She felt the tension in his body, the involuntary pumping of his hips and knew Jesse was right there...so close.
And with a swirl of her tongue and the lightest sc.r.a.pe of her teeth along his head, she sent him moaning over the edge. She swallowed deep, taking in his essence.
With barely enough energy to grin at her triumph, Audra focused on the feelings surging through her body. The sensations reached that painful edge between pleasure and pain, winding tighter and tighter. Then, like an overwound spring, the desire suddenly snapped.
The o.r.g.a.s.m ripped through her in a wild torrent. Like free-falling over a cliff, Audra could only feel. She lost herself in the incredible power of her climax, vaguely aware of Jesse"s hand smoothing the small of her back. Grounding her body to reality while the rest of her floated somewhere in a wild never-never land of pleasure.
Audra wasn"t aware of whether Jesse moved or if she did. But when she finally became conscious of anything other than the aftershocks of pleasure surging through her, she realized Jesse was holding her against him, her head tucked against his shoulder.
Audra sighed and cuddled in the warmth of his arms. This was good. The best s.e.x of her life, and the greatest guy she"d ever met. Love didn"t suck as bad as she"d thought it would.
With a start, Audra"s eyes flew open and she replayed the discovery. Her body was too worn out from a long night of deliciously decadent s.e.x, but her mind was suddenly wide-awake.
And totally freaked-out.
This couldn"t be love. Could it?
Unlike the guy she"d thought she loved when she was seventeen, Jesse appreciated her. He"d never ask her to drop out of school to join him on a cross-country trip, only to leave her stranded in Nebraska.
Instead, Jesse seemed to accept every aspect of Audra"s personality, including her odd little quirks and weird habits. He had more faith in her designs that even she did. And that was saying a lot. He made her feel good inside. A kind of good she"d never experienced before. The kind that lasted through fights, s.e.xual dry spells, old age.
The scary kind.
She wasn"t ready for love. h.e.l.l, she didn"t know who she was anymore. How could she share her heart with another person when she was in the middle of an ident.i.ty crisis? The last thing she needed was a guy-even a guy as hot, s.e.xy and sweet as Jesse-confusing the issues even more.
Besides, it was too soon. They"d only just had s.e.x. There was no way to know if a physical relationship this intense had any shot at lasting more than a few o.r.g.a.s.ms.
Audra ignored the little voice in the back of her head mocking her fancy steps around the issue. She had enough to deal with already. She"d worry about finding an acceptable definition for what she felt for Jesse later.
After a few more of those o.r.g.a.s.ms.
She groaned as he moved against her. He had to be kidding. She"d just had a mind-blowing o.r.g.a.s.m, followed by several very sweet smaller trips over pleasure hill. He couldn"t want to do it again?
"Shower?" he murmured against her hair.
"That way," she said, half-heartedly pointing toward the bathroom.
"Join me?"
Audra pulled back to see his face.
A night"s growth covered his cheeks, giving him a tousled pirate look. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction and something else she was afraid to try to identify. She was too tired and worn out to even worry, though. The man had just experienced the best s.e.x of his life. He had a right to look a little smug.
"As many times as you rose to the occasion, so to speak," Audra teased, "I doubt you"d be able to do justice to a dual shower."
"Wanna bet?" he challenged.
She wasn"t sure if she had enough energy to actually walk to the bathroom, let alone go another round of s.e.xual gymnastics.
But she"d be d.a.m.ned if she"d back down.
So Audra winked and reached around to pat his a.s.s.
"Babe, I"m all yours. Let"s see what you"ve got."
THERE WAS NOTHING like good chocolate to top off a night of excellent s.e.x. Audra popped an M&M into her mouth and savored the delicious taste. She hummed a little as she slid her leg into the silky welcome of her stocking. With a practiced move, she hooked the garter and stood, shaking out her skirt. like good chocolate to top off a night of excellent s.e.x. Audra popped an M&M into her mouth and savored the delicious taste. She hummed a little as she slid her leg into the silky welcome of her stocking. With a practiced move, she hooked the garter and stood, shaking out her skirt.
Music pounded through the living room speakers, giving a nice downbeat for her impromptu dance of joy. She felt great. s.e.xy, satisfied and unstoppable.
With a shudder of remembered delight, Audra glanced at the bed. Nine and a half. Jesse was definitely a keeper.
One last look in the mirror a.s.sured her she was ready for her date, even though Jesse wasn"t due for another fifteen minutes.
Which was a testament to her feelings for him, since Audra"s policy was never to hurry date preparation. But she couldn"t wait to see him. And not just for the s.e.x, although the thought of that had kept her juices stirred all day long.
Just as her thoughts were heating up, her cell phone rang. "When You Wish Upon a Star" chimed out.
"Speaking of good s.e.x," Audra said with a grin as she answered her phone. "Hey, Isabel."
The only thing more satisfying than a night of the best s.e.x of your life was knowing your friends were getting their own. It made gloating so much easier. Audra bit her lip, hoping Isabel hurried with her greeting so she could share the awesomeness of her nine-and-a-half night.
"Don"t mention s.e.x to me," her friend growled.
"What?"
"Live a little, you said. Go ahead and let loose, enjoy. Great advice, Audra."
With a frown for the hurt beneath the snippy words, Audra sank to her bed. "What happened?"
Isabel hiccuped, then sniffed. Audra"s heart dropped. d.a.m.n. It was bad. d.a.m.n. It was bad.
Her mind raced. Kinky s.e.x? That"d freak Isabel out for sure. Even years of Audra"s influence hadn"t prepared the woman for fur-lined handcuffs. Bad grooming? That wasn"t so bad, but Isabel wouldn"t have gone for the guy if he were a slob. How bad could it be?
"Randy"s married."
s.h.i.t. That was was bad. bad.
"You"re sure?" Audra asked quietly.
A rare sense of guilt felt like a lead weight in her belly as Audra listened to Isabel.
"He says he"s separated. That"s why he has his own apartment. He claims they"re getting divorced, but have to work out the details first."
Audra grimaced. Those excuses wouldn"t matter to Isabel. h.e.l.l, they wouldn"t matter to Audra, either. Separated meant still married. While that might be a fine distinction, it was an important one. It put him off-limits until he"d dealt with his issues. The only thing worse than a man who cheated on his wife was a man who was still tied up in a marriage he claimed was over. Those strings were usually ugly and painful.
"Isabel, I"m sorry. I shouldn"t have encouraged you to let go and get wild. At least, not without warning you to do a status check first."
"It"s not your fault," Isabel said with a sigh and another hiccup. "I"ve listened to you advising those status checks often enough, I should know better. I just never thought it"d happen to me, you know?"
"I know." Audra glanced at the clock. Jesse was due any second. "Look, do you want me to come over? I can pick up some ice cream, grab a couple DVDs. We"ll eat junk food and dish dirt."
"Nah. I"d rather be alone."
After a few more minutes of bad-mouthing the worthless Randy and a.s.suring herself that Isabel would be okay, Audra finally hung up. Just as she did, the doorbell rang.
Even as she moved to open the door for Jesse and their hot date, she couldn"t help but wonder if her bad girl ways were to blame for her friend"s heartbreak. How ironic that she was turning into such a goody-goody over Jesse, and yet she still managed to be a bad influence.
DAVE L LARSON shielded the apartment door with his shoulders as he worked a long piece of metal in the lock. Piece of cake. He"d go in, look around for his tie, be back out in fifteen minutes flat. And since this Audra chick was such a good friend of his Bea, he wouldn"t even lift anything. Well, unless it was cash. Cash always came in handy. Once he"d snipped this nagging little thread, he"d be on his way to easy street. With the second half of his payment, he"d be shielded the apartment door with his shoulders as he worked a long piece of metal in the lock. Piece of cake. He"d go in, look around for his tie, be back out in fifteen minutes flat. And since this Audra chick was such a good friend of his Bea, he wouldn"t even lift anything. Well, unless it was cash. Cash always came in handy. Once he"d snipped this nagging little thread, he"d be on his way to easy street. With the second half of his payment, he"d be on on easy street. The perfect life. Riches, high-powered connections and the woman of his dreams. easy street. The perfect life. Riches, high-powered connections and the woman of his dreams.
Watch out, world, Dave Larson was about to make his mark. And for once, he was making it in style, with a hot chickie by his side. The luscious Bea, woman enough to inspire him to even give up his p.o.r.n. He"d shower her with jewels, buy her way onto the cover of any magazine she wanted.
All he had to do was retrieve that chip and make sure his a.s.s was covered with the triad.
He could barely keep from patting himself on the back. Tracking down the Walker chick had been easy. A few questions to Bea while she"d serviced him, a few clicks of the computer mouse. That"s all it had taken to get the name, home and work address of the only person who might block his road to success.
With a quiet snick of the lock, he swung her front door open and sneered. He was as good at breaking into buildings as he was hacking computers.
Wiping a bead of sweat from his chin, Davey scanned the spa.r.s.ely furnished apartment. It was like pictures he"d seen of Mardi Gras. Bright colors, a lot of shimmer and shine. Dave eyed the wide purple couch. He"d bet it saw a lot of action. Other than the couch and a pile of oversized throw pillows, some big, fancy dresser with doors holding a TV and stereo and a few plants, it was empty.
He took a quick look around and then headed for the bedroom. Fifteen minutes later, Davey was sweating up a storm. Nothing. No tie. No evidence of any triad connections on her computer, either. He had found s.e.x toys, plenty of leather and enough lingerie to dress the entire cast of his favorite weekly p.o.r.n series. But that was it. Could she have thrown it away? Probably. This was a waste of his time.
He checked out the other bedroom. It was small, almost claustrophobic. The sketch-covered walls didn"t help the suffocating effect. Ignoring the deficiency of air, he took a minute to appreciate those, given they were of women in lingerie. Fabric was stacked on the corners, piled on the floor. A rope hung from one wall to the next, fancy strings, beads and trim stuff draped over it. He rifled through them. No tie there. A quick glance over the large drafting table didn"t reveal any fabric. No tie there. Just as he was turning to leave, though, something caught his eye.
Dave grabbed the paper with a frown. The words, written in a loopy scrawl, made his gut churn.
A list of names and addresses. All in China. He recognized one as a money-laundering front for the Wo Shing Wo Wo Shing Wo triad. triad.
Son of a b.i.t.c.h. Sweat slid down the back of his neck as Dave tried to catch a breath. This Walker chick had obviously duped him. She had connections in China. Crime connections that were going to end his life. Dave didn"t recognize the address on the paper, but it was all the proof he needed that he"d been double-crossed. Sweat slid down the back of his neck as Dave tried to catch a breath. This Walker chick had obviously duped him. She had connections in China. Crime connections that were going to end his life. Dave didn"t recognize the address on the paper, but it was all the proof he needed that he"d been double-crossed.
Rage surged through him, a black film coating his vision as his ears rang. n.o.body, especially not some d.a.m.ned woman, screwed over Dave Larson.
Giving in to the fury, he shoved the table across the room. He grabbed the rope, yanking it from the wall. Beads clattered against the window, their loud pings sounding out like shots. He kicked a few piles of fabric, then started to punch his fist into the wall. Just inches from it, though, he remembered how much he didn"t like pain, and how valuable his hands were. Instead, he kicked it a couple times, then stormed out of the room.
He glanced at the clock. Ten on a Friday night. G.o.d knew when she"d be home. With a breath, he shoved the address in his pocket to look into later and rocked back on his heels. Did he wait for her in here or not?
He could hang out, but she might not be alone. Given the state of her apartment, she"d probably be whining to the cops before he could get back in here and deal with her.
He"d deal with her later.
On his way out of the apartment, Dave glared at the mess. He had planned to keep his visit secret as a favor to Bea. He knew she wouldn"t want her friend upset. Just break in, grab the tie and maybe a souvenir or two, then leave.
But he wasn"t the kind of man to let a little thing like l.u.s.t stand between him and someone who screwed him over. Rage, still simmering, stirred an idea in Dave"s head.
He stormed back into the trashed office and grabbed one of the sketches he"d ripped from the wall. He s.n.a.t.c.hed up a pen and with strokes so deep they ripped the paper, he left a message. One he was sure would get the two-timing b.i.t.c.h"s attention.
n.o.body ruined Dave Larson"s dreams and got away with it. She"d get him that tie, or she"d pay. Dave Larson wasn"t going down alone.
IT"D TAKEN Audra a few hours and two phone calls to get over her worry about Isabel. One more point in Jesse"s favor was how understanding he"d been of her need to check up on her friend. Audra a few hours and two phone calls to get over her worry about Isabel. One more point in Jesse"s favor was how understanding he"d been of her need to check up on her friend.
"Thanks for the fun night," she said, leaning into Jesse"s side as he walked with her to her apartment door. "I had no idea miniature golf could be such a turn-on."
"It"s all in how you use your putter," he a.s.sured her with a straight face. "If you nail those b.a.l.l.s just right, it can be the hottest game in town."
Audra rolled her eyes at the lame joke, but couldn"t hold back her smile. Even though he"d acted as if he had something serious to discuss with her when he"d picked her up, as soon as he found out how stressed she was over Isabel, Jesse had been pure entertainment.
Between the jokes, a delicious dinner and the s.e.xual sparks Jesse kept stoked to a low flame, Audra was finally relaxed. Now for the best part of the evening. Jesse, naked, in her bed.
Antic.i.p.ating an eight, maybe an eight-point-five, given that they were both tired after last night"s lack of sleep, she slid her key into the lock and swung open the door.
It stuck.
Audra shoved. "What the..."
She slapped at the switch on the wall next to her. As light filled the room, her stomach pitched.
Jesse"s broad shoulders crowded behind her. She felt their warmth as she gaped at the mess strewn over her apartment.
"I take it this wasn"t a visit by your cleaning service?" he teased. But under his light words was a cold, clinical tone she"d never heard. It both comforted and made the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
"Someone trashed my place?" She felt tears well in her eyes, but blinked fast. Wicked Chicks didn"t cry. With a deep breath, she shoved aside the pain and lifted her chin.
"Well, we might want to delay our hot s.e.x," she joked stiffly. "I think I"d better tidy up first."
Not meeting his eyes, she stepped over the bolt of cloth that"d been blocking the door and made her way into the room. At second look, it wasn"t as bad as she"d originally thought. It was a mess, and someone had obviously invaded her s.p.a.ce. But nothing looked broken. Her TV was still in the armoire, as was the stereo. So why were her hands trembling?
Audra took a shaky breath and tried to calm the pained emotions swirling through her system. It was just stuff. Just an apartment. Maybe if she told herself that often enough, the devastating pain would subside.
She bent down to pick up a few paperback romances that looked as if they"d been kicked around. Jesse grabbed her arm.
Startled, she looked up at him. He was shaking his head, even as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He punched a couple of keys and held it to his ear.
"I"d like to report a break-in," he said into it. His eyes held hers as he gently pulled her to him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and, despite her stiffness, rubbed his hand over her back. She should pull away. She didn"t need soothing. But she couldn"t bring herself to leave the haven of Jesse"s arms.
The tension slowly left her body and she let herself lean into him. His strength enfolded her as Audra tuned out his words and closed her eyes to the devastation of her home.
And, for the first time in her life, she lowered her guard, and her heart, enough to let herself be comforted.