Just Perfect (20 page)

Thinking he’d die if she didn’t take all of him, he moved a hand to her mound and teased her with his thumb to ease her way.

Finally, she had him completely, gloriously embedded inside her. Her head fell back and she moaned as if she’d just swallowed a delicious treat. He stared at her, awed by the sight, not just by her physical beauty, but her open sexuality, her lack of pretension, her eagerness to play. Everything about her drew him to her, made him crave her.

Something clicked inside him, like the final tumbler of a lock that had been steadily falling into place since the moment he’d first met her. And when she tipped her head forward again, opened her eyes, and smiled down at him, he knew—in one lightning bolt, clarifying moment—that he was in love.

This was it. She was it. He’d found the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life loving.

Thunderstruck by the idea, he went rigidly still as she began to move. His thoughts scattered, but his body had no trouble staying on track. He hardened even more as she drove them both steadily toward a pinnacle of pleasure. What a wild feeling to have joy fill his mind with his body on the verge of exploding.

“You look very happy,” she said, making him smile even more.

“Mmm,” he managed, wondering how she’d react when he told her. “Come here,” he said instead.

Obliging, she leaned forward to kiss him. He tunneled his hands into her hair, holding her head as he took over the kiss, pouring every ounce of crazy emotion rushing through him into the dance of lips and tongue.

His heart hammered as the pace increased and she arched to catch her breath.

His hands swept down her back, soothing and encouraging. When she started to peak, he squeezed her bottom tightly. Her gasp of fulfillment shot him up and over as well. Snapping free of the strange paralysis, he arched upward, thrusting himself deep over and over, welcoming a shattering release more powerful than anything he’d ever experienced.

When his mind cleared, he found her draped over his chest, breathing hard. Struggling to get his heart and lungs to slow down, he wrapped his arms around her, drifted for a moment, then kissed her temple, which was damp at the hairline.
So
, he thought, mentally practicing the words as he stroked her back,
what would you think about marrying me
?

He felt her body jerk in surprise and realized he hadn’t thought the words. He’d said them out loud!

Holding his breath, he waited for her reaction.

She lifted her head and stared at him with horrified eyes.

“That is”—he shrugged as casually as he could manage while having a heart attack—“if you don’t have other plans for the next couple of days.”

She burst out laughing and hugged him tight. “That’s what I like about you. You really are crazy sometimes. Don’t scare me like that, though. For a second there, I thought you were serious.”

was
! he thought with no small amount of shock, but this time kept the words to himself. Good grief, he wanted to marry her! He really was crazy. A woman like Christine Ashton would never marry a guy like him.

Although, why the heck not? They’d both agreed money and status didn’t matter. And they were perfect together!

* * *

“You have a tattoo?”

“Hmm?” Christine roused herself enough to glance over her shoulder. Alec stood in the doorway to the bedroom, stark naked, holding the glass of water he’d offered to get her. His incredulous expression as he stared at her bottom made her laugh. “Ah. I see you noticed my little alter ego. Do you like her?”

“Let me have a closer look.” He came forward, set the glass on the nightstand, and turned on the lamp. Crawling onto the bed, he straddled her legs.

She propped up on both elbows and watched over her shoulder as he tipped his head, examining the sexy devil wearing a red merry widow with wild blond hair swirling around her. She had tiny horns, dragon wings, a long tail, and a very devious grin.

Alec nodded. “I finally figured out the name thing.”

“Name thing?” She frowned.

“Christine, Chris, and Christi. Christine is ‘Dr. Ashton’s daughter,’ ” he said in a deep voice. “Chris is a real woman I like hanging out with. And this”— he looked back at the tattoo—“is naughty Christi.”

“Maybe.” She grinned.

“I like her.”

“Do you?”

“Mmm.” He planted a smacking kiss on the tattoo before crawling up to lean his back against the headboard. “How long have you had her?”

“Since college.” Comfortable with her own nudity, she sat up against the headboard as well to drink her water. “My friend Amy really wanted a tattoo but didn’t have the nerve to do it. Plus, she didn’t know where to go, and the whole idea of needles and infection scared her. So I agreed to take her, provide moral support, and be sure the place was clean. When we got there, I saw a drawing of this devil on the wall and decided on the spur of the moment that I had to have her.”

“Of course you did. She looks just like you.”

“The artist did that.”

“Have you ever regretted it?” He bent a leg and draped his arm over the knee, looking sexy and rumpled in the lamplight.

“Never.” She gave him a quick kiss.

“That’s a pretty permanent decision to make on the spot.”

“Actually, I think some of my best decisions are made on impulse.”

“Same here.” He gave her a deep probing look that made her wonder what he was thinking; then he shifted his gaze as he played with her hair. “What did your friend get?”

“A butterfly. Right where I got my little devil, so we’re tattoo twins.” She smiled, remembering Amy’s delight over their mutual brazenness. “We tried to talk Maddy and Jane into joining us, but Maddy said she’d never be able to make up her mind on what to get, so best to just not go there. Plus, Maddy’s a fantastic artist. I don’t think she’d be happy with someone else’s artwork on her body.”

“And Jane?”

“Yeah right.” Christine snorted. “Like Miss Perfect would get a tattoo.”

“ ‘Miss Perfect’?” Alec lifted a brow at her tone.

“Hmm. That sounded cattier than I meant it.” She took a sip of cold water, then set her glass aside. “I liked Jane in college, I really did. I just kept wanting her to let her hair down and stop worrying so much about what other people think. It’s sad to let the fear of making a single mistake in front of others control all your actions.”

“She seems so confident on TV. You’re saying she isn’t like that in real life?”

“Sadly, no. But all the rest of her public persona is true. She honestly cares about people, which makes her a great motivational speaker. She’s just really hard on herself. Makes me wonder about the subtitle of her book,
Ten Steps to Outrageous Happiness
. Granted, the gist of
How to Have a Perfect Life
is having the life that’s perfect for
you
. But outrageous happiness? Give me a break. Do you know anyone who’s ‘outrageously happy’?”

“Well, I’m pretty outrageously happy at the moment.” He leaned over to give her a quick kiss. “How about you?”

“I feel pretty dang good.” A smile welled up from inside her as she looked back into his eyes.

“Glad to hear it.” He held her gaze.

Feeling almost dizzy, she glanced around the room, really noticing it now that the light was on. He had bookshelves lining the bottom portion of every wall, holding all manner of objects, from clothes and shoes, to duffel bags and backpacks, to medical gear and books. Above the shelves on one wall were hooks holding more clothes. Another wall was covered with colorful bundles of rope and other rock-climbing gear. She frowned at the sight. “You have rather, um, interesting decor.”

He glanced about, apparently not seeing anything out of the ordinary. “It’s my organizational system. Keep everything out in the open, so I don’t lose it. That’s the problem with things like wallets and keys. You can’t see them, so you assume they’re in your pocket, until you reach for them and they’re not there.”

“And here I thought you were just really into ropes.”

“Ah, the rock-climbing gear.” He glanced at the wall. “Ever done any climbing?”

“With my fear of heights? No way!”

“Here, I’ll show you how it works.”

“Now?” The word left her mouth as he plucked her from the bed. “I guess now.”

He showed her a variety of gadgets and gizmos, and even got her to step into a harness that went about her thighs and fastened in the front at her crotch, which felt really weird since she was naked. “Gee,” she said, looking at the rope he was holding. “This could get kinky.”

He looked from the rope to her. His brow lifted. “You’re right.”

Before she saw it coming, he looped and tied the rope about her wrists. The harness fell to the floor with a clunk.

“Alec!”

“Ha! I’ve got you now.”

She shrieked when he hefted her over his shoulder and tossed her onto the bed. “What are you doing!”

He lifted her arms over her head and secured the rope to the headboard. A strange thrill shot through her when she tugged on the rope and realized he’d actually tied it. “Alec, this isn’t funny. Let me go.”

“What if I said no?” Mischief danced in his eyes.

She looked at his face, and her heart raced. In spite of his grin, he looked deadly intent on ravishing her. A primal desire blossomed deep inside her at the thought.

He placed his fingertip on her chin and drew it slowly down her throat to the center of her chest. “I think it’s my turn to have my way with you.”

“Alec—” Her breath hitched as her nipples tightened. Need raced through her with shocking speed, making her ache for him to touch her however he wanted. “I don’t know about this.”

“Oh, I do. I let you have fun earlier. Turnabout is fair play.”

“I didn’t have you tied down!” She pulled at the rope, but it held firm.

“Even so, I feel obliged to, um, return a favor.” He settled between her legs, moving her thighs apart as he kissed his way down her belly. Her heart beat wildly as she watched his steady progress, his lips brushing the skin just below her navel, followed by the lick of his tongue. His hands slipped beneath her bottom, tipping her hips to give him better access. With her legs held apart by his upper arms, her hands securely tied, she felt completely vulnerable.

She’d never given anyone this much trust. The fact that her helplessness excited her also frightened her, which seemed to excite her more. “Alec, no, untie me.”

He looked up at her. His grin slipped a bit as he studied her. “If you say no—and mean it—I’ll stop.”

She stared back at him, barely able to catch her breath, her heart hammering as her body begged for erotic adventure. “It’s just… I’ve never done this.”

“That wasn’t no.” He flashed a grin before his mouth descended to cover her.

“Oh God!” She arched her back and closed her eyes as he brought her to the point of screaming. When he’d pleasured her to delirium, he turned her onto her knees. She opened her mouth to protest, but gasped instead as he entered her with one swift stroke.

After that, she lost herself in a barrage of pleasure.

When the storm ended, she lay in an exhausted heap, staring at the ceiling. “I can’t believe you made me scream.”

“Three times.” He reached up and untied her hands. He frowned a bit as he rubbed the red marks on her wrists. “You okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“If you did, it was worth it,” she insisted, still dazed with pleasure. “And I was going too crazy to even notice. God! Who knew I’d be into getting tied up?”

“Hmm.” He studied her face. “It’s my theory that a lot of women who like control, also like losing it.”

She stared back at him. “You’ve done this before?”

“I never kiss and tell.” He smiled slowly.

She shook her head. “To think when I first met you, I thought you looked like a choir boy.”

“Yeah, the face fools a lot of people.” He punched the pillow behind his head into a better shape. “That worked really well when I was in school. ‘No, sir, Mr. Truant Officer. That wasn’t me you saw skipping school yesterday. I was home sick.’” He coughed three times.

“You are so bad.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining a minute ago. In fact, what was that you were saying? ‘Oh yes, oh yes, oh God yes!’ ”

“Stop it!” She swatted his shoulder, but her laughter took the heat from her words. “So do you have any other kinky ideas?”

“Oh, honey, do I ever.”

“Like what?” Her interest peaked.

“Most recently? Doing it on a chairlift.”

“You have got to be kidding me!”

“You know, all that time staring into your eyes while we were going up—” He traced a fingertip along her jaw.

“You were thinking about having sex?”

“Yo, Doc, I’m a guy. I’m always thinking of having sex. But hey, maybe that would help you get over your fear of heights. How about we try it tomorrow? Ditch your family and spend the day with me. Better yet, spend the night with me too.”

“You know I can’t do that. Speaking of, what time is it?” She twisted to see the clock on his nightstand. “Oh man! I need to get home.”

“No, stay.” He grabbed her arm as she started to rise.

“I can’t do that.” She slipped free. “What would my family think?”

“Who cares? You’re an adult.”

“No, really.” She searched for her clothes. “I have to get home.”

“Oh, all right.” He sighed heavily as he sat up. “I’ll walk you.”

“You don’t have to.”

He scowled at her. “Okay, let’s get one thing straight. There’s not much good you can say about my family, but when it comes to manners, we Hunters never shirk. I walk you home. I open your doors. I hold your chairs. Got it?”

She grinned. “May I be politically incorrect and say I like that?”

“You may.”

Once they’d dressed, they braved the cold and hurried through the village. In the lobby of her parents’ condo, Alec pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

“Will I see you tomorrow?” he asked.

“That depends.” With her arms looped about him, she smiled. “What do you have in mind?”

“What are you up for?” he asked suggestively.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “A lot of things, apparently.”