Pure Temptation (13 page)

“Hell yeah, that’s what I’m talking about.” I giggled as I heard the harsh words spill out of my mouth. The wine was giving me false confidence.

John took another sip and exhaled. “So Hanna, what else did you do today besides getting new highlights?”

I cringed. The events of the afternoon had stirred up some bad memories that I had no intention of revealing to him. “Nothing much,” I lied.

John leaned forward and tilted his head. “What’s wrong? You look all serious. Did something happen?”

 
I sighed. What the hell. I could tell him what happened. “Remember that guy at the bar the night we met?”

John nodded.

“I was babysitting Michele for an hour today when he showed up at the house.”

His eyes narrowed to blue slits. “Why would the asshole from the bar show up at Emma’s house?”

“Turns out, he’s Emma’s ex-husband, Michele’s father, and he came to take Michelle to a movie.”

John stared at me in complete surprise. “That’s a coincidence. What did you do?”

“I told him there was no way in hell he was taking Michelle out of that house and he got pretty mad about it. But I just couldn’t let him take her. Apparently, he just got out of prison and Emma has a restraining order against him.”

“A restraining order?” That’s some serious shit.”

“Yeah, something about him threatening her a month ago.”

John sat up straight in his chair. A muscle flicked angrily in his jaw and his gaze drifted to the side. “God, I knew there was something off about that guy.” His eyes flicked back to me. “Weren’t you afraid of what he might do to you when you said no?”

“I wasn’t really thinking. All I knew was I had to protect Michelle. I threatened to call the police and he finally left, but not before smashing my phone.” I pulled it out and examined the broken glass, tracing over the crack with my finger.

John’s eyes caught and held mine and then he spoke with quiet firmness. “If that dude as much as touches a hair on any of you, he’ll regret it for the rest of his life. I promise you that.”

“Thanks, but Emma doesn’t think he’ll be back. He would risk going back to prison. She said it was pretty intense in there for him, the harassment from the inmates. He got depressed. It nearly killed him when he was doing time.”

I could see those twitchy muscles in his jaw had relaxed and he sat quiet for a while, staring, as if appraising me intently.

“You know, you can take a picture. It will last longer.” I looked down at the table, feeling a little blood rush to my cheeks.

He snorted. “There you go with the cliché’s again. I was just thinking of how much you intrigue me. You’re not at all what I thought you would be when I first met you.”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” I replied.

His expression softened and he nodded. “It’s a
very
good thing. I like you…a lot.” He reached out and his fingertips brushed my forearm, sending a warm shiver through my body. Then he retracted his hand as if he thought his advance was unwanted, but secretly, I wanted him to keep going. He gave a directional nod head toward the window. “It’s pretty warm out tonight. How about taking a walk with me down on the beach?”

His clear blue eyes were direct and the pull was getting stronger. He radiated a vitality that drew me in like a magnet. “I’d love to,” I said, my voice cracking. I cleared my throat. “I mean…that’s exactly what I was thinking.”

After finishing our wine and John paid the bill, leaving a generous tip, we stepped outside in the warm summer night. The beach was only a few hundred yards from the restaurant, so we left his motorcycle parked there and walked. When we got to the edge of the sand, I slipped off my heels and struck out, pushing my toes deep into the soft grains as I went along.

Halfway to the water, I stopped and spun around, gazing down at John’s riding boots.

“You’re not really the beach type are you?” I asked, dryly.

John dropped his gaze to his boots also. “Is it that obvious?”

“Kind of, but that’s okay. None of us are perfect.” I wrinkled my nose and tucked my hair behind my ear. The breeze was gentle and it whipped long strands of my dark hair around my face. With a deliberately casual movement, John drew a step closer to me and slipped his arm around my waist. He pulled me to his side and we walked together along the beach, the warm air sprinkled with bursts of conversation.

John picked up a flat stone and threw it towards the sea, making it jump several times on the surface of water before it plummeted to the depth of the ocean. “It’s not that I don’t like the beach. I love it, the warmth of the sun, the balmy breeze and the sound of the waves. But lying on a beach towel just to get a tan is a waste of time. There are a million other things I’d rather be doing. You know what I mean?”

I nodded. “I don’t care much for tanning either. I guess you can tell by my skin color.”

“Yeah, are you going for the vampire look? What happened? You said you wanted to get a tan while you were here.”

“Oh, right. I guess I just got too busy helping Emma renovating her Bed and Breakfast to hit the beach,” I chuckled.

“Hmm, I’m glad. I like you just the way you are, beautiful and fair.” He turned to face me and stopped. He brushed his hand up my bare arm and looked down at me. He stepped so close there was little space between our bodies. I tossed my head to move the hair out of my face and tingles of excitement flitted across my skin where his hand had touched it. The last slanted yellow-orange rays of the evening sun were upon us as I stood frozen, yet melting, under the intense gaze of his blue cobalt eyes.

Caressing my cheek with the knuckles of his forefingers, I closed my eyes and let the silence envelope us. I swore I heard the pounding of my heart outside of my body. He tipped his forehead to mine and I felt the warmth of his breath on my skin as he parted his lips. They were so close to mine, yet not touching. He continued stroking my cheek, waiting, hesitating, as if he wasn’t sure. My brain screamed out,
kiss me. I’m not Hanna, I’ll tell you everything, just kiss me, I’m Dani and I want you to kiss me.

His breath was ragged and coming in small pants now. He shoved both of his hands into my hair and rocked his forehead against mine as if he were tormented with the decision.
Oh God, why was he holding back, kiss me now.
In one last second of restraint, he bit his lower lip then released it and pressed it onto my mouth, sucking and twisting my lips into a hot moist kiss of the most delectable kind.

When he stopped and pulled back, we were breathing heavily, wound up tight as a spring by the raw tension firing back and forth between us. “This was not how I saw this happening,” he whispered.

“Oh. Was it that bad of a kiss?”

“I can’t do this.” Eyes that had flashed with passion were now clouded with confusion. He stepped back and held me at arm’s length. He looked at me with a guarded expression, of distrust. What the fuck? What was he so afraid of? Was he married or something?

Of course, here it comes. The ‘you are really great but I have a wife back in New York’ speech. I should have checked his ring finger for a tan line. “John, what do you mean? You are confusing me.”

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to kiss you. We shouldn’t ...” He turned and started walking back toward the restaurant.

Why this reaction to a kiss? Something in my gut told me it wasn’t a wife, or a girlfriend. Maybe I was about to make a fool of myself, but my heart didn’t care. It ordered my feet to start moving and I rushed to catch up with him. “Tell me what’s wrong, John? We just shared a mind blowing kiss and you walked
away
from me. What’s up?”

“I can’t tell you. I’m really sorry. It’s not you, it’s me.”

I grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him to stop. “It’s not you, it’s me? Are you kidding me? Who is being cliché now?”

A soft smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You’re right. It was mind blowing and more. You’re an amazing woman. That’s why I can’t do this. If we continue, I won’t be able to stop. Hanna, I’m not good for you.”

“I’m not looking for good right now.”

He blew out a breath and raked his fingers through his hair. “Trust me on this, Hanna. You draw me in like no one else. I want to let go and embrace this, but I know what will happen when there is this much heat. Someone will get burned. I am afraid I will hurt you if I allow myself to give in to you.”

He faced me completely and lowered his voice to a warm hum as he stroked my hair. “You’re beautiful and I like being with you, but I don’t want to take advantage of you, because I…I shouldn’t. I am.”

Without another word, I pulled his head towards me and kissed him again. This time it was hard, smoldering and filled with pure lust and passion. My heart raced and my entire being vibrated with a pleasant buzz. If this was wrong, I didn’t care. I wanted this feeling and I wanted more. Whatever consequences the next day would bring, were of no concern to me right now. John’s lust for me read red hot on the dial and if this was the path to hell, then at least getting there would be one fiery, hell of a ride. I felt his rock solid abs as he held me pressed to his chest. “Listen, John, I’m a big girl. Let me be the judge of whether you’re good for me or not.” With such strong arms wrapped around me, it wasn’t difficult to make my decision. I felt safe in his embrace. “I’ve already reached my verdict.”

“And…?”

“It’s yes, I have a gut feeling that you’re very good for me and I’m going to take a leap of faith, so tonight you’re mine. Don’t run out on me, John. You don’t get to do that. Not tonight.”

“Do you always get what you want?”

“I already told you, didn’t I? When I see something I want, I take it.”

He leaned in and our lips met for another kiss. He pulled me harder against his chest then away slightly, just enough to reach his hand between us to touch my breast. He pushed and squeezed over the intrusive fabric of my summer top as he deepened his kiss. The weight in my body seemed to shift. At once I felt lighter, then too heavy for my legs to support and my knees weakened. His fingers roamed to the edge of my top, tugging and prying at the hem, anxious to feel the flesh that was underneath all this clothing.

I grabbed his hand that was fondling my breast and squeezed it tight, enticing him to go farther, but then I pulled back. “Not here,” I said. My voice came out breathy and raspy. “Your house?” I swallowed hard and took a breath.

He nodded in silence as if consumed by a heady lust and shoved both of his hands down my back side, cupping my ass in his hands. He licked his lips and with one last kiss, he thrust his hips into mine, grinding his answer into my pelvis. I wanted to rip the clothes off that lay between us and feel his skin against mine, feel his wet kisses run down my neck. I grabbed his hand and pulled him along as I dug my bare feet into the piles of soft sand that lay between us and the restaurant where we had left his bike parked.

I leaned my chest into John’s back as we rode the short distance to his beach house rental. I stroked his upper body with my hands from behind, wallowing in the sea of hormones that swirled within my body. The engine of the bike vibrated and my body hummed with it, as a warm fuzzy feeling build inside of me. The vibrations I felt through the seat of the bike added to the tingle that was beginning to build between my legs. I held John tightly as we drove. I wanted to lay my head on his shoulder, but our motorcycle helmets prevented it. The anticipation of seeing him lying naked on the bed, revealing those sculpted muscles that had been teasing me with shadowed glimpses through his clothes, excited me to my core and the moisture in my mouth increased in response. It didn’t take long before he stopped his bike in front of a small bungalow, two blocks from the beach.

“I thought you said you didn’t like the beach?”

He smiled warmly and took the helmet from my hands. “I said I didn’t like wasting my time tanning on a towel down at the beach. I love the sound of the ocean.”

“Of course.” I nodded.

He hung the spare helmet on the back rest of the bike and extended an open hand. His blue eyes were burning a hole through me, and he twisted his head to watch me as we walked side by side to the front step. The beach house was a typical vacation house, a cozy front porch bedecked in potted geraniums and a wooden porch rocker built for two.

So quaint, so cozy…so not his style.

I took his hand as he led me inside. Were we going to tear each other’s clothes off before we even got to the bedroom? He let my hand drop from his and headed toward the kitchen.

“Can I get you anything to drink?”

I stood frozen in the middle of the small living room and turned slowly as my eyes made a radar sweep of the room and its décor. If the outside of the house was not his style, the inside was totally not his style. It was definitely a buzz kill. This place looked like Martha Stewart on steroids had thrown up in here. That itchy, little feeling of doubt prickled inside of me and my mood down shifted to low.

“Sure, a glass of wine if you have it.”

He smiled. “How about a beer?”

“Great.”

He handed me a cold Bud Light, which I imagined was probably the only inhabitant of his refrigerator and we sat down on the couch. I took a sip. “So, what’s up with the female touch in your decorating?”

John laughed, nearly spilling his beer. “Don’t worry. I don’t have a secret girlfriend stashed here and I’m not gay either. I rented this house furnished.”

“Yeah, I was a little worried about a girlfriend stashed somewhere, but that would explain it.” I twisted a lock of hair between my fingers.

John set his beer down on the end table and took my hand in his. His deep blue eyes searched mine. “Hanna, you are amazing. You are honest and straightforward.”

Me honest? Shit, I was definitely gonna burn in hell for this. Lying, stealing and God knows what other sins I was about to commit.

He leaned in and his warm lips covered mine in a heart pounding kiss.

Maybe I
was
going to burn in hell, but I didn’t care. I was Hanna tonight, giving myself permission to just go for it and take what I wanted from John. Life was too short to procrastinate. I wanted him bad. I wanted to run my hands up his six pack abs that I just knew were under that shirt. But as I ran my hands over his chest, I could feel something, a thickness, under his shirt. What the hell was it? Who cared? I just wanted him now. The fire burned in me and I couldn’t hold back. I couldn’t pretend any longer, he was mine and I wanted him badly. My loins ached for him. This wasn’t just a fling, a one night stand. There was a promise here, a promise of something more, something greater than a one night stand. But the doubt kept creeping back into my mind. Should I do this? Can I allow myself to give in? He could hurt me. He should just be a temporary fun vacation fling, but somewhere in my heart, I knew this guy could be trouble for me. He cast a spell on me and there was something he was holding back. Dani kept telling me that I should run for the hills, just get away, but Hanna said stay. Damn it, my heart said stay. But was I in over my head here?

I decided it no longer mattered. Hanna took over and I leaned in to meet his kiss, pulling him closer to me. His tongue caressed mine and he sucked on my lower lip as he pulled back.

He whispered in a throaty voice. “Come on.” And he stood up from the couch and pulled me by my hand leading me to the bedroom.

Once inside, he wrapped his arms around me and I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his wait as we twisted into another hot and heavy kiss. The blood pulsed through my veins. I heard his breath catch as he lifted me onto the bed. He tore my top and bra off in one fell swoop, over my head and I fell back on the bed. He pushed himself up on me and shoved a hand up onto my breast as he probed me again and again with his tongue. My head was swirling and I could barely catch my breath.

I shoved my hand down to his belt and fumbled frantically to loosen it. He rose up on his knees, took my directive and ripped off his belt. As he knelt over me, he pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside. There it was. The thing I had wondered about, a bandage around his chest. I stopped, aghast.
 
“What the hell is that?”

“I told you. I had a little accident while riding my bike, remember?”

“Oh yeah. Wait…are you sure you will be okay to continue?”

He chuckled. “What? Are you going to be that rough?”

“Well, I guess I could go easy on you this time,” I teased.

My mind was flooded with endorphins as I reached out with my hand for the button on his jeans. I wanted what was inside those jeans, bulging, pressing against the fabric in an undeniably rock hard erection.

Oh God, I wanted him so badly. My blood was boiling in my veins, and I could hardly breathe as I looked at his tight abs and the sculptured muscles of his body. All I could say was his name, “John….”

He leaned down and pushed his hand up my leg, starting at my knee and pushing slowly and deliberately up my inner thigh, up to my hot spot and lingering there, rubbing his thumb in a circular motion on top of my jeans.

I arched my back and moaned in response, it felt so delicious when he touched me. I wanted him to wander all over me, touching every inch of my skin with that hand.

He pushed both of my breasts up with his hands and swirled his tongue on each nipple, paying attention to each as he worked. The sensation of tingles zipped like lightning down my body, stimulated by the areola to the area between my legs. I reached a hand down to his crouch and grabbed at his hardness, pushing hard, rubbing my hand against him. Wanting to give him some of the pleasure I was experiencing. He moaned in response.

There were still too much clothing in the way and I panted, “My jeans. Take them off.”

He kissed his way down my stomach to my belly button and released the metal button to free me from my jeans.

 
He pulled them down over my hips, underwear and all and threw them on the floor to the side of the bed.

“God, Hanna, you’re so beautiful,” he said, hovering over me.

I rolled up to a sitting position and worked on the button of his jeans. Once his jeans were open, I reached in and grabbed his hard cock with my hand. Sitting on his knees, he threw his head back and let out a gasp.

Kneeling over me with his cock in my hand, I knew what would please him. I put my warm moist mouth around his hard erection and sucked. He hissed, my name, “Ahhhh Hanna, baby…” I sucked harder, bobbing my head up and down. “That feels so good, baby,” he purred.

I stopped long enough for him to take off his jeans. I wanted him to be inside of me, to feel the full commitment, to go all the way to the top of the mountain and over the edge. There were something magical about two people sharing that kind of experience, something special when two people are so close that they are inside of each other, emotionally and physically. I wanted that emotion to bond us, to meld us together now and …shit, maybe forever.

What the fuck was I thinking? I just wanted to bang this guy and have sex. Stop already with the stupid ‘forever’ talk. Just enjoy.

Once we were both naked, he leaned back for a moment and drank in the length of my body.

He then pushed his hand through my hair, kissing me again and again on the lips. I got lost in the heat of the moment, my head spinning, my desire building as he reached down and stroked me with his fingers between my legs. I moaned and arched my back, feeling the tension building, the explosion mounting with every kiss and swirl of his fingers. Before I could comprehend what was happening, he thrust inside of me, pushing through my moist folds. I gasped at the sheer power and girth of his manhood. He filled me completely and I cried out his name in ecstasy. He pulled back and thrust again and again, grunting and growling with each advance. I dug my nails into his back over the white bandage and met each of his thrusts with fervent expletives.

He thrust and I gasped. We continued with heightened excitement until we both crashed over the top at the same time. Panting and breathing into my neck, he shuddered inside of me.

We lay still for a few moments until our breathing slowed and he pushed off of me, rolling to the side.

He pulled my body close into the curve of his and nuzzled into my hair as we lay on the bed together. He just held me that way for a while in silence. I wondered what he was thinking. If he knew the truth about me, would he kick me out of this bed? Would he think I was a crazy woman? I pushed the thought aside. I didn’t want to deal with that right now.

A warm glow filled my body. I felt safe with John and I wanted to learn more about him. “I want to know you better.” I heard myself say. Could I have said something more stupid? He would want to get to know me better too and where would that lead us?

“Me?” He rose up onto his elbow and looked at my face, lightly tracing a finger along the edge of my jaw until he stopped at my lips. For a moment, he paused and in that instant, I thought I saw darkness in his eyes, as if there was something there beneath the surface. It vanished as quickly as it had appeared and then he smiled at me with half-hooded eyes.

 
“There’s not much to know about me. I’m a pretty boring guy.” With his fingers paused at my chin, he ran his thumb across my lower lip, then kissed me as if he didn’t want to talk anymore. I didn’t resist. Hanna wasn’t about to let Dani ruin this moment with cerebral conversations. I pressed into his kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. I was in the tattooed arms of a handsome, motorcycle riding, hard body and I wasn’t going to waste this poignant moment of my life.