Shameless (22 page)

He breathed heavily beside her. Her own breaths were quick and raspy. They stared at the ceiling, which was gray in the darkness, the only light coming from the streetlight seeping through the curtains. She knew he waited for her to say something,
do
something. But she couldn’t move. She needed to catch her breath. She needed to regain her self-control.

The wind hissed at the window, rattling its frame. Raindrops beat against the panes in a quick, steady staccato. Yet with all the noises of Mother Nature, the silence in the bedroom was deafening.

John kept perfectly still, waiting for Sam to make the first move. Finally, she rolled to the edge of the bed and reached for something on the floor. He closed his eyes. They’d tossed the pillows down there. Damn her, he thought. And damn himself for being so stupid—

She rolled back toward him, pulling the quilt with her. Wordlessly, she handed him a corner and they covered themselves with it. Still, their bodies didn’t really touch and still they stared at the ceiling.

He felt the bed shift and he rotated his head to see her peering over at him from her pillow. She looked so serious, her brows furrowed as she studied him. Then, slowly, her lips curved and she gave him a sweet smile. He realized he’d been holding his breath, and he let it out, his tension evaporating. He grinned and slid his arm around her shoulders, drawing her into his side.

After a few moments of enjoying the afterglow, he murmured against her hair, “That was incredible.”

Her fingernails grazed his arm. “It was,” she said after a moment.

“You don’t like not being in complete control at all times, do you?”

Her breathing stilled. Then she sighed. “I obviously
liked
it. I’m just not used to it.”

He kissed the top of her head and couldn’t help smiling. “Okay. Next time, you can be on top.”

John rolled over and buried his head into the pillow, inhaling. What he smelled wasn’t the faint scent of roses Sam wore, but something almost as mouthwatering. He opened his eyes and sniffed again. Bacon. Before he could follow his nose, Sam breezed through the bedroom door carrying a breakfast tray.

Seeing his rumpled but awake form, she said, “Oh, good. I thought I’d have to wake you.”

He pushed himself onto an elbow and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?” He glanced around for a clock.

“Just past noon.” She set the tray on the empty side of the bed. “I made you some—”

“Noon?” He grabbed his watch from the bedside stand then raked his fingers through his hair. He fell back on the pillows. “Christ. I haven’t slept in this late since college.” He took in her freshly scrubbed face devoid of makeup and her shower-dampened hair. Her body was covered in a long, red nightshirt that hit her at mid-thigh. He’d bet she had nothing on under it. He vowed to find out. Soon.

“I see it as a good thing,” she said, sitting on the edge of the mattress. She trailed her fingers over his blanketed calf. “Last night you said you might regret the decision to stay with me come morning, but…” Her lips curled into a teasing grin. “But it’s not morning anymore. It’s afternoon. So your time for regretting is past.”

He nabbed her wrist and hauled her on top of him. Wet, curling locks of her hair fell onto his face, tickling his over-sensitized skin. He slid his hand up the back of her thigh and cupped her bare bottom under her shirt. His penis immediately sprung to life, pressing against the blanket and Sam’s hip.

Her dark eyes laughed into his. “Why, Mr. Everest, you sure do wake up fast.”

“Why don’t you let me show you just how fast?” he growled against her neck, inhaling the fresh scent of soap on her skin and a floral shampoo in her hair.

“What about the nice breakfast I made you?” She arched her back as he tugged the collar of her shirt down and sucked a nipple into his mouth.

“You mean the bribery?” he asked against her breast.

She pulled back and pressed her fist to her heart. “You hurt me, John, thinking I made you breakfast as a way of bribing you into changing your mind about helping me.” She
tsked
,
tsked
under her breath.

He gripped her hips and scooted her into position over his erection that strained against the blanket. “So… that breakfast isn’t meant as a bribe?”

“Well, of course it is, but I’m still hurt you’d think that.” She wriggled on top of him, and he groaned at the sweet torture.

“Lady, I think I’m getting to know how your gorgeous mind works.”

Her arched brows lifted. “Well?” she asked, gripping the hem of her shirt and pulling it over her head. “Have you changed your mind?”

He crossed his arms behind his head and refrained from touching her delectably naked body, although his hands and mouth ached to explore it freely in the daylight. She grazed the tips of her fingers across his flat, brown nipples until they were hard as pebbles. His teeth clenched.

“Just because you’re straddling me naked as a jaybird doesn’t mean you’re going to get your way.” His fists bunched into the blanket as she bent forward and ran her hot tongue around his nipple.

“It doesn’t?” Her voice was muffled against his chest.

“You think you’ve got me in the palm of your hand, but you don’t.”

She reached between them and slipped her hand under the blanket. He just about lost it when she took hold of him. “Ah, but I do, John.”

His self-control was fast slipping into oblivion as she stroked him. “I think the deal is pretty one sided.” His voice cracked from passion and restraint. “You’ll get a baby, and I just get sex. It just seems unfair, you know?”

She trailed kisses over his chest and down his stomach, pausing at his belly button and swirling her tongue into the indentation. His buttocks tensed in response. Christ, he’d never known that part of his body to be so sensitive.

“Yeah, life’s a bitch, ain’t it?” she muttered, then moved lower, nudging the blanket out of her way.

When she took him into her mouth, John’s self-control snapped and he tangled his fingers in her hair. When the gentle suction began and his world spun with hot pleasure, he knew he couldn’t deny this woman
anything
.

John scribbled some notes on the short stack of index cards in front of him. He and Alex would be presenting the youth center proposal to the Seattle City Council in about an hour. He wasn’t as prepared as he’d like to be — he’d planned on having the entire weekend to go over his notes. Instead, he’d spent most of it in bed with Sam.

He grinned and leaned back in his desk chair, sunlight streaming in from the window adjacent his desk. He might not be completely prepared for this meeting, but damn, he had no regrets. Sam was a completely different woman — she was warm, she was fun, and God, was she a tiger in bed. The woman was insatiable. He thought
he
had a good appetite for sex… He smiled at the lusty memories.

Only a couple of times had she propped her hips on a pillow and timed herself, but even then, she’d snuggled with him afterward. They’d hardly moved from her bed all day yesterday. They’d alternated between making love and watching old movies on the tiny TV in her bedroom. When Sam let it slip she’d never had a man over to the condo, he’d insisted on “christening” each and every room. That had taken them well into the hours of Monday — today. When the alarm screamed just a few hours later, he’d had to pry his eyes open and speed home to shower and change before heading here.

He’d been wanting to call her all day, just to hear her voice. But he’d resisted the urge. They’d reached an agreement, so to speak, concerning their relationship. Sometime yesterday afternoon, during one of the rare moments they hadn’t been making love, Sam had broached the subject.

“As much as we obviously enjoy each other’s company right now,” she’d said, a sexy blush lighting her face, “I don’t want either of us getting carried away with everything and getting the wrong ideas about… us.”

He’d been a little annoyed she felt the need to bring that subject up just then, but he understood her concern. After all, he shared the concern. “Relax, beautiful,” he told her. “Let’s just enjoy each other’s company, among other things.” He shot her a lustful look and her blush deepened. “Let’s think of ourselves as summer lovers. We’ll enjoy the hell out of each other right now, but we both know it’s only temporary.”

“Mm, I’ve never had an affair before. Sounds naughty,” she murmured, nibbling the side of his neck.

“We’ll just have our summer romance for however long it takes to get you pregnant. Once you’re pregnant, summer will be over, so to speak.”

John planned to relish each and every minute with her until the day she became pregnant and they parted ways. His brother’s wife had taken almost a year to get pregnant with little Harlan. Chances were good both he and Sam would be more than ready to move on by then.

He propped his feet on his desk, holding the index cards on his lap. But, hot damn, he certainly wouldn’t be ready to give her up for a while. He shook his head as if that could clear his mind of her, and focused on the cards, forcing his brain on the upcoming presentation.

Someone knocked on his door. He hoped it was Sam, that she was on the same wavelength and couldn’t wait until tonight to see him. He lowered his feet to the floor. It wasn’t a drop-dead gorgeous brunette coming through the door, but a hulking black man, wearing a suit and tie.

“Looking pretty sharp, big guy,” John told Alex.

“Feeling pretty uncomfortable, John-boy,” Alex shot back with a grimace. He tugged at his collar. “Should’ve got the damn thing an inch larger in the neck.” He tugged again and dropped on the leather sofa.

“Say, how was your date with what’s-her-face on Friday?” John asked, tapping the stack of cards on the desktop and wrapping a rubber band around them.

Alex rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna love this. I took her to the Sharks game, right? They were playing the Lakers, so I’m real jazzed. You know, Tooch versus Kobe. Should be a great game, right? And it is. Sharks are up by one at the half. Then during the half-time show, when they turn down the lights, LaRita shoves her hand down my pants. Now, I’m all for a little nookie whenever I can get it, but get this—  One of her friggin’ fingernails gets caught in my fly and the damn thing breaks off. She starts wailing and crying right in front of everyone. She insisted I take her home because she was so upset. In the goddamn middle of the game, can you believe that?”

“I heard it was an awesome game. Double overtime. Sharks win at the buzzer.”

“Shut the hell up, man. Don’t rub it in.”

“You gonna call her again?”

“You crazy? She dis’d my main man Tooch. I ain’t gonna be spending anymore time with a woman like that.” He chuckled. “Besides, I don’t want those long-ass fingernails anywhere near my unit if you know what I’m talking about.” He crossed his legs and made a face. “Ouch.” He leaned back on the couch. “Were you out of town yesterday? You didn’t answer my call.”

John stretched back in his chair again, crossing his arms behind his head, shooting his friend a smug look. “I was at Sam’s.”

“I take it you two kissed and made up?”

“You could say that.”

“Any plans to see her again in the near future?”

John nodded, and couldn’t help the smile that creased his face. “Tonight.”

“So?” Alex sat forward on the couch.

“So… what?”

“So, tell me about it.”

John shrugged. “What’s to tell? We have a good time together, end of story.”

His friend’s burst of laughter brought John quickly forward in his chair, the springs twanging from the sudden movement. “What’s so funny?”

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Alex said, still laughing. “Oh, you’ve got it bad.” He drew his knees to his chest, giving credence to the expression of doubling over with laughter.

John scooted closer to the desk, resting his forearms on top. “What?”

Alex stomped his feet a couple of times. He was like a big, annoying kid sometimes. “I’m talking about Sam, John-boy. You’re whipped, aren’t you?”

John guffawed. “Yeah. Right.”

“The last time you wouldn’t tell me about a woman was when you were going out with what’s-her-face. And you married that one.” Alex’s high-pitched laughter echoed in the closed room.