The Sextet - Entanglements [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (2 page)

Chapter 2

Trust?
Angie wasn’t sure she even knew how to trust anyone as completely as Noah seemed to think she should trust him.

Trust?
Impossible. Right?
“Um…”

“No,” he practically shouted. “No hesitation. If we’re gonna do this, there can’t be
any
hesitation. If you want my help, you can’t do this halfway. Trust. Nothing but complete and total belief in us.” Noah leaned in and kissed her hard. “Are you in or out, baby?”

“I need to know what I’m in or out of.”

“Look, your problem is not being able to let go, to let someone else call all the shots. Right?”

Angie nodded, dropped her head, and refused to let her eyes meet his.

“Then for one day, you’ll surrender all control to me.”

She slowly looked up, and a few long moments passed before she finally spoke. “All control? What does that mean?” Damn, but it was hard to sit still. She finally crawled off the bed and grabbed her nightgown. Thrusting both arms into it, she jerked it over her head. Normally, she didn’t mind being nude around Noah. His warm, appreciative stares always made her feel pretty. Sexy. Now, being naked only made her feel vulnerable.
And damn, I don’t like that feeling one bit!
“How am I supposed to surrender?” she finally asked when the stilted silence made her crazed.

He didn’t answer, just sat on that mattress, looking up at her and contemplating. Probably thinking of ways to make her life miserable.

No, that wasn’t right. Noah loved her. She knew that. This was her problem, not his. At least her stress had been only her problem until it spilled over into what used to be their fantastically satisfying love life.

His silence was killing her. “Noah! You said
all
control. Tell me what you’re talking about!”

Noah’s hand reached for hers, and he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “
That’s
what I’m talking about.”

Angie pulled her hand away, tilted her head, and stared at him.

“You’re feeling vulnerable right now, and it’s killing you.”

“So?”

“So, let yourself
be
vulnerable for once. I’m asking you for one day.” He held up his hand and extended his index finger as if to press the point home. She almost rolled her eyes in exasperation. “One day,” he said again. “All I want is twenty-four hours of surrender. Twenty-four hours of openness. Twenty-four hours of keeping all those shields you like to erect around you down, and letting me in.”

Fisting her hands against her hips, she glared down at him. “What are the rules?”

His smile could only be described as impish. He was clearly loving this. “Control freaks need rules, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

“There’s only one rule, baby.”

She gestured for him to continue, flipping her hand in a circle and wishing he’d hurry up and spit it out. “And…?”

He only smiled broader.

If his intent was to drive her insane, he was succeeding. “Noah!”

“You have to do everything I tell you, and you can’t question me about it.”

Seems simple enough
. “I guess that means you pick dinner, you decide which apartment to stay at. Stuff like that, right?”

A head shake was added to the grin. “It’s a helluva lot more than that.”

“Then what?”

“When I say everything, I damn well mean
everything.
Your food, your work…” His blue eyes raked her from head to toe. “Your body, too.” A finger trailed slowly between her breasts. “Whatever I tell you to do, you do. And you do it without question or hesitation.”

That sounds so naughty
. Her body flamed back to life, the skin he’d just touched tingling. Fear, curiosity, and lust roared through her.
Giving up control?
Trusting someone else to call
all
the shots? Could she do that? Images of Noah and what he could do to her ran through her imagination. The man was a fantastic and very giving lover, and if letting him take the lead put them back into the swing of things in their love life…Well, then. She was in. “Um…okay. I’ll…try.”

“No trying, Angie. In or out.”

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

His responding smile hit her so hard, her pussy tightened. Perhaps Noah had been right, there might be some rewards in letting go. “Then leave it all up to me,” he said.

She found herself growing more and more excited with anticipation. She was getting wet from all the pictures flashing through her thoughts, hitting her from every angle. “When?” Waiting seemed impossible. Her hissing intake of breath drew another smile from Noah.

He stood up, reached out to grab her hand again, and tugged her against his chest. Drawing closer and closer, his lips stopped right before they touched hers. His breath brushed her face as he spoke. “You want this, don’t you?” When Angie leaned in to try to complete the kiss, he pulled back just enough to keep that hair’s breadth of distance. “Tell me first. Tell me you want me to run the show, you want me to make you do everything I want you to do. No matter what.”

“I…I…” Why was it so hard to surrender? Once more, she tried to complete the kiss.

This time Noah grabbed her by the waist and turned her. Then he jerked her back against him, rubbing his hardened cock against her ass. He was evidently as excited by this challenge as she was. His hot lips brushed against her ear as his tongue traced its shape before he whispered, “Say yes, baby.”

“Yes.”

“Now, I have some planning to do.”

And then he was gone. The closing of the door rang like the banging of a gong in Angie’s head. Noah had never answered her question of when, and now she faced a long, dark night alone and a day of work without knowing whether tomorrow would be the night or if he’d make her hang on that sharp edge of anticipation for a longer, more torturous amount of time.

* * * *

“Angie!”

Her CAD operator’s voice broke through her fantasy. She’d been thinking about Noah and the day of surrender that had haunted her mind the whole night before. So far, he hadn’t called, hadn’t e-mailed, and hadn’t made any attempt to follow through with his plans. And she had barely slept a wink since her mind had been filled with erotic fantasies and a touch of apprehension. “Sorry, Jon. What’s up?”

“The bid was accepted on that university’s new dorm. Congrats.”

“Sweet. Looks like we’ll be up to our asses in work until after Christmas.”

Jon frowned. “Please tell me we at least get Thanksgiving Day off this year.”

“I gave it to you last year!”

“Yeah, but we all knew you were here working. Kinda ruined the holiday for the rest of us. No fun eating turkey until you blow up, when someone you love is here, working her ass off.”

The memory was bittersweet. She’d gone to the office by seven in the morning and slaved over shop drawings while Noah went to his parents’ home for their Thanksgiving luncheon. He’d brought her back a plate full of yummy foods—even dragged along a huge thermos of his mom’s fantastic coffee. While she ate, the rest of her workers had shown up, one by one, and gone right back to the project. The finished building had been beautiful both on paper and when it had been constructed six months later.

But what had her wonderful staff missed? Time with their families. A holiday to relax and not worry about work. She loved their loyalty. She hated their feelings of total obligation.

Yes, indeed. Noah was right. She was a control freak of immense proportions.

“You’re taking this year off,” she announced, “even if I have to force every one of you to leave your keys with me so you can’t get in the building.”

Smiling, Jon left her office. Her desk phone rang moments later. “Angie Traylor.”

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Noah! You coming over tonight? Thought we’d get a pizza and watch a flick.”

“Nope. Starting at midnight, you’re mine.”

* * * *

Angie accepted the bouquet of irises and handed the delivery guy a five-dollar tip. Setting the flowers on the granite top of her kitchen island, she searched for a message to find out why Noah had sent them instead of coming over himself.

Sliding her finger under the flap, she popped open the envelope.
Be in bed by midnight
.

Her gaze wandered to her laptop. Noah never did anything by chance. He’d picked irises for a reason—some kind of subtle message about this whole affair. Angie headed to the desk and stirred her computer back to life. A few searches later, and she had her answer.

Irises were a symbol of faith, of trust. Noah wanted her to trust him. She didn’t want to let him down.

Dinner was lonely, and all Angie could do most of the evening was pace and fret. He wanted her in bed by midnight.
Why?
Would he come over? Would he be aggressive, taking the lead to see how much she could surrender to his demands? Would she be able to turn her stupid brain off long enough to enjoy their lovemaking?

Typical. I can’t even be patient enough to wait and see. Gotta worry about something that will be fun…

By eleven, she gave up and got into her pajamas. Two glasses of white wine hadn’t relaxed her, and now she tossed and turned in her lonely bed. After the cryptic phone call and the short message, her mind hadn’t been able to settle on a single thing. Even her favorite mind-numbing sitcom had been hard to follow. She just kept picturing Noah in so many delightfully erotic situations, she’d accomplished nothing except making herself so aroused she could hardly sit still.

The phone rang one minute after midnight. “Hello?”

“Take off your nightgown.”

“Noah?”

“Listen, and listen carefully. If I have to say something twice, this is over. You promised to do what I say when I say it. Take off your nightgown.”

“I am!” Hard to do while trying to hang onto a cell phone, but Angie yanked the cotton gown over her head. “It’s off.”

“Tell me about your panties.”

Odd request.
Maybe guys liked girls to talk about things like that. “Um…they’re pink. Lots of lace. Boy cut.”

“Take them off.”

Biting back a reply, she shimmied out of her panties. Her pussy was already moist at the thought of what Noah might be doing while she stripped. “Okay. I’m ready for you. Will you let yourself in?”

“Lay on the bed.”

As she crawled back onto the cool sheets, she asked, “When will you join me? God, I’ve thought about you all day. I want you so bad.”

“I want you, too. But you’ve got a lot to learn first. Get the vibrator out of your nightstand.”

Vibrator? Shit…he knows I have a vibrator?
Angie almost blurted the question out until she remembered his warning. No way she’d ruin this experience so early in the game. She slid the drawer open and grabbed her trusty Rabbit.

“Turn it on.”

The pink Rabbit flared to life, buzzing like some busy bee. She squeezed her legs together, fighting the instinctive tightening deep inside her at the once-familiar sound and the pleasure she knew used to accompany it. Yes, the Rabbit could get always get the job done. But right now, Angie wanted Noah. Fucking her. Hard and fast. Surely telling him that wouldn’t be against the rules. “I’d rather have you.”

“Rub it against your clit. Now.” His voice had gone hoarse, the only way she had of knowing this might be affecting him as much as it was her.

“If you stroke your cock at the same time.”

“Angie,” he groaned in clear frustration.

“All right!” She closed her eyes, spread her legs, and pressed the vibrator against her clitoris. Every nerve tingled to life as if it remembered what that pink miracle could do. “Shit…”

“Does that feel good? Tell me.”