Wicked Game (12 page)

But Pepper was long past answering. She leaned her head back, her mouth slack, her eyes closed. “Jaime,” she said in a long whispered keening way that sent electricity shooting to the tips of his toes and back to his cock.

“Yeah, baby, that is so nice, Pepper, so nice.”

“I’m coming, Jaime.”

“I know, baby. Come for me, Pepper. That’s my girl.” She flung her head wildly, her skin glowing red as heat rushed through her. Her thighs began to tremble, and just when he thought she would lose her balance, she screamed out his name, followed by a string of obscenities.

* * * *

Aware that she stood straddling Jaime Dalton’s lap with her finger deep inside her body, Cass drew in a shocked breath. How in the hell had she let him goad her into this, she wondered. Why did she lose all sense when it came to him?

“That was beautiful, Pepper,” his voice was deep, breathy, his hand on her leg hot, as he stroked her.
Oh yeah, that’s how.
Jaime could seduce the panties off a mannequin if he wanted to. “You’re creamy, did you know.”

She hastily pulled her hand from inside her panties, intending to escape with what was left of her dignity intact, but Jaime had other ideas. He caught her hand in his and drew her fingers into his mouth. And just like that, all of her resolve fled right out of the room, leaving her behind, weak and defenseless, when it came to him.

“You taste so sweet, did you know that?”

“No.” Oh God, what was she doing?

He suckled her fingers, drawing on them as if his very life depended on the sustenance he found there. The pressure coursed up her arm, causing tiny bolts of electricity to shoot to that very spot her finger had just vacated.

“Then we should do something about that,” he said, but before she could figure out what he meant, he tugged her panties down her legs. She teetered on low heels while he dragged the fabric off and tossed them on the floor. “Come here.”

He pulled her into his lap, settling a knee on each side of his thighs, and before she could catch her breath, he cupped her pussy with one of his large hands, sinking a long slender finger deep inside her. “Oh yeah, Pepper, such a sweet, slick little pussy, already creamy and ready for seconds.”

She wanted to argue with him, but he knew just where to stroke her, and somehow the only thing that came out of her mouth was pleas for more and harder. “Please, Jaime, let me taste you.”

“Too late for that, darlin’; you had your chance earlier, but your mouth got in the way.”

“I’m sorry, Jaime, I want to taste you. Please.” She held onto his shoulders, fighting this incredible need she had to gyrate on his finger. He slipped a second inside her, and she cried out. “Please.”

“Please what, Pepper? What do you want to do to me? Tell me, Pepper, do you want to suck my cock?”

“Yes.” Oh, God, his fingers felt so good, going deeper than she could reach. He touched that spot that made her crazy.

“Then say it, make me believe it.”

“I want to suck your cock. Please, Jaime, I want to taste you. Let me suck you.”

“Do you know what I really want right now, Pepper?”

“No, Jaime, tell me,” she hissed the words as he drove into her, pushing her past all sanity. “Tell me. I’m going to come, Jaime. Do that again.”

“I want you to open your pretty mouth for me, Pepper.” He drove into her again, his fiery gaze locked on hers the only thing that kept her from exploding right then. “I want to see your face when you taste your cream, Pepper.”

Her body throbbed from the loss of his hot fingers, but she did as he told her and opened her mouth. “Suck my fingers, Pepper. Suck your cream from my fingers.”

She did, God help her, she did. She tasted tangy and a little sweet, sparks shot through his golden eyes as he watched her pull his fingers into her mouth and latch on, suckling as if her life depended on it. His stifled moan of pleasure made her feel powerful.

“God damn, Pepper, you have a nasty mouth.” He swiveled the chair, and she heard him open a desk drawer. “Open my pants, baby. It’s time to take this game to the next level.”

She obeyed. God damn him to hell, but she couldn’t help herself. The button on his jeans gave her a little trouble, but the zipper slid down easily, and his silky cock was hot and hard in her hands before he could free his fingers from her mouth. “My turn.”

“Next time, baby. Right now, if you put that nasty little mouth of yours on me this will be all over.” Disappointed, she watched as he covered himself with a condom. “We don’t need this anymore.” She felt his hands on her back, the straps of her bra slid down her arms, leaving her naked and at the mercy of his quick hands.

“I love your tits, Pepper. Christ, I could come just looking at you.” He pulled her against his body, the buttons of his shirt rough against her belly. “Lift them up for me, just like you did a little while ago. Higher. Oh yeah, right there is perfect.”

She held her breasts to his mouth, offering him her soul. In return, he wrapped his arms around her and cupped her ass cheeks. Pulling her closer, he latched on to one nipple, suckling it hard and deep before moving on to the other. Then, as if she weighed nothing, he lifted her just high enough to plunge deep inside her.

Chapter Thirteen

The house was quiet. Too quiet. Cass lay in bed until nearly noon listening to the quiet. She knew she was alone. She’d known, almost to the moment, when Jaime left, as if she were somehow attuned to him. The thought demolished her.

She had no reason to believe there could ever be a connection between Jaime and herself. He was simply what he claimed to be, horny, and she was the only thing with a vagina available.

He’d used her, abused her, and used her some more during the course of the evening. And she was just so happy to be there she did every vile, disturbing thing he asked of her.

If he were to walk into her room right that very second, command her to strip naked, and dance the hula, she would.

That thought sent her back beneath the covers. Covers that reeked of Jaime’s cologne and sex. Why hadn’t he carried her to his room? Why did it have to be hers?

So he could leave when he was finished with her.

Such a no-brainer, that one was.

And finish with her, he did. Sometime around dawn, she finally gave him what he wanted in the first place. Then he was gone. An hour later, when she heard the front gates open and close, she knew he was gone.

In a fit of misery, she jumped from the bed, ripping the linen off and throwing it in a pile on the floor. She hated the damned stuff anyway. It looked like the ocean had exploded with all the blues and greens. What was with the purple sheets anyway?

After a shower, she found herself pacing the house looking for something to do. Breakfast held no appeal for her. Neither did the book club book. She ran the washer, threw in the ugly purple sheets and the comforter, and washed the dishes left over from the night before. Then, she poked around the garden looking for weeds, swept the floors, hauled out the vacuum, and cleaned the perfectly pristine brand-new carpeting. Though when she got to the office, she grabbed the knob and slammed it closed. She just could not face that room today.

At two she went down to the school, read stories to the kids, helped the summer school kids with their homework, and listened to them ask about Jaime and if he’d bring them little team logo footballs the next time he came. She promised he would, even if she had to call up the home office and order them herself.

At five, she called her mom to see how she was enjoying her trip to Vegas. Her mom was busy having a good time.

She drove by the bistro. David Cooper’s car was parked outside. She thought about stopping. She thought about the conversation they’d had the night before about practically everything and that he asked if he could call her. Then, she thought about the things she let Jaime Dalton do to her right after she’d left David.

She realized as she sat and watched for him to leave the restaurant, there was no reason to lead David on. This thing with Jaime did not need any more complication, and David would be nothing but a complication.

She drove on, finding herself at Bed Bath and Beyond. Thoughts of the atrocious bedding in her room running through her mind, she decided that she would make the guest suite into her own domain starting today with the purging of the aquarium bedding.

An hour later, she emerged with enough linen to stock a small store. Not to mention all of the accessories to match. New curtains, bath mat, throw pillows. It was a step in the right direction. Even if that direction meant being Jaime Dalton’s sometime plaything, then so be it.

She ate a late meal alone, watched television alone, and roamed the house restlessly. It was too quiet.

At midnight, she crawled between the freshly laundered stark-white Egyptian cotton sheets and felt at home for the first time in months. She sighed when the gate lumbered open and then closed. She stretched beneath the covers completely relaxed now that she knew he was home.

His heavy tread on the stairs told her he was tired, he would probably get a few hours sleep before he had to leave again. She waited for him to make the turn to his side of the house. Instead, her door opened quietly on its hinges, and his warm body slid into bed beside her. He pulled her beneath him and with lightning-fast hands that swept her breath away; he stripped her to her skin. Before she could say hello, he was deep inside her.

“I didn’t have time to pick up condoms; are you on birth control?” was all he said as he moved inside her, robbing her of breath. She shook her head. He groaned. “It’s all right, I’ll pull out.”

The next morning he placed a kiss on her shoulder. She opened her eyes wide enough to see his body in the pale light of dawn; the bruises that covered his skin made her cringe.

“Have a good day,” she told him when he kissed her cheek. Then he was gone and something fluttered in her stomach. A small electric thrill of something forbidden and almost sweet.

Cass went back to sleep after the gate closed behind him. She would have to wash the sheets again. Somehow, that was all right.

* * * *

All week long Jaime counted the minutes until quitting time. Tired, bruised, and completely wrung out, he dragged home every night instead of falling into the bunk reserved for him in the dorm. Always his intention was to check on her, make sure she was fine, and fall into his own bed. However, those intentions always fell to the wayside the second he saw her. Night after night, he went to her room, and each morning he awakened in her bed.

During the day, he worked harder than he ever remembered working before. There was a calmness in his soul that he didn’t recognize. He threw longer and seemed to breeze through workouts. Of course that didn’t mean the hits were any easier to take, especially the hits without pads.

There was an energetic atmosphere that week. Almost fun. Everyone from the towel boys on up fell into step, working as if they were one machine. This was the year. He knew it, the year he would take his team to the big game, the year they would bring home the trophy. Everything was falling into place. Saturday would be the test. The first preseason game, Saturday in Minnesota, they would show the world that this was their year.

Thursday evening he drove home earlier than usual, pulling into the garage just before nine instead of nearly midnight.

He expected to find her somewhere in the house, trying to keep herself busy, but as he passed room after darkened room unease assailed him. Upstairs her door was open. The lamp on her vanity was on, but she wasn’t there.

Her car was out front, her clothes still hung in her closet, and her purse lay on her bed. There was a heavy scent of vanilla in the air, he followed it to the bathroom, and without thinking, he opened the door.

She stood under the rainfall shower, her back to him, rinsing shampoo from her hair. He didn’t make a noise, he didn’t even dare breath for fear that this was all a mirage and he was in fact lying in the middle of the football field dying of sunstroke. But almost as if she sensed his presence, she turned, her eyes meeting his, a smile of welcome on her lips.

He didn’t need any more encouragement than that. In seconds flat, he left his clothes lying on the floor and stepped into the shower with her. She stepped into his arms, her body, warm and wet, felt so nice against his.

“How was your day?” She gingerly touched the bruise that covered his left hip.

“Rough.” He took the bottle of body wash from her, and using nothing but his hands, he bathed every tender nook and cranny of her sensitive body, lingering on those spots that elicited the greatest reaction. When he couldn’t control himself another second, he lifted her against the wall, and in no time he was home, where he belonged.

* * * *

“I didn’t know the ceiling in here was blue.” She heard him say, his voice was thick from sleep. His voice rumbled in his chest just below her ear.

“It’s always been like that,” she answered after a few moments of trying to clear the cotton from her brain. “Why are you still here?”

“I like the blue; makes the room feel sort of, I don’t know, serene. I like these sheets too. Soft.” He laid his arm over her shoulders and just held her, his voice still sleepy, his body so warm she could stay next to him the rest of the day. “It’s raining outside.”

“I know. I hear it. Still doesn’t answer my question.”

“We leave for Minnesota tonight, so no practice. Do you want to go to Minnesota? I can arrange things if you do.”

“What’s in Minnesota?” She honestly could not remember what his schedule this week entailed. She left this one up to him.

“First preseason game against the Vikes. So do you want to go? I hear it’s already cooling down up there, so you might need to take something warm.”

“It’s just the first week of August. I don’t have anything warm.”

“Baby, you probably need to start looking for some winter clothes. Even if you don’t go this weekend, I am going to drag you to a game or two once the regular season opens. Probably to that Packers game. That’s an idea, why don’t I get your mom tickets to the Packers game, and I’ll fly you both up. Think she’d like that?”