Call On Me (26 page)

Flinging her
out so fast that she almost lost herself, screaming his name, the
only thing keeping her tied to him that of his hands gripping hers
tightly. But then even that thin thread of illusion was broken as
he climaxed inside her, shoving in hard and desperately, her name
echoing in her ears as she was finally, utterly lost in unbelieving
eroticism.

When Ali was
finally able to open her eyes it was to find Ghost slumped down
atop her, his face pressed into her throat, his silky hair
partially covering her face.

Oh sweet baby
Jesus, what had just happened? Blinking, she lifted one hand and
carefully pulled a thick swath of blonde hair off her face. There
was no doubting what had happened or who was above her. A broad
shoulder – a
naked
, broad shoulder – cut off her vision of
the room because it loomed over her still. One muscled arm was
tucked under her head as Ghost cradled her close to him. His breath
was a warm dampness on her throat.

He was still
inside her.

That thought
had her breath catching.

“Ali?” Her name
was a puff of air, and was that his tongue that licked lightly
against her throat?

“Um…yes?” She
stared up at the ceiling, uncertain what to say. How did she feel?
Apart from deliciously ravished, that was? How did one act after
something like this?

“You’re
thinking too hard.” Another puff of air against her skin, another
little flick of his tongue against her neck.

Trying to
ignore the little spasm of delight that tonguing gave her, she
cleared her throat. “No, I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”
Ghost lifted off her suddenly, at least the top part, anyway.
Propping one elbow near her shoulder, he rested his chin in his
palm while pushing the heavy swath of hair back from his face,
tossing it almost negligently over his shoulder.

At the
sensation of cooler air on her breasts, she realised that she was
naked and quickly covered her breasts with her arm while her cheeks
turned crimson. Okay, he was on top of her –
still inside her,
hello!
– and she hoped he didn’t move. Ever. Because she was
naked and he was perfect and-

One big hand
slid beneath a lock of her hair to lift it and tuck it gently
behind her ear. “Ali?”

“Yeah?” She
still avoided his eyes.

“It’s just
me.”

At the gentle
words – how could he be so gentle now when he’d been so, well,
masterful before? – she glanced back up at him to find him
regarding her with soft eyes.

Man, those eyes
had been like molten chocolate earlier, now they were all soft like
gooey chocolate. Still yummy, only milder. Go figure.

She still
wanted to lick him all over.

Closing her
eyes, she took a deep breath, only to jump when she felt his hand
come to rest on her upper chest, right above her breasts.
“Umm…Ghost?”

“Yes,
honey?”

Oh man, he’d
called her honey so often over the years but now it had the power
to feel like thick liquid smoothing through her senses. Soothing
and titillating all at once. Or maybe it was the aftermath of an
explosive lovemaking that made everything appear so much
better.

She’d have
smiled if she wasn’t suddenly so embarrassed.

“Okay,” he
said, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Did I hurt
you?” Concern was in his voice now as his finger traced down her
jawline.

Immediately she
opened her eyes to reassure him. “No. No, it was…”

He arched one
brow.

“Wonderful,”
she finished.

“So why are we
having this conversation instead of cuddling?”

Cuddling? That
sounded nice, but she still couldn’t help but glance away almost
shyly. What was wrong with her? Oh yes, wait, she knew. She was
dumb enough to be ashamed of her much-less-than-perfect body.

When Ghost said
nothing further but just continued to stroke her jawline, she
finally sighed and looked back up at him. The gentle understanding
in his eyes was almost her undoing. Her bottom lip actually
trembled a bit before she could stop it.

“Oh Ali.” He
shook his head, his eyes so tender. “Really?”

“Can you blame
me?” she managed. “You’re so perfect while I’m so…you know.”

“You think
you’re – you know – but I know you’re perfect.” He didn’t stop
stroking her jawline.

It was
soothing, making her relax, especially when he didn’t shift from
her but kept her covered with his own body.

“I’m not.”

“None of us
are.”

“Don’t be
obtuse.” She took a deep breath, unable to help the pleasure that
went through her at the feel of her nipples pressed into his hard
pecs. “What could you possibly see in me, Ghost? I’m nasty at
times, I’m not the ideal shape, and you could do so much
better.”

His smile was
slow but sure. “You’re not nasty, you have a sharp wit. I like it.
Your body is perfect, it’s all soft and sweet and-“he waggled his
eyebrows “-it can take some really rough handling.”

Unable to help
it, she burst out laughing. “You nong.”

“See?” He
dropped a kiss onto the tip of her nose. “You know me. You know my
humour. Ali, I don’t just think you’re perfect the way you are, I
know it.”

The truth was
in his eyes, on his face, in the deep timbre of his voice. He’d
never been able to lie to Ali, never been able to keep much from
her, and she relaxed more, softening beneath him, able to feel her
tension ease.

But still… “I
can’t promise to just strip off in front of you at a moment’s
notice. Not yet.”

“Okay,” he said
calmly.

“I can’t help
how I feel, regardless of what you say.”

“Okay,” he
repeated just as calmly.

Unable to help
herself, she turned her cheek further into his caressing fingers.
His acceptance of her was almost too much to bear. But then, he’d
always accepted her, never sought to change her, never wanted her
to be anyone else but herself.

That in itself
had her relaxing completely.

Ghost shifted,
making her gaze fly to his, but he moved only to lower his head
until his forehead rested against hers. Looking her directly in the
eyes, he said quietly, “You were coming over to talk. Do we really
need to say much?”

“I think it’s
all been done now.”

His eyes
crinkled at the corners in lazy, affectionate amusement. “So we’re
all systems go?”

Surrounded by
his clean, masculine scent, the heat of his body and his protective
position above her, she’d never felt so safe. Combined with the
warmth of his eyes and his slow, easy smile that was just so Ghost,
she could only smile back and whisper, “Look out, world, here we
come.”

Laughing, he
kissed her, the easy warmth between them quickly turning to more,
the spark of desire flaring quickly. She felt him stiffen inside
her and immediately a flood of liquid warmth washed through
her.

Before she
could act upon it, however, he rolled off her and onto his
feet.

With a squeak
she scrambled under the covers of the bed, pulling the quilt up to
her breasts while he simply stood there by the bed, grinning and
shaking his head.

“You know,” he
said conversationally, even while his eyes glittered with nefarious
intent, “Those covers won’t save you from me.”

“Whatever.” She
cleared her throat, gaze darting around the room before settling on
his face. No way could she look further down his awesome body while
he was looking at her. “Why did you stop?”

“Honey, I need
to clean up and re-rubber.” At her blank look, he added helpfully,
“Condom.”

“Oh.”
Realisation dawned. “Oh! Oh.” Another thought. “Oh no.”

“Don’t worry,
honey, unlike last time I managed to remain lucid long enough to
don protection.” He walked towards the door.

“Oh, phew.”
Leaning back against the pillows, she took a deep breath of relief
and proceeded to take a good eyeful of his body.

Holy cow, the
man was built. She’d seen him without a shirt before, sure, but
never without pants or naked. His backside was tight, muscular, his
thighs thick, the muscles in his calves flexing with every step.
Shoot her for being a hypocrite, but she hoped he’d continue with
the gym for a long time to come. He had awesome muscles.

But as much as
she had her tongue hanging out in lust, she knew she’d be lusting
after him even if he didn’t go to the gym. Go figure. Guess
attraction didn’t always rule the heart.

“You won’t have
to make the trip to the chemist in the morning,” Ghost drawled.

Her gaze shot
back up to find him at the door looking over his shoulder at her.
“Huh?”

“The morning
after pill.”

“How did you
know? Did Lori tell you?”

“I went over
earlier to find out why you weren’t home. The packet was on the
table.” His gaze ran over her face. “You should have told me,
honey.”

“No need.” She
crossed her arms over top of the covers, careful to ensure her
breasts were covered. “I took care of it.”

“I’m always
careful but that night was unexpected, I wasn’t prepared. Next
time, if there is a next time, we’ll do it together.” His eyes were
steady. “We’re in this together, Ali, come what may. Okay?”

“Yes.”

Half turned in
the doorway, even naked he was imposing, the dominant male although
he did nothing threatening, his voice even, reassuring. “There’s
nothing you can’t tell me, Ali. Nothing.”

“I understand.”
Feeling a little giddy, she blushed. Okay, she felt, well,
cherished.

Mentally, she
did an eye roll, even while the giddy side of her grinned
privately.

Turning full
on, he leaned one arm against the door frame and she nearly
swallowed her tongue. Holy cow, his – his – he was built. Even half
aroused he was impressive, to think that width and length had been
inside her had her licking her lips partly nervously, partly in
anticipation, and partly in awe.

Wow.
Just…wow.

“Ali,” he said
huskily.

Embarrassed
that she’d been caught staring – okay, openly ogling – him, Ali
jerked her gaze from his shaft to his face and blushed hotter.

He grinned,
slow and easy, lazily. “Hey, I’m honoured. Look all you want. In a
minute you can get a real feel for it.” He winked.

She slid lower
in the bed, tugging the covers up to her chin. “Sure, no worries.”
It would have sounded better if she’d spoken with complete
confidence instead of almost croaking it out.

Genuinely
amused, he laughed before again growing serious. “Ali, I mean it.
You can tell me anything.”

“Yep.” She
nodded.

“No, I mean
anything
.”

“Okay. I get
you.”

He regarded her
steadily before stating quietly, “Even if I take you too roughly or
you don’t like what I do, you can tell me. I won’t get upset. I
just want to please you.”

Oooh, this was
way beyond her comfort zone. “S-sure.”

A gleam came
into his eyes. “I like to experiment a little, and I fully intend
to see what you like, honey.” The ‘honey’ came out sounding like a
low, deep purr.

How could a man
purr and not sound ridiculous?

It made her
toes curl, her innards tingle, and her womanhood clench in
anticipation. She tried to keep her tone nonchalant. “Oh
really?”

“Oh yeah.” His
smile was now all wolfish. “Really.” And then he disappeared from
the doorway.

Oh geez.
Flopping back onto the pillows, Ali bit her lip. Oh boy. Talk about
walking on the wild side. She knew Ghost had a bit of a bad boy
streak in him, but this side was dangerous, deliciously, darkly
so.

If it meant she
was one sick puppy to be looking forward to taking the walk on the
wild side with him, then get her a collar.

~*~

Adjusting his
tie for the fifth time, Ghost looked in the mirror. Man, he looked
like a prat. Good shirt, tie, suit jacket. This was not him.

However, after
a couple of weeks knocking around together and having their usual
fun, with no strain between them and everything fine – and oh man,
hot!
- he decided it was time he took Ali out for a proper
date, and hence it was important that she be treated like a proper
date. Which meant he had to dress like a proper date. No jeans, no
t-shirt with a flannel shirt hanging open over the top, no
sneakers. Nope, suit jacket, good pants, and tie. Hair tied back
neatly.

If he could
find a tie. He was sure he’d had one on the sink just minutes ago
and – “Max!”

A tabby head
appeared over the top of the bath like a deformed shark’s fin, the
hapless tie dangling from his mouth like a dead sea snake.

“Good grief.”
Ghost took it from his mouth after only a minor struggle.
Grimacing, he held it up to the light. Soggy. “Shit, Max. Tonight
you had to do this?”

Discarding the
tie, he crouched down to search through the cupboard beneath the
sink, Max right beside him, poking his big head into every
container and box he could investigate.

Sure enough,
Ghost found another tie in a toilet bag he’d used on an overnight
trip to the city to promote a book. Straightening, he brushed his
hair, smoothed it back and tied it neatly. A slap of aftershave and
he was good to go.

Leaving the
bathroom cupboard open because Max was fossicking around and Ghost
couldn’t be bothered trying to drag him out, Ghost headed
downstairs.

Abraham passed
him in the hallway with a rose in his mouth, the head sadly banging
on the tiled floor. Mauve sat on the hall side table, her tail
curled primly around her, blue eyes squinted shut as she silently
contemplated the universe.

A quick check
confirmed that Mort was fast asleep on his back on the sofa, his
mouth chittering as he chased birds in his sleep, and the bump
under the blanket on the other sofa had to be Millie.