SoloPlay (14 page)

Mark guided her to the bed, divesting her of leather straps as they walked. He knelt at her feet and began massaging the red lines where the leather had cut into her flesh. His hands spread warmth through her legs. His fingers played over her hips, her belly and her ribs, erasing the evidence of the straps with his gentle fingers, then his tongue. By the time he reached her breasts, she had almost forgotten she needed to even the score. Her thighs parted. He slid between them.

His eyes glowed. “Ah, Sologirl. You are amazing.”

Disappointment flared, dispelling her arousal. Of course he thought of her as Sologirl. She had no right to expect anything else. He nibbled a path down her body until she felt his breath, hot on her inner thigh.

She gave his broad shoulders a firm shove. “Save it for DoublePlay, Mr. Winters.” The surprise on his face made her feel marginally better, and she swung her legs off the bed. She reached for his leather briefcase and rummaged inside until she found what she sought.

“My turn,” she declared.

“It’s always your turn,” he grumbled.

“Hey, I didn’t design the products—you did.” She looked at the toy in her hand. “What is this? An alien? Or an insect?” She snapped the green latex between her hands and rubbed her thumb over the extra-long clit ticklers.

“Which is more appealing?” he asked.

“Depends on your perspective, I suppose. What’s this for?” she asked, indicating the pointed nub at the bottom of the device.

“Your ass, my dear.” His grin was slow and sizzling.

“Silly me.” Alisa loosened his tie and pulled it out of his collar. She slowly unbuttoned the rest of his shirt. When she reached his waist, Mark was ready for her, and they made short work of his suit pants, boxer briefs and socks.

Alisa bent to take him in her mouth. He groaned, making her smile around his cock. Swiftly, she slid the thick, green ring down to the base of his cock and carefully wrapped the lowest loop of stretchy latex around his balls. With one hand on his chest, she pushed him to the bed. Another quick movement had the condom in place, and she seated herself on his already hard cock. “Ready?” she asked.

At his slow nod, she reached between their bodies to flip the switch. Strong vibrations made them both shiver. “Make it good. It’s the very last one. We’re done, Sologirl. You did it,” he said with a pleased grin.

“This is the last DoublePlay toy?” she asked, heart suddenly in her throat.

He nodded triumphantly.

“We’ll have to make the most of it,” she said, pressing down on him, determined to enjoy the last ride. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel the thick dismay his words caused—not now. Not yet. Not until she had to.

Alisa began a slow bump and grind, concentrating hard on the touch-and-go sensation of the vibrating ticklers. She took one of his thick forearms in each of her hands and forced his arms above his head. Her breasts brushed his chest as she swayed above him. She smiled into his hot eyes. “I think this is going to take a while.”

“You could increase the vibration,” he said tightly, through clenched teeth.

“No, just bear with me.” She enjoyed his heartfelt groan immensely.

After the doorbell stunt and his obvious glee over the conclusion of their DoublePlay experiments, she had no desire to have mercy on him. Alisa leaned back and increased the angle between their chests to ninety degrees, then more. She rested her weight on her arms and slid her legs in front of her, allowing Mark to support her full weight, until she could brace her feet on the bed next to his shoulders. The tip of the bumpy stimulator pressed deep into her ass, and the supple clit ticklers had plenty of room to fly now.

“Make sure SoloPlay suggests this position in the product description,” she said. Mark’s hands cupped her bottom, helping her to ride him. With the vibrations fore and aft and his cock filling her, she barely needed to move at all to have an intense orgasm. It was a foregone conclusion that she would have more, and the thick green band wrapped around Mark’s cock assured her that he wouldn’t come before she was finished with him, not that he generally had any trouble in that department.

She began to move again.

“Enough,” he growled and tipped her to the bed. He shucked the cock ring in an impatient motion.

“Hey, I wasn’t finished yet!” she protested.

“Neither am I.” He covered her body with his own, sinking deep inside her, deeper than he had been able to get while wearing the green cock ring. She quickened around him, welcoming his impatience.

He’d never ditched the toys before. Except for that first night after their BodyVibe dinner, they’d always had a DoublePlay toy between them somewhere. Alisa gazed at his face, caught by the raw desire that transformed his stark features. Was it possible he wanted her too?

She hooked her arms around her knees and opened for him. His weight crushed her. His heat filled her, and the fire in his eyes raised her own flame even higher when he lowered his head and took her mouth in a searing kiss. His hips commanded her and his body demanded submission. She gave it to him. She let him take her, take everything. This one last time, she pretended it was real.

And that she loved him.

Oh God
, the thought made her scream as she came, eyes clamped shut to keep him from guessing her secret.

Mark stiffened in her arms, convulsing with his own release.

After a breathless minute, he rolled to the side, embracing her from behind.

It was now or never. She kept her eyes shut and her body relaxed, faking a sex coma while she tried to figure out what to say. No more DoublePlay toys to test, she reminded herself. He wouldn’t need her anymore, and she might not get another chance to tell him about her feelings unless she sent him an e-mail. Beth was right, she should tell him how she felt. Maybe if she kept it casual and low-key—

She felt Mark slide out of bed and pull the covers over her. She opened her eyes, tensed, prepared to roll over and face him, until she heard his deep voice whisper, “Thank you, Sologirl.”

For what? The sex?
No
, her brain coldly informed her,
thank you for testing DoublePlay toys like a good little SoloPlay Enterprises employee.
Cold spread straight through to her center.

Her heart felt like a block of ice. Every breath she took splintered her chest. Since he thought she was asleep, she remained silent and motionless.

She was glad when she heard him walk away from the bed, although he didn’t stay gone for very long. When he returned from the bathroom, she heard clothes hit the floor as he removed them from the armchair in the corner of her room. Then she heard the familiar sound of him typing notes into his laptop. She surreptitiously wiped her eyes on the pillowcase.

Thank God she hadn’t said anything. In a twisted way, that made her feel better, even if it didn’t help the pain. Taking a risk was acceptable—a suicide mission was not. He’d never offered her anything but a job, and it wasn’t his fault it had become more than just work to her. He’d never pretended there was anything but business between them. It was her fault she’d put her heart and soul into DoublePlay. It was up to her to get them back. Somehow. She forced herself to slide into numbing sleep.

Tenderness and gratitude filled Mark as he watched her snooze. In one short month, they had blazed through dozens of DoublePlay items. Each night, he analyzed her sighs and whimpers, screams and moans, intent on her pleasure. Every day he read her surveys and communicated the results to the production department, anticipating the next night with Sologirl. As soon as he received her last two surveys, the DoublePlay line would go into production, ahead of schedule and with money to spare.

He truly could not have done it without her.

Sologirl had exceeded his wildest dreams. There was no limit to her sensuality, no boundary to her capacity for pleasure. She was unlike any woman he had ever met, and he wouldn’t have had a prayer of figuring out which items would work for the DoublePlay line without her input. With Alisa, every sex toy worked for him. It was all good. Not good, amazing. Mind-blowing. Cataclysmic. Armageddon-worthy. He went up in flames the very minute he arrived at her apartment with a new supply of DoublePlay contenders, and the fire raged all night. He smiled down at the Jungle Gym survey on the screen in front of him, picturing her splayed over the leopard print cushions.

I was tied up in the jungle last night, defying gravity, held aloft by tight vines wrapped around my wrists and ankles. I felt the drumbeat in my blood. I heard cheetahs screaming—oh, wait, that was me…

Yes, he’d kept her screaming for half the night last night. She’d been wild, willing to try any position, and he had pushed her hard, captivated by her responsiveness. He tried his best to be a gentleman and drag himself out of her bed and go home every night so she could rest, but what he really wanted to do was crawl under the covers with her and cuddle her all night. It was pathetic that he continued to hang out in her apartment, typing notes, hoping she would wake up and ask him to stay with her.

Doubt made him frown. It bugged him that Alisa was completely focused on their physical relationship. Over the last week, Mark had realized that he enjoyed the time he spent with her even when they weren’t having sex. He wanted to spend more time with her. Clothed time. Quality time. He wanted to
talk
to her and he had been a little disappointed when she met him at the door half-naked and eager to play tonight. The irony was irritating. What if Sologirl didn’t want to see him again now that DoublePlay was finished? What the hell would he do about that?

A familiar creative itch began to play at the edges of his brain. He let it brew while he shut down his laptop.

Mark kissed her on the cheek, careful not to wake her. Her cheek felt soft against his lips, reminding him that her skin was just as soft everywhere. Her blond hair was strewn carelessly over the pillow, begging him to run his fingers through it. The covers outlined the irresistible swell of her hip. Sexy mascara had slipped under her eyes, giving them seductive shadows. Everything about her made him want to touch her. He sighed.

Sologirl was too good to give up.

Chapter Thirteen

Alisa was late to work. Again. A crying jag and time spent trying to disguise the dark circles under her eyes had stolen precious minutes from her. Now that she had finally made it to work, she was torturing herself by checking her e-mail every five seconds. It was almost eleven AM and nothing from Mark. Not even a survey.

Withdrawal was going to be a bitch.

“What happened last night?” Beth asked urgently. “You look like crap.”

Alisa shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Beth cleared her throat in warning. “Look busy, here comes Irene.”

She closed out her e-mail just as the head librarian reached their desk.

“Alisa, can I speak to you in my office, please?” Irene asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Beth gave her a sympathetic grimace as Alisa slunk into the office after their boss, trying to think of something, anything, that could explain her behavior. How could she defend being late when she didn’t even have to be at work until nine? She sat up straight in the chair across from Irene’s desk and crossed her ankles.

Irene perched on the edge of her desk. She peered over her reading glasses like a kindly grandmother. In fact, she
was
a grandmother. Her office was layered with forty years of family photos.

Unfortunately, the resemblance stopped there. Although Irene was rounded around the edges and wore her gray hair in a small, loose bun, she had a core of steel and a talent for seeing straight to the heart of every matter. She didn’t put up with any bullshit, and her junior librarians alternately loved and hated her for it.

“Do you know why you’re here?” Irene gave her the stern look that was legend among the staff. It made even the boldest employee begin babbling and apologizing.

Alisa nodded miserably, horrified that her chin was beginning to wobble.

“Are you going to be late anymore?” Irene probed.

Alisa shook her head.

“Good.” She pulled her reading glasses off her nose. “What’s his name?”

“Huh?” Alisa’s head was spinning from the effort of controlling her misery.

“The man who is making you late for work. Does he have a name?” Irene reached down to pat her shoulder.

Alisa burst into tears, undone by the kind gesture. “His name is Mark. But it’s over. That’s why I won’t be late anymore,” she sobbed. She grabbed two tissues from the box on the desk and buried her face. Oh God, this was humiliating. She deserved to lose her job for being such an absolute idiot.

“Deep breath, dear.”

Alisa wiped her eyes and blew her nose. When she got herself under control, she looked up but couldn’t quite force herself to meet Irene’s eyes. Instead, she examined the photos on her desk, gaze caught by a framed wedding photo that held the place of honor. It was a black-and-white shot of a groom passionately kissing his bride. The bride was leaning into the kiss, holding a plate of cake in one hand and a fork in the other, looking absolutely joyous. Alisa’s tears started up again.

Irene followed her gaze and winced, turning the wedding photo to face the other way. “Why don’t you take the afternoon off, dear? You’re not getting much done checking your e-mail, anyway.”

Alisa jumped. How did she know?

Irene smiled sympathetically. “Have faith. Sometimes these things just work themselves out, but don’t let him make you late for work anymore. See you in the morning? At nine,” Irene said firmly.

It was better than Alisa deserved. Tears threatened her eyes again. “Yes ma’am. Thank you so much.”

Alisa slipped out of the office. She decided she would risk running into Eric in order to drown her sorrows in a double mocha with whipped cream and a slice of chocolate cheesecake from the coffee shop down the street. Then she’d go home and go straight to bed. It was lack of sleep that was making a mess of her. She hadn’t slept in weeks.

She waved at Beth, who was helping a patron, and gave her a quick thumbs up to let her know she hadn’t been fired. Then she logged out, grabbed her purse from the drawer and left the library. The noon sun warmed her. She walked down the street to the coffee shop and pulled the door open, wincing at the unbelievably long line of customers.