Instantly, his thumb glided through slick folds of flesh and found her clit, and he caressed her with slow, unhurried strokes meant to tease and build the tension cresting higher and higher, hotter and hotter. One finger, then two, pushed deep inside of her and that quickly, that easily, he felt the tremors within her begin.
She whimpered helplessly, and moaned incoherently. Her hands clutched at his back as her hips began to move in time to the circling pressure of his thumb, and the driving force of his fingers impaling her.
Giving in to the unstoppable urge to watch Christine as she climaxed, he lifted his head and stared down at her face. Her eyes were dark and filled with carnal need, her skin flushed with excitement all the way down to her heaving breasts. Her inner muscles fluttered around his fingers, and she tossed her head back in utter abandon, her lips parting on a shocked gasp of breath as the force of her orgasm sent her soaring. With his name tumbling from her lips, she shattered completely, blissfully.
When it was over, she slowly looked up at him, licked her bottom lip, and whispered, "I want more."
Her words shot liquid fire straight to his groin, unleashing his own lust, making him delirious with need. She was temptation personified, and having her became a live thing, something uncontrollable and inevitable, and suddenly jacking off all alone to ease his own ache held no appeal whatsoever.
He didn't have a condom, but he didn't need one for what he had in mind. Shoving his sweatpants down to his thighs, he released his heavy, throbbing erection and rubbed the sensitive head along the wet, gossamer stretch of panties covering her mound, saturating the length of his cock with the evidence of her own desire.
He settled his weigh more fully over her, pushing her thighs farther apart to make room for him between. He lifted her knees higher, parting them around his hips, then wrapping those slender legs tight around him. He slid every part of his body flush against her, hating the barriers between them, wishing they had nothing separating skin from skin. Meeting her heavy-lidded gaze, he thrust against her, the friction sending a warning shiver straight up his spine.
His self-discipline vanished. His control shattered. Knowing he wasn't going to last long, he crushed his mouth to hers, devouring her with the demanding pressure of his lips and aggressive invasion of his tongue. The hard ridge of his erection nudged her clit as he rocked against all that silky wet heat, again and again.
It was the next best thing to being inside of her, and he went a little wild at the thought.
Her moan vibrated deep inside him and she strained against him, ramping up his own urgency to let go. His hips pumped against hers in long, frantic strokes, and amazingly, he felt her shudder beneath him as another orgasm took her by surprise. And that was all it took for him to come right along with her in a hot, pulsing rush of unrestrained ecstacy.
When it was over, he burrowed his face against her damp neck, a raspy groan escaping him. Christine threaded her fingers through his hair, so sweet and affectionate, while her heart beat rapidly against his chest. Then she turned her head and pressed her lips near his ear.
"Thank you," she whispered, and he heard the lazy smile in her voice as she stroked her fingers along his nape. "That was amazing."
Amazing didn't even come close to describing what he'd just experienced, even without the luxury of being inside her. How in the hell was that possible?
He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to believe what he'd just done. Unable to believe he'd let things go this far when he knew better. His body was drained, depleted of every ounce of energy and months worth of all the sexual tension that had been building between them. His explosive orgasm had nearly slayed him, and the very worst of it was, he wasn't done wanting her. Not by a long shot.
And he had a feeling she was going to use every bit of that knowledge to her advantage.
WITH a whole lot to do before the elaborate charity ball that evening, Christine was up early Saturday morning and working in her office at home. She spent a couple of hours printing out bidding sheets and item descriptions for the silent auction, as well as organizing gold-embossed place cards to coincide with each donation. She checked and double-checked her master list against all the goods she had on hand to make sure everything matched and nothing was missing, then polished up her speech and made sure she had a copy of that, too.
By the time she was done, it was nearly noon and her stomach growled hungrily. She'd eaten breakfast hours before and had been running on pure caffeine since. She needed protein to keep her going for the rest of the afternoon.
Shutting down her computer, she picked up her empty coffee mug and headed down the hall toward the kitchen. She passed the guest bedroom, and for the first time that morning the door was open and no one was inside. It appeared that Ben had decided he could no longer avoid her after their hot and heavy make-out session the evening before, and had finally ventured out.
Smiling, she continued on, and when she walked into the kitchen she found him sitting at her small dinette table eating a big bowl of the Froot Loops he'd bought when they'd gone grocery shopping together earlier that week. He must have recently taken a shower because his hair was still damp. He didn't look up at her, and he didn't say a word.
Refusing to cater to his mood swing, she acted as though nothing was different between them. "Good morning," she greeted cheerfully.
"Morning," he muttered, and shoveled another spoonful of cereal into his mouth.
She retrieved sliced turkey breast, Dijon mustard, tomato, and lettuce from the refrigerator and set the items on the counter, along with a loaf of fresh honey wheat bread. "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Just fine."
She started putting together her sandwich, waiting for him to return the polite question. When he said nothing more, she took it upon herself to reply. "I slept great, too. Thanks for asking." She cast a grin over her shoulder, but it was lost on Ben, who was still concentrating on inhaling his Froot Loops.
Wanting to get some kind of reaction from him, she poured herself a glass of iced tea and went on. "In fact, I can't remember the last time I had such a good night's rest. It's incredible how a good orgasm can make a person relax, unwind, and sleep like a baby, huh?"
He merely grunted in response.
She carried her sandwich and drink to the table and sat across from him. Frustrated beyond reason by his cool composure and his refusal to acknowledge their hot, sexual encounter the evening before, she decided to shake things up a bit. "Do you think we can do it again sometime? Because I'd really like to." She picked up half of her sandwich and took a bite.
That snagged his attention and his head jerked up. His dark gaze, filled with stunned disbelief, met hers. She'd asked the shameless question purely for shock value, and she had to admit her ploy had worked in terms of snapping Ben out of his aloof attitude, but she couldn't deny that the idea of being with him again held immense appeal.
His gaze bore into hers, clearly trying to gauge if she was serious or not.
She exhaled an impatient sigh and opted for the direct approach. "Are we ever going to talk about what happened last night?"
"I would prefer not to." Reaching for the box of Froot Loops, he refilled his bowl with the colorful cereal and added more milk.
"That's what I figured," she said, and summoned the confidence and determination to get through this conversation with Ben-and hopefully come out the other end with exactly what she wanted. "So, I'm just going to put it all out there and get everything out in the open."
Needing more food in her stomach, she ate another bite of her turkey sandwich, and washed it down with a drink of cold tea. "First of all, last night was not a fluke or something that happened in the heat of the moment. The attraction has been building between us for months, and I wanted to be with you because I knew it would be so good, and I was right."