Seducing the Old Flame (16 page)

“Apparently, she’s playing hard to get,” Jason teased.

“Apparently.”
 
Tabitha
tore off a chunk of cheese, pepperoni, and sausage and held it out.
 
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

She’d swear the cat turned up her nose.

Jason laughed.

Tabitha nudged him.
 
“Don’t laugh at my cat.”

“I wasn’t,” he corrected.
 
“I was laughing at you.”

“You find me amusing?” she challenged, forgetting She-cat
altogether.

“Among other things.”
 
His
lips twitched.

“What other things?”
 
She
dropped the pizza on to the top of the box and stared into Jason’s eyes.
 
Eyes that left her breathless.
 
And achy.

“Well, you certainly keep me entertained.”

“Entertained?”
 
She
scowled at him.
 
“Wrong answer.
 
Try again.”

“Aware.
 
You keep me aware.”

“Aware?
 
Aware might
work.
 
Tell me more.”
 
Had he leaned closer or had she?
 
Either way his breath tickled her face.

“Aware of you.
 
Of how
beautiful you are, how sexy, how hot.”
 
He cupped her chin.
 
“Aware of
me.
 
Of how my body zings to life when I
look at you, touch you.”

“Good answer.”
 
Her eyes
closed.
 
“Great answer,” she clarified.

“Let me make love to you, Tabby.”

Did he think he needed to ask?
 
Wrong.
 
She’d wanted him all
day.
 
Longer.
 
Her whole life.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Here?”
 
She gestured to
the sofa.

“If that’s what you want.”

“It doesn’t matter where we are.
 
I want you.”

He smiled.
 
“Great
answer.”

She wouldn’t explain that her words meant more than just at this
moment, that she wanted him always.

No, that wouldn’t be good.
 
Nor would it be what she’d agreed to when she’d shown up on his
doorsteps.
 
Had it only been last night?

“You just went serious on me.”

She blinked at him.
 
“Who
me?
 
Serious?
 
You must be mistaken.”
 
She ran her finger down his chest.
 
“But I do want to go to the bedroom.
 
Do we need to lock She-cat back in the
bathroom?”

They both eyed the cat who just yawned and stretched out on the
sofa as if she were settling in for the night and couldn’t be bothered by them.

“Nah, we’ll lock the bedroom door.
 
She can tear the place down if she wants and
I doubt I’ll care.
 
Not until morning anyway.”

Tabby nodded.
 
She really
hated the thought of locking She-cat back up.
 
Maybe the cat would be good.
 
But
she doubted it.

She stood from the sofa and pulled on Jason.
 
“Come on, let’s go to bed.
 
It’s been a long day.”

“It’s going to be a long night,” he promised with a sinful look
in his chocolaty eyes.

“I’m counting on it.”

Jason flipped on his bedroom light and closed the door behind
them, effectively locking She-cat out.
 
Not that the cat budged when they’d left the room.
 
She hadn’t.

Eyes pinned on Jason, Tabitha unbuttoned her shirt.
 
Slowly, one button at a time.

He leaned against the doorframe and watched.

Her heart thundered in her ears as she let the animal print
blouse drop to the floor.
 
She knew
without looking that her tiger striped bra pushed her breasts up to cleavage
heaven.
 
All she had to do was look at Jason’s
face, his eyes.

Was that drool running down his chin?

Giddiness lightened her movements as she reached for her pants
zipper.
 
With a saucy shake of her hips
the black material fell to the floor.
 
Maneuvering her feet to where one foot helped remove the other’s shoe,
she kicked off her low cut boots and pants.

Jason’s intake of breath cheered her on, made her feel like the
sexiest woman alive.
 
Her eyes meeting
his, she smiled at him.
 
Really
smiled.
 
A smile that started somewhere
near the pit of her stomach and blossomed outward.

“You are so hot.”
 
His
voice graveled and Tabitha believed him.
 
Believed in him.
 
Loved him.

“Thank you.”
 
She turned,
slowly providing him a long look at her body from all views.
 
A long look at her bare bottom only covered
by a tiger-stripe string up her crack.
 
Why any woman wore anything other than a thong was beyond Tabitha.
 
There was nothing like the light in a man’s
eyes when he looked at your body encased in sexy underwear.

No man ever looked at her the way Jason did at that moment.

“I’ve died, gone to heaven, and you’re my reward.”

She giggled.
 
“More like,
you’ve died and gone to hell and I’m your punishment.”

“It is warm in here.”
 
He
tugged on his T-shirt collar.
 
“So,
you’re my eternal damnation whose sole purpose is to torture me?”

“Torture can be pleasurable.”

“It’s definitely torture to look at you and not be touching.”

Tabitha giggled again.
 
“Who said you couldn’t touch?”

“Not one damn body.”
 
He
pulled off his T-shirt, unsnapped his jeans.

Tabitha’s breath caught in her throat.
 
Long and lean and sculpted.
 
She swallowed.
 
He put every man alive to shame.

Her gaze danced at where the light spattering of hair darted
beneath the tiny vee above his zipper.

“You’re beautiful,” she told him.

He laughed.
 
“Men aren’t
beautiful.
 
They’re tough, strong, macho,
handsome, not beautiful.”

“Well, you are all those things, including beautiful,” she
insisted.

He glanced toward the dresser mirror he stood in front of and
shrugged.
 
“Nothing beautiful here.
 
Just me.”

“That’s what I find beautiful.”
 
She stepped next to him and stared at their reflection.
 
“Just you.”

Jason’s hands slipped around her waist and, holding her gaze in
the mirror, he dipped and kissed her neck.

Tabitha shivered and forced herself to remain still.
 
The urge to twist and kiss him tempted all
too much.

“So soft,” he whispered into the curve of her neck.
 
“So delicate.
 
Vulnerable, almost.”

She did feel vulnerable.
 
Vulnerable to the power he held over her body and mind.
 
Could he sense that?
 
See it in her reflection?

He rained more kisses over her goose-bumped flesh.
 
His hips swayed against her bare bottom, the
soft denim of his jeans playing havoc against her sensitized skin.

“I’m going to make love to you, Tabby.
 
Slow and easy until you beg for release.
 
Last night was fast and hard.
 
This morning, too.
 
Part of me yearns for that same wild ride,
but I’m not going to give in to it,” he promised.
 
“Tonight I’m going to brand you with me.”

“Yes,” she purred, wanting everything he promised.
 
More.

His hands cupped her breasts, toying with her nipples until
Tabitha expected them to rip through the silk of her bra.
 
He traced his way down her stomach.
 
Tabitha watched his fingers’ lazy path in the
mirror, until he fingered her belly button.

She arched her back, ground her bottom against him, not caring
that his zipper dug into her flesh.

“Please,” she moaned, grinding harder.

“Please what?” he teased, dipping his fingers lower, skirting
the outline of her panties.

“Jason.”

“Please Jason what?”
 
He
lifted the elastic, slipped his finger underneath.

“Love me.”

His finger stroked over her, then slid home.

“Yes,” she cried, rocking against his hand, until liquid heat
built inside her and spread outward in slow spasmic waves.
 
She closed her eyes, relishing the orgasm
washing over her, trying to hang on to the sensation as long as she could.

“Open your eyes, Tabby,” he ordered.

She did.

Gaze locked with his in the mirror, she gasped as he slipped
inside her,
bare
.

He felt good.

So good.
 
Flesh to
flesh.
 
Jason to Tabitha.

His hips thrust and she clenched around his hard length
automatically.

“I never knew,” she whispered.

But Jason didn’t speak, sweat beaded on his brow and although
his eyes remained locked with hers, his mind was far away.
 
He struggled to hang on, to keep the pace
slow.

Because he wanted to make this last.

For her.

She couldn’t do this.
 
She’d been crazy to think she could.

She moaned her pleasure as pain ripped through her heart at what
she had to do.

“Jason?” she repeated.
 
“You have to stop.”

That got his attention.

“What?”
 
His eyes filled
with concern and she had to look away from the mirror.
 
“Am I hurting you?” he asked.

Yes.
 
Not having his love
hurt.

“I need you to put on the condom, Jason.”

Because she couldn’t deal with the emotions of having him flesh
to flesh with her. “Put on the condom,” her voice broke as she ordered, “Now.”

Chapter Nine

What the hell?
 
Jason
stared at Tabby’s reflection, trying to figure out what had just taken place.

He clenched his teeth.

She was shutting him out.

Apparently she experienced the same longings he had this weekend
and sex without barriers represented how far they’d come.
 
No barriers between them.

Not this time.

”What if I don’t want to?”

“You have to, Jason.”
 
She
sounded breathy, on the edge.

Tabby came for a weekend of sex.
 
On her terms.

Fine.

With determination, he withdrew from her body, grabbed up his
jeans and pulled a condom they’d purchased earlier from his wallet.
 
He’d stuck two in there earlier--just in
case.
 
And there was the rest of the box
in the nightstand.

She wanted a condom.

He’d wear a condom.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t every other time he’d ever had sex.

Except for those few moments wrapped inside Tabby and he
wouldn’t think about that.
 
Not if he
wanted to last more than another minute.

He donned the condom, met Tabby’s gaze for the first time since
he’d pulled out of her and swore.

“What’s wrong?”

If he’d been going at the pace they’d done last night, he might
really believe he’d physically hurt her.
 
But moments before couldn’t have hurt her, not if last night hadn’t.

“Nothing.”
 
She averted
her gaze.

Did she think him a blind fool?

“Sorry.”
 
She swatted her
eyes.
 
“I want to get in the bed now.”

Not giving him a chance to argue, she walked across the room and
climbed into the bed, stomach and face down.

Hell no.

He wasn’t going to let her hide from him.