The Virgin Sex Queen (21 page)

If his hand
hadn’t been over her mouth it would have dropped open in shock. As
it was, her eyes widened. “Mmmfff?”

“Yep. I find
your bodacious bod a real turn-on. Now here’s the thing, Soph.” He
grinned wickedly. “You write sex scenes, hot fantasies, all kinds
of shit, but you have no real experience of them.”

Oh boy, was he
really going where she thought he was going with this? She stared
up at him.

“And reality
just can’t be beaten,” Alan informed her happily. “I can teach you
those things you write about, Soph.” His voice dropped a little,
deepened, but his tone remained light. “Every scene you wrote
about, every fantasy, everything still inside your head that hasn’t
been put down on paper yet, I’ll do it with you. To you. You’ll
truly experience it all, know it all. Think how much better that
would make your writing, Soph. You’ll really be able to live it.”
His voice grew huskier. “You’ll know because you’ll have done it.
With me.”

Heart pounding,
Sophie stared up at him. Sweet baby Jesus, she could not be hearing
him correctly.

Removing his
hand, Alan lowered his head, his gaze snaring hers, seeming to burn
into her with fiery intensity. “It’d be my pleasure, Soph, to make
you personally experience everything you write about, and
everything I know. Which is a lot.”

That last part
could have been bragging, but she knew it wasn’t, not the way he
said it, serious and definitely not bragging.

Could she do
it? Just the thought of sharing some of those erotic scenes with
Alan was enough to make her temperature soar. Burn. Freakin’
blister. They were fantasies of which she’d dreamed up, read about,
never tried.

Cripes, what
was happening? Was this all an erotic dream, a punishment played
upon her subconscious by her Guardian Angel, mortified by her
erotic fantasies, and she’d wake up any minute all alone and
yearning?

But it wasn’t a
joke. It was real. Alan above her was very real, his lean hips
pressed against her rounded ones, the hard muscles of his chest
flattening her breasts as much as they would go, her wrists
captured in his strong hands.

Okay, that was
a fantasy scene all its own. She’d written that one plenty of
times. Oh all right, to be truthful, she’d also daydreamed about
it. And look here, it was happening. To her. Right now.

By the man
who’d taken her virginity in a wild, heated session that left her
wanting more, regardless of the fact that she’d probably be walking
bow-legged in the morning due to the tenderness between her
thighs.

“Soph?” Alan
watched her closely.

“I just…give me
a second.”

He didn’t
respond, simply kept watching her.

Oh boy, this
was a fantasy. A cute bloke wanting her, a man who had skilfully
brought her to dizzying heights, who’d played her body expertly. A
man who was willing to play out her fantasies, to teach her what he
knew, who enjoyed her body, who’d see her naked and-

Naked?
Whoa!
That last thought brought her up short.

He obviously
felt her sudden tension for his hold on her wrists, while they
didn’t hurt, tightened just a fraction.

“Okay,” he said
calmly, “tell me what’s going on inside that head of yours.”

“I need to get
up.”

“Not
happening.”

“Alan, let me
up.
”

“No.” He used
the same calm voice, never flinching, never scowling, and never
taking his gaze from her.

“I can’t do
this with you.”

“Why not?” He
was being so reasonable.

“Well, I just
can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Can’t you
accept my answer and stop prying?”

“No.”

“You’re so
reasonable, I want to slap you.”

“Sure.”

Her hands
fisted. His never relaxed.

“Look,” she
began, trying to sound just as calm and reasonable. “This isn’t
going to work. I’m not into - into -“ Into what? Because the
lightning might strike any second. She was into him, all right, she
just wasn’t into him seeing her in all her naked glory. “I’m just
not.”

He continued to
look down at her, his face expressionless, his eyes getting the
all-seeing cop-eyes thing going. Oh wow, that was hot.

And she
shouldn’t be thinking about that right now. What was she, a freak?
Maybe.

“You’re
afraid,” he drawled.

“No.”

“You’re afraid
to let yourself go.”

“No.”

“You’re afraid
to play out your own fantasies.”

“No.” Maybe a
little. Some of them were a little, well…But that wasn’t the
reason.

“You’re afraid
to let me see you.”

“N-no.” Oops,
had she given herself away with that little stutter? Going by the
hardening look in his eyes, she had. Damn. “Alan, this really isn’t
going to-”

“You’re afraid
for me to see you naked.”

“No.” No
stutter, but a definite croak. And her cheeks flaming. Where the
hell was her game face?
Game face! Game face! Shit, where’s my
game face?

She couldn’t
muster a game face to save her life. It certainly wasn’t going to
help her now, not with Alan giving her the all-seeing cop eyes.
Yay! Wow! Hot! No!

His jaw
clenched, a muscle jumping at the corner of his mouth. Uh-oh. She
was coming to recognise that look. He wasn’t pleased. “Remember
what I said about rubbishing yourself?”

Instantly she
remembered the surprising smack on her bum, and his threat, too, oh
yes, his threat. It was as though every word was burned into her
brain.

He shifted
suddenly, releasing her wrists, one hand at her hip. A sudden
expert move and she was flat on her belly on the grass, his hand on
the small of her back. Panicking instantly, she tried to shove
upright only to find his hand holding her down.

“Oh shit, Alan,
don’t you dare! Don’t you dare-” The last of the words were changed
to a whoosh of breath as suddenly he was there again, pinning her
to the grass, his chest on her back, his long legs trapping hers.
Her skirt was up high on her thighs. That almost made her panic
even more, except he wasn’t able to see her thighs, not when his
groin was snugged against her derrière. His hands captured her
wrists again, holding her captive even as she rested on her
forearms, half pushed up, her head tilting back.

His cheek was
suddenly there, warm breath tickling the corner of her mouth as he
growled, “I’m letting you off on this one, Sophie. But you listen
good, all right?”

She could only
nod. Her nerves were zinging, her heart was pounding, and she was
all over the place, caught between delicious alarm and terrified
thrill.

“You’re a big
girl.”

Oh crap.

“Don’t
stiffen,” he chided. “Or that reprieve will disappear.”

“Alan-”

He turned his
head suddenly, his teeth catching her ear lobe in a punishing nip
that made her gasp, then moan as he licked it gently. God, the man
could tie her up in knots.

Figuratively
speaking, of course.

“I like you,
Soph. I like your body, your lush curves, your generous backside
that just begs me to grab a handful and squeeze. I admit I’ve never
been attracted to girls like you before-”

The dreamy
feeling fled. “You prick!”

“But you’re
different.” He cut her off smoothly. “I won’t lie, Soph. I’ve had
the best of gym bunnies, the model figures, I’ve chased them all.
But you-”

“Aren’t going
to get your hands on again!” She wriggled furiously.

A shift of his
body and a smart smack on her backside froze her.

“That’s
better.” He settled himself back on top of her.

“I can’t
believe you did that!”

“Stop rabbiting
on. It didn’t hurt.”

“You can’t just
whack me whenever you feel like it!”

“Just did. Will
do. When you ask for it.”

“I didn’t ask
for it!”

“You say
tomato, I say to-may-toe.”

“What the hell
has that got to do with it?” Furious, she wasn’t game to struggle
again. “I’ll yell for Sam.”

“Go ahead.”

Damn. No way
was she going to let anyone else witness her humiliation. Or cause
trouble between friends. “You are so freakin’ sure of yourself,
aren’t you?” she said bitterly.

“Absolutely.”
His cheek was beside hers again. “Now listen up, Soph.”

“I’m all ears,”
she snarled.

He laughed
suddenly.

Great.
Wonderful. Cheeks burning, Sophie dropped her forehead to the
grass.

Alan grabbed a
handful of her hair and gave it a gentle tug. “Oh, Soph.”

Sighing, she
lifted her head and upper body again, resting on her forearms,
turning her head to face him. “Are we finished?”

Amusement
reflected in his eyes, but so did a hint of frustration. “No.”

“Can you just
get to the point so I can go to bed?”

For several
seconds he studied her, his gaze slipping across her face,
lingering on her lips before lifting to look at her directly. His
expression changed, grew serious. “Sophie, you’re the only one I
want.”

“Whatever.”

“I swear. You
may hate your body, but I don’t.”

“I don’t hate
my body.”

“Yeah, you
do.”

“Alan, I’m
comfortable with my body, okay? It’s not perfect, but it’s all
mine.”

“Exactly. It’s
all you. So if you’re comfortable with your body, why can’t I see
it, too?”

All fight
drained from her. She studied his face in turn, that strong face
that could be so Cute Boy at times, yet seemed older, wiser, more
grown-up when he looked back at her so seriously.

He waited with
seemingly infinite patience for her to speak. She had a feeling
he’d wait all night if it took that long. That was nice.

She sighed.
“Alan.”

“Soph.”

She gave a
small smile. “Alan, you’ve the perfect body, a cute face, and your
taste in women runs to the gym bunny type. Now please don’t whack
me.”

He raised one
brow.

“I’m far from
perfect. I’m fat and dimply and soft and squidgy. I’m not a raving
beauty and I’m told that my words can be a little cutting at
times.”

His brow
remained raised.

“So we’re not
exactly a good fit, are we?’

He rocked
gently against her. “You sure about that?”

She swallowed.
“Yes.”
Oh please, rock against me like that again!

“So you reckon
I’m that shallow?”

“I wouldn’t put
it like that, but yeah.”

“You don’t even
know me.”

“Alan the
chick-chaser. The good-time boy. The teaser. I think I’ve got a
pretty good handle on you.”

“Bullshit.”

“Sure.”

His mouth
quirked just the tiniest bit before he grew serious again. “You’re
wrong about me, Soph.”

“Really.”

“Yeah.”

The world
around them was dark, lit in the distance by the occasional street
light. The last house light had gone out at some time, leaving them
in the moonlit backyard. It was cosy, intimate, as though they were
the only two people in the whole world.

“Yeah, I have a
laugh, Soph,” Alan said quietly. “I tease. I like to laugh. It’s
just me. Yes, I’m a bit of a chick-chaser, I don’t deny that. I was
looking for something, and then along came you.”

“Declaring
undying love now?” she asked dryly, even though her heart dropped a
little.

“No.” His gaze
didn’t waver, his patience didn’t slip. “I’m just laying myself out
to you, warts and all.”

As if he had
warts on that perfect body.

“I say things
at inappropriate moments.”

It was Sophie’s
turn to raise an eyebrow, though she couldn’t stop the small
grin.

Alan’s eyes
warmed. “But I’m not a complete arsehole, Soph. I’ve held an old
woman while she cried on my shoulder after I had to tell her that
her husband had died of a heart attack at the local supermarket and
didn’t make it to the hospital. I’ve seen some of those cute gym
bunnies drunk and disorderly, yelling abuse and swearing. I’ve seen
people bashed for no good reason, I’ve arrested people, I’ve seen
the worse side of humanity. Yet I can still laugh, still see the
good in people. You know why?”

“Because you
have a weird sense of humour?”

“See, you do
get me.” He grinned. “I can still laugh because I have good
friends, family, life is still worth living. No matter what
happens, the birds are still singing to greet the dawn, the sun
still rises, the rain still falls, a friend still rings to say
g’day. The gym bunnies still run, the kids still go to school, and
I still get a wave and a thank you from some people. And life is
still fun.”

Wow, and this
time the ‘wow’ wasn’t lustful. Sophie studied him. This was an Alan
she hadn’t even known existed. He really thought like that?

“I still tease,
I still laugh, I still enjoy life.” Alan kissed her gently on the
corner of her mouth. “I’m just me, Alan Cooper. And then you walked
back into my life and it become a whole lot brighter.”

“Because you
had someone new to torment?” She couldn’t help but ask, fascinated
at this new insight to Cute Boy.

“Precisely. You
made me laugh more, think more, tease more. Then I just plain
wanted you. And I had you. And it’s not enough.” He nuzzled the
corner of her mouth. “You're not perfect, I’m not perfect. Well, I
mean, I’m close to perfect, but I’m not God or anything.”

She couldn’t
help but laugh. “You jerk.”

“My humbleness
is amazing.” He smiled at her, but his gaze remained steady. “Come
on, Soph, let’s have some fun. It doesn’t have to be serious. No
self-consciousness. I like you just the way you are, curves and
sharp tongue and all.”

Her gaze
dropped. There was no doubting his sincerity, it was so plain in
his eyes, in his words, in his tone. The only thing holding her
back from grasping at some fun, some true sexual experiences, was
her own fears.