High Score (11 page)

“No, no. Your dignity is safe with us.”

“Just stand there, Shelley,” Greg said. “Don’t do anything ‘til we tell you.”

The music started its driving rhythm. The men snapped their fingers and moved in time to the beat. For a couple of measures, they coordinated themselves, then went into action, gyrating around Shelley. It was all she could do to keep from laughing out loud. The whole thing was so…so exhilarating.

Rita will never believe this!

A little thought came from nowhere suggesting that her life with Dickie had been, well, boring. Well, she sure wasn’t bored now.

Thor leaned back, watching, his arms resting along the back of the sofa. An amused smile played over his lips.

Bud murmured instructions in Shelley’s ear. She raised her arms over her head and stood rigidly in place. The men grouped closely around her, placing their hands on her waist, shoulders, and knees. At Bud’s signal, they lifted her in the air over their heads. The narrow skirt encasing her legs threatened to slide up past her knees. Luckily, only Thor was in a position to see anything.

She giggled as they tossed her up and caught her again. Several sets of male hands on her body gripped places strangers never got permission to touch, spun her around, and manipulated her limbs. Undoubtedly, it was the wildest dance she had ever participated in.

The Bad Boys turned her over and over in their hands, rolling her like a log. As they wheeled in a circle, she spread her arms wide, soaring like a bird. Suddenly, they dropped her to the level of their waists and flipped her vertically before setting her on her feet.

She gave a startled whoop, nearly collapsing. In fact, she might have lost her balance if they hadn’t maintained a firm grip on her elbows and shoulders. Slowly, she swiveled at the hub of their circle as they moved around her, snapping their fingers and twitching their hips.

The music came to an end. The Bad Boys, still lending her support, formed a tableau facing Thor.

“Wow!” Shelley cried. “That was fun!”

“So, what do you think, boss?” Jerry asked.

“I don’t know,” Thor said, slowly. “Wouldn’t an act like that tax your strength? How long could you keep it up?”

“She doesn’t weigh much at all. And we’d only do this for the grand finale.”

“You’re breathing pretty hard.”

“Not that hard.”

Thor studied them thoughtfully. “What do you think, Shelley? Would women enjoy being part of the act?”

“Oh, yeah! It’s something I’ll never forget!”

Thor stood up. “You know, boys, if you ever dropped a girl on her face, we’d get sued for every cent we own. We’ve got liability coverage, but not enough to cover something like that.”

“We’d never drop her,” Bud said. “With four of us hanging onto her, she’ll be as safe as a babe in a cradle.”

“Well, I’ll think about it.” Thor strolled toward the door. “Now, if you don’t mind, Shelley and I would like to be alone.”

“Sure, boss,” Jerry said. “Sorry to intrude.”

After the Bad Boys departed, Thor closed the door and turned toward Shelley. The flush on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eye told him the act was a success.

She smiled. “You have to admit, their idea is different.”

Unable to hold a straight face another moment, he burst into laughter. “Oh, Lord!” He wiped the moisture from his eyes. “They’re going to be the death of me yet.”

Thor had never seen Shelley look more vibrant. Her face was flushed—probably from the wild dance—her eyes full of humor. Maybe she thought he hadn’t glimpsed heaven when her skirt slid up. He moved toward her, wondering whether he had what it took to make love with her again so soon. This time naked. Just thinking about stripping her out her pretty dress and sandals had his blood pooling where it counted.

“They’re adorable!” she said. “They’re too nice to be billed as the
Bad
Boys.”

He placed his hands on Shelley’s shoulders and drew her closer. “No,
you’re
the one who’s adorable.”

As he slipped his arms around her, she turned her face up. Not one to pass up an invitation, he kissed her soundly on the mouth. Then, with a groan, he kissed her again, deeper, more intimately. Her lips parted beneath his, and he invaded her mouth, tasting her sweetness on his tongue.

When he let her up for air, she was smiling.

“I admire you, Thor.”

He liked the sound of that. “Really?”

“Yes. Your self-assurance turns me on. Who else would sit by and let other men manhandle their date like that? Most guys would get bent out of shape. But not you. You have such confidence and self-esteem, you don’t need to worry.”

“Now, wait,” he said. “I wouldn’t let just anybody handle my woman.”
My woman?
Where did that come from?

“Just your friends, huh?”

He nibbled her earlobe. “I don’t worry about these guys. They’re all gay.”

“What?” She pulled back and gave him a look of incredulity. “You’re kidding!”

“You didn’t think I’d let straight guys throw you up in the air and play
grab ass
, did you?”

She laughed. “How ironic! All those women at the club salivating over them, and the Bad Boys couldn’t care less.”

“Yep. Crazy, isn’t it?” He pulled her close again and kissed her. “Just so you know, I can get pretty jealous under the right circumstances.”

Not that I have a right to in your case.
What made her think he was self-assured? Never in his life had he felt so insecure with a woman. There were too many things he didn’t understand about her. Discussing touchy subjects carried the risk of destroying the mood he wanted to preserve, but there were things he had to know.

He took a deep breath. “Can I ask you something?”

“Certainly.”

“When exactly is your wedding?”

Just like that, her smile vanished.

Damn!
He didn’t want to upset her, but a serious talk was way past due.

She dropped her gaze, looking ashamed and miserable. “A week from Sunday at 1:00.”

“Then you’ll be a married woman.”

She nodded mutely.

“That means we won’t see one another after that.”

The statement seemed to form a wedge between them. Her arms slipped away from him as she moved back a half step. With her head bent, he couldn’t read her expression, but her posture expressed a heavy spirit.

Desolation chilled him to the marrow. “All’s fair in love or war. But once you say your vows, I won’t come between you and your husband. It wouldn’t be right.”

Gently, he cupped her jaw and tipped her head up to look into her face. He waited for her to say she planned to break up with Dickie and cancel the wedding, but she remained silent, her eyes bright with unshed tears. Unable to witness any longer the pain mirroring his own, he drew her in and tucked her head against his shoulder.

One of Thor’s cardinal rules had always been to steer clear of married women. Engaged women could arguably fit into the same category. Breaking his own rule was really stupid and guaranteed him a lot of grief. If he craved painful complications, this situation promised lots of them.

Why am I doing this to myself?

He should stop seeing her. Send her home and tell her not to come back. Maintaining distance between them was the sensible thing to do. Actually, his plan to sell the shop and hit the road came at a good time. She was proving to be an addiction, and leaving town was the only hope he had of breaking the hold she had on him.

He stroked her hair as her hot tears soaked his shirt. Obviously, she was hurting inside, too. If only he understood where she was coming from. Women were the most complex creatures on the face of the earth. Too bad they were so incredibly lovely and impossible to live without.

Especially this woman.

“Please spend tonight with me,” he whispered. “It could be our last chance.”

She nodded her acceptance.

He inhaled the peachy scent of her hair. “I want to make love with you one more time. Slowly. Make it something special to remember.”

“Each time is special with you,” she whispered.

He lifted her and carried her to his bedroom. In spite of her height, she was slender and seemed to weigh almost nothing. Picking her up and lugging her around like a caveman satisfied some primeval urge deep inside. She didn’t seem to mind, but clung to him almost desperately. Thinking about the finality of their time together made it difficult to let her go.

Sick at heart, he laid her on his king-sized waterbed.

Riding the gentle waves, she glanced around the room curiously. “Very nice.” She studied the watercolor paintings on the forest green walls, then ran her gaze over the Early American dresser and the walnut armoire. “Not at all what I expected.”

“You were maybe looking for a round bed with a ceiling mirror?”

She looked up to check the ceiling, then laughed when she saw nothing more than an expanse of plaster and an ordinary light fixture.

“My only concession to sensual pleasure is this waterbed,” he said. “It’s old-fashioned, better than the modern waveless kind.”

He removed her shoes, then joined her on the bed. Gently, he pressed her back to a reclining position. The waterbed surged gently under them, like a raft on a calm sea. He ran his hands up her bare legs.

She arched like a contented cat as his hands slid up her thighs. Her skin felt like satin, making him want to explore her entire body. It didn’t take him long to strip her out of her long, blue dress and bra. Gazing down on her nude body, he thought he’d never seen a more alluring woman in his life.

“God, you’re lovely!” He couldn’t ignore the erection straining against his fly. “Open yourself to me, darling.”

He smiled with satisfaction as she did as she was told. How compliant she became when aroused! He loved that about her. She ignited the animal lust in him, the passion, and the fire.

He opened the front of his pants, seeking relief from the constraint of the denim.

Moving between her knees, he exulted in the sense of mastery that position of authority afforded him. She lay open as a rose in full bloom. Nothing in her manner questioned his dominance. He knew she depended on him to take command, and that suited him just fine. Because he had plans to bring her pleasure in ways she had never experienced before, or ever would again. He would see to it that she never forgot him or their time together.

She went still, watching him expectantly, as his gaze lovingly traveled over her luscious breasts, the curves of her waist and hips, her triangle of soft pubic hair. Her quiescence heightened his urge to take possession. She was forbidden, and he’d never wanted anything more in his life.

With his fingertips, he explored the moist cleft between her legs. One fingertip found her clit and rubbed it in a circular motion. She shuddered and made mewling sounds in her throat that almost destroyed his self-control.

There was something empowering about being fully dressed, looming over her nude body. Completely vulnerable, she waited for him to work his will on her.

He slipped his hands under her knees, lifted them high, and allowed them to fall apart to open her further. He lowered his mouth to her clit and flicked his tongue over the sensitive nub. She squirmed and whimpered as he licked and sucked until every muscle in her body tensed. When she began to tremble, he realized she was about to come.

“Not yet, baby,” he murmured. Quickly, he stripped himself down and tossed his clothes in a heap on the floor.

Breathing rapidly, she ran her tongue over her lips. Her gaze, locked with his, never wavered.

He reached for a small packet in the drawer of the night table, tore off the wrapper and handed the condom to her. Better to distract her a moment and hopefully delay her climax. “Would you like to do the honors?”

Wordlessly, she took it from him. Her dainty fingers squeezed his turgid flesh as she tugged the rubber into place. Her manipulations caught him up to speed quickly. He couldn’t wait to sink into her and feel her tightness clamp around him like a hot velvet glove.

Positioning himself between her legs, he slowly pushed himself inside her. Thrusting gently at first, he worked his way deeper and deeper. In spite of pacing himself, his excitement built incredibly fast. Amazing what this woman could do to him! Her passion ignited a flame in him he could not quell, no matter how hard he tried to resist. The world around him dissolved, leaving him isolated with her on an island in the surging sea of his emotions. His attention narrowed on the exquisite sensation of her body locked around his throbbing cock.

She bucked under him, matching his tempo with countermotions. Her needy whimpers drove him to pump deeper, faster. Possessing her became urgent, inevitable. For the moment, she belonged to him completely, and he rejoiced in it.

“Thor, take me! Take me hard!”

She gasped, coming in a series of rhythmic contractions that pushed him to the brink. Over the edge he went spinning, hurtling into boundless space like an exploding rocket. The force of it left him shuddering for interminable moments. Her inner muscles milked him until he could give no more. Finally, he slumped onto her warm body, utterly spent.