Okay, maybe he'd pushed her too far, goaded her just a little too much, but there was no backing down now. Her giving him a lap dance was going to test every bit of his control, possibly shatter his restraint when it came to her, but he had a feeling that's exactly what she was striving for. Which made him all the more determined to make sure this scenario didn't escalate into a physical encounter, not when she still wanted to believe that he was in this purely for sex.
Give it your best shot, sweetheart. "Please, do," he murmured, daring her right back.
She nudged his legs apart and moved in between, just as the song playing ended and another began. This one had a slower beat, and Sydney's body eased right into the rhythm, hips circling, thighs shifting, as her hands touched and caressed all that smooth, bare skin. Eyes closed, her head fell back on a sigh, and her torso undulated, slowly, sinuously-just inches away from his face. So close he could smell her soft, feminine scent, could see the tight points of her nipples straining against the fabric of her bra.
The urge to reach out and stroke her, everywhere, was strong, and he closed his hands into tight fists at his sides. Undoubtedly, this woman was every man's erotic fantasy, and that was part of the problem-he didn't want to be just another man in a long line of them, and he refused to fit into the same low class as all the other jerks in her life. He wanted more than Sydney's body, more than one night of hot sex, and convincing her of that, and his honest intentions, meant suffering through this sexual game of hers.
With an amazingly lithe move, she turned around in the V of his legs. Bracing her hands on his knees, she lowered herself toward his lap, slowly, leisurely sliding her bottom along his thighs and barely grazing the thick, aching erection pressing insistently against the fly of his pants.
His heart pumped hard and fast in his chest, and it was all he could do to hold in a deep groan as she added to the torture, grinding down gently against his crotch and adopting a forward and backward motion with her hips that increased the burning need surging through his veins. Just when he thought he wasn't going to last, she laid back against him in a full body slide. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, which gave him an unobstructed view of her gorgeous breasts, the slope of her belly, her slightly spread legs.
She took advantage of that fact, arousing herself, and him, with her hands. Her fingers dipped into her bra and cupped her breasts, while her thumbs played with the rigid tips. She moaned, wriggled against him, and glided her flattened palms over her stomach… then lower, between her thighs.
Lust and desire inflamed him, threatening to unravel not only his control, but all his good intentions, too. Knowing that watching her pleasure herself was going to be his undoing, which she no doubt was hoping for, he glanced away and started going through complicated math problems in his head… anything to keep his cool, which wasn't an easy feat when he had a near-naked woman rubbing up against him.
The music continued, and she rolled over gracefully so that she was sitting on his thighs facing him, with her knees straddling his hips. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she scooted closer until his constrained cock was nestled right up against the damp panel of her panties.
And still, he didn't so much as touch her.
He looked up into her face, which was flushed a warm shade of pink that continued down her throat and spread out toward her breasts. Her lashes were half-mast, but he could still see the soft, sultry green of her eyes, glittering with heat and hunger. Her lips were parted, her breathing as ragged as his own. Oh, yeah, she was thoroughly aroused, and the sudden determination that flashed in her gaze didn't bode well for him at all.
Neither did the wicked smile curling her lips as she smoothed her hands down over his chest. He was wearing a shirt, but her palms burned him straight through the thin material to his skin. Her slender fingers found his taut nipples, and she scraped over them with her thumbnails, eliciting a deep groan from him that seemed to give her a tremendous amount of satisfaction. Lower those sweet hands of hers traveled, until they reached the waistband of his trousers.
Before she could unfasten the first snap, he grabbed her wrists and pulled her hands away. No words were spoken as they stared at one another in a silent battle of wills, but then again, none were needed. He was so damned close to surrendering, and she knew it, too. Sex was her goal, and there was no doubt in his mind, or hers, that if she released his shaft and touched him, stroked him, he'd be unable to resist her.
With her hands still firmly in his grasp and held out to the side-he wasn't about to let her go-she used other feminine wiles to get what she was after. She rolled her hips into him, subtly, skillfully, simulating the erotic grind and thrust of sex, and no amount of algebra equations could stop his body from responding. His own need kicked up a notch, pushing him closer to the point of no return.
She dropped her head back, arched into him, and moaned. Her breasts were inches away from his mouth, so tempting, and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to lean forward and taste her with his tongue… to push her down onto the couch and give her exactly what she was begging for.
Another rhythmic stroke against him and she gasped out loud. Again, and she shivered and started to come with a soft, unraveling moan, and he knew he was done for, too. Hell, he might as well have been deep inside her for the way she was gripping his hips with her thighs and pressing hard and deep against his cock. His own release grew and intensified, until he couldn't hold back any longer. With a rough groan, he climaxed right along with her.
After one last final shudder, she collapsed against him, her face buried into the curve of his neck and her warm, damp breath caressing his skin. He let go of her wrists and fully expected her to move off his lap and gloat at the fact that she'd managed to get a reaction out of him after all.
Instead, she cuddled into his chest, surprising the hell out of him with that unguarded gesture. But he took advantage of the moment and gently caressed his hands along her back, relishing just how soft this woman was, inside and out. That despite how rough and tough she tried to act, she did have a tender, vulnerable side. He smiled as he skimmed his fingers down her spine, and just when he thought that maybe, just maybe, he'd made some headway with Sydney, he felt a distinct change in her body language, as if she'd realized just how much she'd revealed by her relaxation.
Slowly, she pushed away from him, going from being sated and content and enjoying an intimate embrace to all sass and bravado.
Still sitting astride his thighs, she glanced down at his lap, then met his gaze with a satisfied, cocky grin. "Well, that settles that."
He arched a brow and played along, because it was clear she wasn't ready for a deep, emotional conversation about the two of them. "What settles what?"
She ran a playful finger down the middle of his chest.
"I was beginning to think you were impotent, but that's clearly not the case."
Unable to help himself, he laughed. "Everything functions quite well, as you can see."
"Then why are you making this so difficult? We could be having hot sex right now." A slight edge of frustration vibrated in her voice, then was replaced with sarcasm. "Oh, wait, don't tell me you're one of those guys who won't have sex until they're married?"
"Hell, no." She was trying to push all his buttons, possibly angling for an argument to make sure she distanced herself from him, but he wasn't going to let her take the easy way out. "But I'm not into casual sex, either, Sydney."
And that, too, seemed to piss her off-probably because she understood the underlying connotation to his comment. That sex, for him, was an intimate and personal connection. And for her, it was all about the physical.