Chapter Twenty

He kissed her.  Hard.  Hot.  Greedily.  The tang of the wine she’d been drinking and her underlying sweetness filled him.  She was a little piece of heaven that he somehow knew would put him through hell.  But it didn’t stop him from wanting her, needing her.  He pulled her closer, her chest flush against his. He could feel her heart beating as erratically as his own.  With her knees spread wide across his lap, he pressed his hips up, his hard cock throbbing against her.  

With the wine dulling her senses, she braced her hands on his shoulders and fell headlong into his kiss.  His mouth alone had her hot and achy with a need she hadn’t felt in so long. She shifted restlessly over him, her knees tightening against his hips.  Her hips jerked against his as her swollen sex rubbed against the hard length of him.

Lust mingled with steam from the tub surrounded them as the kiss spun out.  A quiet moan escaped her lips as he pulled his mouth from hers and traveled down her long, graceful neck.  Reaching up, he pulled the clip from her hair, groaning against her soft skin as the rich, dark waves flowed over his hands and down her back.  Gently he tugged, tipping her head back his tongue tracing tiny circles around the spot where her pulse beat rapidly.

He peppered her chest with open-mouthed kisses as his hands slid up her sides, resting against the side of her breasts.  She was soft, supple, real.  No silicone or surgery for this woman.  He hadn’t realized how much he missed the feel of an un-surgically enhanced woman until he had one under his hands.  Everything felt different, better, like it was supposed to.  His thumb stroked the full under-curve of her breast.  It was pliant, soft.  He levered her up to stand on her knees, bringing her breast level with his mouth.  He took the hard tip, black fabric and all, between his lips and sucked.  Hard.

Her eyes slammed shut and her short nails dug into his muscled shoulders.  Fiery hot need pooled low in her belly.  Her body screamed for more, more, more.  She writhed against him; he pumped his hips up hard, grinding against her.  Abruptly she pulled away from him. The voice in her heart louder, even in her wine and arousal induced state, telling her this was wrong.  

Her breathing was ragged and her hand less than steady as she reached for her wine, downing the last of it.  “Rich...”

He kept his eyes closed, pretending not to hear her.  He didn’t want to stop, didn’t want to look up and see that look on her face.  

She slid back, perched on his knees instead of groin to groin.  “Rich” she tried again.  “I think...”

He cut her off with a kiss, his control at its very limits.  “Don’t think” he pulled her close again, the hard length of him pulsed against her belly.  “Tonight sweetheart, right now, don’t think about anything except how you feel.”  He kissed her again, taking her glass from her fingers and wrapping her arms around his neck.   “Just feel.”

All she could feel was his mouth and his hands.  Her fingers wound through the dark, damp strands of hair at his nape as she gave herself over to his kiss.  Again.  Her hips rocked against his as she tried to ignore the voice inside her telling her to stop.

Sensing her resistance wavering, Richie grew bolder.  His hands wandered over her slick skin, sliding around her lower back.  His fingers dipped into the bottom of her bathing suit.

She pulled her mouth from his, grabbing his wrists and slipping off his lap to sit next to him.  “I’m sorry” she said as she looked up at him.  “I just can’t.”

Blowing out a frustrated breath, he dragged his arm out of the water, wrapped it around her and hugged her close.  “I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but it’s okay sweetheart.  We’ll just wait until you’re ready.”

She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes.  The wine, the heat of the tub and the man all taking their toll on her.  “When” she whispered.  “When will that be?”

Feeling her relax against him, Richie looked down to find her asleep.  With a sigh he shook her gently.  He needed to get her out of the hot tub and he didn’t want to risk hurting himself or her by trying to pick her up.  

She woke enough to climb out of the tub and he got a towel wrapped around her before helping her inside.  Depositing her on the couch he kissed her forehead.  “You’ll know when the time is right sweetheart” he whispered “then you’ll have to come to me.”   Collecting his clothes from the powder room, he shut off the lights and headed out to his car.

~

Turning her head, Stephanie pushed at her hair and the daylight burned her eyelids.  She groaned.  Her head felt like Tico was in there beating out an old eighties drum solo. “What the hell did I do last night?” she murmured and rolled over.

Not realizing she was on the couch she rolled off the edge, flailing as she landed on her ass on the floor.  “Son of a bitch.”  Righting herself, she sat with her back against the couch trying to get her bearings.  She blinked her eyes open and immediately closed them again. The sunlight streaming in the window had her brain screaming for the dark.  Leaning her head back against the couch cushion she tried to remember what had happened the night before.

Her eyes flew open again and she sat up straight.  “Richie.”

Scenes from the night before played through her wine-muddled brain.  Chatting and drinking wine in the kitchen.  Kissing.  Making dinner and his gift to her.  More wine. Eating, drinking more wine.  The hot tub.  More wine.

The hot tub.

She closed her eyes again.  Shit.  What the hell had she been thinking?  She shook her head.  She hadn’t been thinking.  She had been drinking.  She tried to remember, two bottles?  That could explain a lot.  She looked down at herself.  She still had her bathing suit on.  That was good.  Wasn’t it?

Moving carefully she stood and slowly made her way toward the kitchen.  The dishes were still piled in the sink and there on the counter, sat the empty bottle of wine.  It hadn’t been two, just one.  One very large bottle of wine.

She winced and ignored them as she licked her lips and opened the refrigerator.  God her mouth tasted like something died.  She grabbed a bottle of water, taking a healthy swig as she ambled to the door leading out to the deck.  Snagging her sunglasses off the counter she cautiously poked her head out the door.  The hot tub was off and covered, her wine glass must have been brought back in the house as the little table was empty now. And Richie was no where to be found.  She ducked back in the house and shut the door.  He must have gone home after she fell asleep?  Passed out?  God, she couldn’t remember.

She went back into the living room and collapsed down into the oversized chair.  Things had gone beyond friendly in the hot tub.  She remembered slipping as she stepped in and landing on Richie’s lap.  She also remembered how hot and hard he was against her.  How slick his skin was when she flicked his nipple with her tongue.  How delicious his mouth was when he had practically devoured hers.

Closing her eyes she shook her head in disgust.  There was no excuse for her behavior. There was also no denying the attraction between them anymore.  She couldn’t keep putting him off.  Not after last night.  She was sure nothing more than kissing and some seriously heavy petting had happened, but… she thought about being on his lap.  God, it had been amazing.  Her legs spread wide across his hips, cradling his hard, thick cock against her, his hands gliding over her hot, wet body; his mouth on her neck, his hands in her hair.  Heat pooled in her belly and spread lower as she thought about how they practically made love right there in the hot tub, with their clothes on.

But they hadn’t.  She was nearly positive they had stopped.  Sitting there she took stock of her body.  Nothing was sore; nothing ached, in a good way or bad.  They couldn’t have done anything more.  Could they?  She huffed out a breath.  Only one way to find out for sure.

She made her way up the stairs to her room.  She needed to call Richie.