Body Heat Read online

“God, I’m so close, please don’t stop.”

  If it were up to me, I’d never stop. I could spend the rest of my life face down in her pussy and be perfectly happy.

  I run my tongue over the little swollen button nestled in her pussy and she explodes against me, her hands buried in my hair, pulling me closer to her. I keep licking until the aftershocks subside and she pushes me away.

  “Fuck, that was hot,” she says as she lies on her back with her forearm draped over her eyes.

  “Get on all fours,” I growl in her ear. My girl is skittish and I don’t want to push her too far. But all that’s waiting for me once she leaves is an empty bed. Her warmth only accentuates the coldness of my life here. I need her. I want my tongue in her again.

  “Take it easy, tiger, I’m pretty sensitive right after I come.” She rolls over and raises herself onto all fours in front of me. I’m already dying from the view when she smiles at me over her shoulder. I’m totally lost.

  “Then I’ll stay away from your clit.” I take one soft globe of her ass flesh in each hand and spread her apart. Her pink rosette appears and it’s begging for my attention.

  “I love it when you spread me like that.”

  I gently lick the flat of my tongue against her puckered flesh and she whimpers. I kiss her there and trace circles around her opening with the tip of my tongue.

  “Does my mouth feel good on your sweet little asshole?” I ask.

  “Your mouth is so good; it feels so good.” Her voice is trembling and so are her thighs. My princess is close again.

  My cock stirs to life, but all I care about now is her pleasure. I slide a hand down and massage her pussy as I move my mouth back to her asshole. I lick that tight ring of muscle as I play with her clit, gently pinching it and tugging at it until another orgasm tears through her. And this time it’s a big one. She screams and her legs shake. She finally collapses on her stomach.

  I roll her over and she’s pretty much dead weight. “What are you doing to me? You’re going to ruin all other men for me.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I say. I kneel between her thighs, determined to squeeze one more drop of pleasure from her body. She spreads her legs for me and pinches her nipples, and I position myself.

  “I want to rub my cock on you,” I say.

  I spread her outer lips with one hand and take my cock in the other. I spank her clit with my dick and then settle it between her lips so that I’m running the underside of my cock against her slit, rubbing against her clit with each stroke.

  “Your cock feels so good,” she says as she tugs at her nipples.

  I jack against her, on the verge of coming myself just from rubbing against her, wondering what it would feel like to slide in her tight warmth.

  I don’t understand what happens next.

  “Stop! Please, stop!” She’s pulling away from me and scrambling to her feet in one hell of a hurry.

  I stop immediately and my cock goes soft. “Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” I struggle to my feet and reach for her. “Babe, what happened?”

  She motions for me to stay back. “I just need a minute.”

  “Did I do something wrong?” I’m alarmed and confused. Why won’t she talk to me?

  “I’m sorry, you were fine,” she says, but she’s still pulling away from me, reaching for her dress. “It just got really intense for a second there and it was too much.” She sits on the floor with her dress balled on her lap. She wraps her arms around her raised knees and looks up at me with teary eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

  I collapse on the floor next to her. She leans her head against my shoulder and I’m flooded with relief. “Don’t worry about me. What’s going on?”

  “I’m . . . I’m just really messed up, Max. There’s a reason I went to the club to pick someone up instead of jumping back into the dating scene. I’m not really fit for that.” I can read the embarrassment on her face.

  “I think you’re perfect.” I dip my head and kiss her forehead.

  “Stop, oh my God.” She pushes me away playfully. “You’re blinded by lust.”

  “Look at me,” I say, and she complies. “Are you okay?”

  “I haven’t been okay in a while.” A tear slides down her cheek. “But it has nothing to do with you or how good you are to me.”

  “Tell me how to fix it.” Because I would. I’d do anything she asks.

  “I wish you could. But it doesn’t work like that.”

  “Try me.” We’re so close. I think the door is opening and she might let me in. But then it slams shut.

  “I swear, I’m fine.” She brushes her eyes, slides her arms into her dress, and stands up. “I’m sorry I made such a scene.” She fastens her dress and puts on her shoes. “I better get home.”

  “Don’t go. You’re still upset.” I grab a pair of sweatpants and throw them on, along with an old T-shirt. “Let me get you some tea and we can sit and watch TV for a while.”

  “I really should go,” she says. “I need to let the dogs out.”

  “Then let me drive you home or call you a cab.”

  “I’m fine driving. I swear. I’m not a total wreck. I’m just a little embarrassed. I want to sit in the bath with a glass of wine.”

  “You don’t ever have to be embarrassed with me.” I want to make things better, but I don’t know how. I want to make her stay until she tells me what’s wrong. Until she tells me everything about herself. But I know that’s not going to happen, at least not tonight. So I begrudgingly walk her to the front door and help her with her coat.

  “I want to see you again.” I pull her close and kiss her sweet lips. “You aren’t going to bolt on me, are you?”

  “What are you doing Friday?” she asks, and a smile creeps across her face.

  “Seeing you,” I say. She looks like a fragile little bird, and letting her walk out the front door is one of the hardest things I’ve done. I watch her drive off and give a half-hearted wave. I don’t want her to go. Ever.

  I DON’T HAVE TO wait until Friday. She calls the next day and asks me to meet her off-hours at Body Heat. It’s a smart move: neutral territory where she feels comfortable where we can talk openly. I hope she’s reconsidered and wants to spill her soul to me, but I know that’s not realistic. Maybe, at the very least, I can get to the bottom of what happened last night. Security escorts me to the penthouse and directs me to the lounge. It’s empty except for Ivy. She’s seated at a table, with a glass of wine. She smiles when she sees me, a little nervous and sad smile, but I choose to take it as a sign of encouragement. I just need to stay rock solid and she’ll learn to trust me.

  “Thanks for meeting me,” she says. I lean in and kiss her on the cheek. She looks stunning, as usual. Her long dark hair is pulled back and it shows off her spectacular bone structure and full lips.

  “I’d never pass up a chance to see you.” I settle into my seat next to her.

  “They can bring lunch up from Champagne if you’re hungry.” She hands me a menu.

  “I already ate,” I say. “I just came here for you. Are you feeling better today?”

  “Yeah. About that.” Her cheeks redden, and she crosses her arms over her torso. “I’m sorry I freaked out a little last night.”

  “I don’t care that you freaked out a little.” It’s the damn truth. “I care that you don’t think enough of me to be honest with me about whatever freaked you out.”

  “I want to be honest with you.” Her hands clench into fists on the tabletop.

  “Then tell me the truth: Did I do something that hurt you last night?” I’m a big boy. I can take this. But I sure as hell hope I didn’t.

  “It’s something you did too well. And it’s not that I don’t think enough of you or don’t trust you. I just have some stuff I’m trying to work through and it’s embarrassing to share.” She plays with her phone as she talks.

  A member of the kitchen staff from Champagne approaches to take our
order. She gets a salad. I get one, too, so she doesn’t have to eat alone. We continue our conversation in hushed tones once the lounge is empty again.

  I lean in closer to her. “I didn’t mean to push you. If I crossed some sort of boundaries, I didn’t realize it and I’m sorry. You just looked so fucking hot and I wanted to get you off again. To make your toes curl until you started making those sweet little moans.” I get hot just thinking about it again, and when she offers his lips up to me, I pounce. I try to be gentle, but when she slides her tongue between my lips, all bets are off. I kiss her deeply and take in her dizzying scent and the sweet strawberry taste of her lips. She pushes me away gently.

  “You’re so good to me when we’re together like that,” she says. “The things I do to you, the things we do together, I can’t imagine doing them with anyone else. They’d feel cheap or crass with someone else. But they feel so perfect with you. You make me feel things I haven’t for a long time.”

  “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than be with you.” I take her hand in mine.

  She struggles for words. I give her time. She may be nervous, but I’m not. I’m already fucking crazy about her, and nothing she could tell me is going to change that. “I felt like I was going to come. I mean, really come. Like I was going to . . . squirt.”

  I keep waiting for her to get to the really awful embarrassing thing. “And . . .?” I prompt.

  “That’s it,” she says. “It’s not like I’m a porn star who shoots cups of the stuff out. But I definitely produce ejaculate. It hasn’t happened for a long time, but I felt like it was going to happen last night.”

  I knit my brows together as I try to reason things out. “And for some reason you thought that would bother me?”

  It doesn’t make any sense. I have a hard-on that could crack steel at the thought of her squirting with me. On my fingers and running down my arm, or all over my veiny cock. I want to kneel before her with an open mouth and drink down every last drop of her sweetness.

  “It’s only happened one other time. The guy I was with was totally grossed out. He made this huge show of examining the sheets, and sniffing them, and then took a super long shower. He was convinced it was urine, and he spent the rest of the night looking information up on the internet. I tried to explain what it was, but he wasn’t interested.”

  “Ivy, I’m not that guy.” I take her chin in my hand until she meets my gaze. “You sharing a moment like that with me would make me so fucking happy.”

  “You don’t have to say that.”

  I move her hand to my lap so she can feel my arousal. She rubs the heel of her hand against me, and I moan. “Does it feel like I’m lying to you? It’s the hottest thing I’ve ever heard. I want to make you come that hard. If I didn’t have a meeting this afternoon, I’d take you back to my place right now.”

  “It hasn’t happened since that one time. I never let myself relax after that, never let it get to that point. But when you were playing with me the other night, making me come so hard, I started to feel the pressure build up and it scared me.”

  I put my open hand on the table, palm up. She lays her own on top, and I squeeze it. “I want you to trust me enough to let yourself go with me. To see if we can make it happen again.”

  She raises her eyebrows at me. “It’s not a party trick, and I’ve spent a lot of time suppressing it. It might not happen right away.”

  “I’m willing to try for as long as it takes.” A bartender arrives with our food. I feel like the tension between us has been lifted.

  “You’re a good man,” she says.

  “A good man with bad news,” I say after I finish chewing my bite. She looks at me and I swear her face falls a little. I’m starting to wonder, could we ever be something more? “Nothing serious,” I add quickly. “I just need to go out of town again for a few days. Meeting with a potential client in Florida.”

  “Will you be back by the weekend?” she asks, and I really hope I’m not imagining the hopeful note in her voice.

  “I fly back on Friday. I have plans Saturday, but I’m hoping I can talk you into joining me. I have to head upstate to check on some property I own. It takes about ninety minutes to get there, if that’s okay with you.”

  “I’d love to,” she says, and I think there’s hope for us yet.

  I LEAVE FOR THE small regional airport early in the morning. He told me when to show up, what to wear, and what to bring, but not much else. I hate surprises, but in this case I don’t really mind. I’m so excited to see him I’d show up naked in the middle of Main Street if he asked me to.

  I’m not sure what’s happening or where this is going, but I’m not going to fight it anymore. It’s time I stop punishing myself for all the bad shit I’ve lived through. One mistake doesn’t carry a life sentence of solitude. Not when you stumble upon a guy like Max. The kind of guy who could make a woman believe in love again. It’s time I stop pretending it’s just physical. It’s a disservice to him to keep acting like he’s just a hot piece of ass who isn’t anything more to me. I want all of him, and I’m ready.

  The drive is more beautiful than I expected. Skyscrapers and concrete fade, and nature emerges in all its glory as winding roads lead me away from the city.

  Fall has taken hold, and the woods explode in color. I soak it in and crank up the radio as I punch the gas. This is a nice break. From my problems, from my job, from reality, basically. And it will be even better when I get my arms around my big hunk of man.

  I pull into the parking lot, grab my backpack from the passenger’s seat, and exit the vehicle. There is a definite nip in the air, and I’m glad I dressed in layers. When he told me to wear something suitable for the elements, I got a little nervous. I’m what you’d call indoorsy. I’m not silly enough to buy new hiking boots for an all-day excursion, so I’m wearing my worn-in athletic shoes, yoga pants, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and a down vest. I had to go out and buy the rest: backpack, water bottle, compass, first-aid kit, energy bars, insect repellant, and a blanket. I feel like a complete fraud as I enter the airport, but I don’t care. I just want to see him.

  I see him before he sees me. He looks fucking hot. He’s filling out his tan canvas pants nicely, and I feel my heart speed up. I take in his leather boots and tight-fitting long-sleeve shirt that hugs every inch of his muscular torso. His backpack is so huge that for a moment I’m terrified he’s taking me camping, but then I remember he has promised to have me home before dark. Besides, I’m convinced he likes me too much to make me sleep outdoors.

  He takes off his aviator sunglasses and polishes the lens with the hem of his shirt, so I can see his face when he sees me. A smile takes over his face and his eyes light up when he sees me walking toward him. It feels so good to be wanted like this. Scary but good.

  “Hey beautiful,” he says as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close for a kiss. “I missed you.”

  “I missed you, too.” I did miss him. Terribly. I lean in for another kiss and he obliges.

  “Why don’t you let me take that?” he says as he whisks the backpack from my shoulder and hefts it over his own.

  “So, what’s on the schedule for today?” I ask, trying to sound casual.

  He laughs. “You’re not good with surprises, are you?”

  “I guess I’m not hiding it as well as I thought,” I say. “But I’ll make an exception for you.”

  “I’m flattered,” he says. “I own some land upstate, somewhere I go when I want to get away. I wanted to show it to you.”

  “Couldn’t we just drive?”

  “Sure, but there’s nothing like seeing the fall colors from the air. And the firm has a helicopter, so we might as well use it.”

  “I hope you aren’t making some poor overworked junior associate fly us around on a beautiful weekend like this.”

  “You’re stuck with me.”

  “You’re a helicopter pilot?” He offers an abashed smile. “Of course you are. Is ther
e anything not within your skill set?” He chuckles as he loads our bags and secures them. He escorts me to the passenger seat, offers his hand, and helps me into the seat. He belts me in and slides a giant headset around my ears with a casual kiss before closing the door and taking the pilot’s seat.

  We’re climbing into the sky in no time, and I can’t wipe the smile from my face. He’s right; there’s no better way to appreciate the colors splashed across the countryside. The woods spread below us in a magnificent carpet of deep red, yellow, and orange clusters of color. It gives me a new perspective compared to the drive in. Everything looks so vibrant.

  I have a fear of heights, only rivaled by my fear of small spaces and small insects. I thought I’d be nervous, and I am gripping the armrests so tight that my hands hurt, but he looks so utterly confident at the controls that I’m able to relax and enjoy myself. We pass farms and quaint little towns and an icy blue river that carves its way through the land. I’m mesmerized and I can’t believe that we’re already at our destination. But as we approach a particularly beautiful area, he begins to descend. For some reason, I assumed we’d be flying to another airport. But he sets us down in the middle of a field.

  I scan our surroundings. This patch of land has a little bit of everything: a wide-open field for landing, rolling hills, spectacular woods, and a river not too far in the distance.

  “This is yours?” I ask when we finally disembark from the helicopter.

  “Yeah, it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” I can tell it pleases him that I love it as much as he does.

  “It must go over really well with the people you bring here.”

  “I’ve never brought anyone here before, Ivy, except Parker when I needed a second opinion on the purchase.” He grabs his pack, and mine, and throws them over his shoulder.

  “I’m not made of glass. I can carry my own backpack.”

  “I know you’re more of a city girl. I just don’t want to scare you off.” He slides my backpack off his shoulder and eases it onto my own.

  “How much of this is yours?”