over and over again.

Of course,
later he’d deny everything down to the letter. Right now he
meant every word of devotion and fond affection because for the first
time in life his life he felt what came close to love.

CHAPTER
TWENTY ONE

The sun peeked
through the lace bedroom curtains, much too soon for Celeste’s
liking. Groaning, she snatched the pillow from under her head and
placed it over her eyes.

It couldn’t
be morning already. It felt like she’d just closed her eyes.
Shane and his endurance comparable to a prized work horse kept her up
through most of the night…making love.

Celeste rolled
over onto her back and an unaccustomed soreness made her blanch. Due
to her aggressive nature in bed, maybe she’d goaded Shane a
little too much.

Her body felt
clobbered but in a good way, considering he’d taken her up
against the bookcase downstairs, on the stairs, on the floor in her
bedroom then finally on the bed.