She studied his features and then evidently decided he wasn"t serious. "You"re teasing me," she said.
"No," he said. "I"m not teasing. I"m dead serious."
As if tired of what she perceived as his game-playing, she lifted her chin and said, "You can"t have it both ways, Clint."
He laughed although his features were without humor. "Sweetheart, when I finally have you, I plan on having it in ways I"ve only recently dreamed of." And as if to prove his point, his thighs moved at the same time he pressed gently in the curve of her back to bring her closer to him.
He then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips and felt himself harden even more. "I"ll see you at dinner."
"I"m skipping dinner tonight," Alyssa replied.
"Not because of me, I hope," he said in a low tone.
"No," she said tightly. "Because of me."
Alyssa stretched out on the bed. It was nearly midnight. She had taken a shower and changed into one of many oversize T-shirts she enjoyed sleeping in.
Good to her word, she had skipped dinner because she needed to be away from Clint. She had called her aunt earlier and they had chatted awhile. Luckily, Aunt Claudine hadn"t asked her anything about Clint and Alyssa had had no reason to bring him up.
Chester had knocked on her door earlier to make sure she really didn"t want anything to eat and had even offered to serve dinner to her in her room if she preferred. She had a.s.sured him she was fine and she wasn"t hungry. She figured Chester thought the reason she was missing dinner was because of a tiff she"d had with Clint, which wasn"t the truth. She just needed distance from him right now. He had the tendency to prevent her from thinking straight. He would say things with such conceit that he rattled her confidence. He seemed so sure of her when she wasn"t sure of herself, she thought.
Her cell phone rang and she frowned wondering who would be calling her at this hour. Aunt Claudine was usually in bed by nine. She sat up and reached for the phone. Her frown deepened when she saw the caller indicated Kim was on the line. She wondered how Kim had gotten her number. There was no way Aunt Claudine would have given it to her.
"Yes?" She decided it was time to stop avoiding her cousin.
"Well, well, for a moment I thought you had dropped off the face of the earth," Kim said.
Alyssa rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Kim?"
"Where are you?"
"It doesn"t matter to you. What do you want?"
"Everyone is wondering where you are. You just took off without telling anyone," Kim said smartly.
"I did tell someone," Alyssa replied.
"Yeah, we figured Aunt Claudine knew where you are but she isn"t talking. All she"s saying is that you left town to go visit a client."
"Whatever," Alyssa said, sidestepping Kim"s attempts to get more information.
"Really, Alyssa, don"t you think it"s time for me and you to sit down and have a little chat? I"m sick and tired of you blaming me because you can"t keep a man. It"s not my fault that they end up finding you inadequate and prefer me to you," Kim said.
"Look, Kim, I have to go."
"And you"re not going to tell me where you are?"
"No."
"Suit yourself."
"I will. Goodbye and please don"t call back." Alyssa then hung up the phone.
Inhaling deeply, she swung her legs off the bed as she fought back the anger she felt. Overconfident people were wearing on her nerves, although she had to admit that Kim was very different from Clint. She couldn"t imagine Clint ever deliberately hurting anyone. Deciding she needed to work off some of her negative energy, she decided to slip into Clint"s office to play a game on his computer.
It was late and chances were he was in bed asleep by now. At least she hoped so. She opened her bedroom door and, as expected, the entire house was quiet. She appreciated the night-lights that lined the hallway as she made her way from her wing toward the one where Clint"s office was located. As far as she knew, they were the only ones living in the main house. Chester lived a few miles away in a house on land Sid Roberts had willed to him.
Alyssa slowly opened the office door and found the room empty. She quickly moved across the room to Clint"s desk. Kim"s words had put her on edge. She was still fuming while waiting for the computer to boot up.
She turned when a knock sounded on the door. She went still when Clint walked in. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it.
Alyssa tried not to let her focus linger on his dark eyes, but when she moved her gaze to his strong jawline and kissable lips she realized she was in trouble looking there, too. She returned her gaze to his.
"I thought you were asleep," she said when she finally found her voice.
A smile touched the corners of his lips. "As you can see I"m very much awake."
Yes, she could definitely see that. She could also see in his nonchalant stance against the door just how perfectly his jeans fit his body, and with his chambray shirt open past the throat, she got a glimpse of his hairy, muscular chest. But what really caught her attention was the area below the belt. Not only was Clint very much awake, he was very much aroused, as well.
The thought that he wanted her was enough of a reason for her heart to pound and her pulse to drum. If that wasn"t bad enough, her lips began tingling from remembered kisses. She already had a number of them tucked away in her memory bank.
She swallowed deeply as desire began to thrum through her and felt her body automatically respond to his. "Is there a reason why you"re here?" she asked, hearing the slight quiver in her voice.
"Yes," he said in an arrogant tone as he moved away from the door and slowly strolled toward her.
From the glow of light off the computer screen she was conscious of every single thing about him, including the dark pupils in his eyes and the faint growth of stubble on his chin.
When he reached the edge of the desk he placed his hands palms down as he leaned closer and brought his face mere inches from hers.
"Tonight," he whispered against her lips, "I want to teach you another version of Playing with Fire."
Alyssa slowly backed away. She then tilted her head and looked up at him. "You agreed," she reminded him in an accusing voice, one she could barely force past her lips.
"I agreed not to seduce you into my bed, Alyssa," he said. He momentarily released her gaze to glance around the room. "There"s not one bed in here," he said.
She tilted her head a half inch higher. "You don"t need a bed to do what you want to do. You"ve said so yourself," she said defiantly.
He smiled. "Yes, I did say that and it"s true," he said in a husky voice. "To make love to you I don"t need a bed. But you"ll have to be willing, Alyssa. I would never force myself on you."
She believed him. But she also knew it wouldn"t take much coercing on his part right now. He had become her weakness.
"I won"t do anything you don"t want me to do. Come play with me," he said throatily. "Trust me," he added as he offered her his hand.
The look in his eyes stirred her in a way she would not have thought possible and without realizing she was doing so, she began leaning toward him. And when she reached out and placed her hand in his, she knew she had literally sealed her fate.
Clint Westmoreland was demanding more of her than she had ever shared with any man. She was taking a risk, opening her heart up in a way she had never done with Kevin. And as she continued to gaze into the turbulent darkness of his eyes she suddenly knew why. Not only did she trust him, she had fallen in love with him, as well.
She was not going to waste her time wondering how it happened, or why it had happened. She was willing to accept that it had happened...just as she was willing to accept it would be a one-sided love affair that would lead nowhere. At the end of the thirty days she would be leaving. But at this very moment, she had tonight and wanted to take full advantage of it.
"I do trust you, Clint," she finally said softly. "Teach me how to play your game."
Ten.
S till holding her hand in his, Clint moved around the desk to gently pull her up from her seat and into his arms. He knew she had to see the desire flaring in his eyes, had to know from his aroused state just how much he wanted her. And he did want her and had from the first, when he"d seen her at the airport. till holding her hand in his, Clint moved around the desk to gently pull her up from her seat and into his arms. He knew she had to see the desire flaring in his eyes, had to know from his aroused state just how much he wanted her. And he did want her and had from the first, when he"d seen her at the airport.
Leaning slightly, he took the liberty to place his open hands over her bottom, bringing her closer to him, and groaned through clenched teeth when he felt her softness come to rest against his hardness. Desire ripped into him, adding to the heat that was already there.
"Alyssa." He moaned her name just moments before covering her mouth with his, devouring with an intensity that shook him to the core. He"d become familiar with her taste, the very essence of her flavor, and each time his mouth was reacquainted with it, one part of him wanted to savor it slowly, while the other part wanted to devour her whole.
He was too far gone to savor yet he refused to be rushed. He wanted to make their pa.s.sion something she would enjoy. That way she would let him make love to her again...and again...and again.
In his mind, nothing about their relationship had changed. They were just taking things to the next level. They were adults and they would be able to handle it. They would make no promises, just pleasure. In thirty days, their marriage would be annulled and Alyssa would leave. His life would continue just the way it had before getting that fateful letter from the bureau. For some reason the thought of Alyssa leaving made him feel uneasy.
She pushed against his chest so he could release her mouth and when he saw her lips he understood why. Already they looked thoroughly kissed. "Don"t know just how much of that I can handle," she whispered, trying to catch her breath.
He knew he could kiss her in other ways and was anxious to explore those options with her. In his mind, the game of playing with fire was basically doing just that, and he was curious to see just how much heat she could handle.
"Come with me," he said as he led her over to the sofa. He sat down and then pulled her down in his lap. Immediately, he brushed a feathery kiss on the top of her head. When he saw her trying to pull the T-shirt she was wearing down to cover her exposed thighs, he stilled her hands.
"Don"t," he whispered.
He reached out his hand to stroke her flesh there, liking the feel of her soft skin. From that first day he had enjoyed looking at her legs. But lately she had covered them up with jeans. The jeans she wore always emphasized her womanly curves, so he"d had no reason to complain, until now.
In fact, when it came to Alyssa, he was unable to find fault with anything. The only thing that gave him reason to pause was her unwillingness to discuss her family at any great length. He had tried getting her to talk about them while they were at the mall, but she hadn"t had a lot to say. He couldn"t help but wonder what they thought of her living with him for thirty days. Had she told them the full story like he had told his siblings? he wondered.
Cole had called earlier tonight from Mexico where he"d been for the past month on a.s.signment. Like with Casey, Chester hadn"t wasted any time sharing the news. It didn"t come as a surprise that Cole had thought the situation rather amusing. Cole said he was glad it was Clint caught in that predicament and not him. Cole had claimed that he was too much of a ladies"s man to be tied down to just one woman. The first question his brother had asked was if Alyssa was pretty. Clint had a.s.sured him that she was.
"Are you sure you don"t want to keep her around?" Cole had asked.
Clint"s response had been quick and resounding. "I"m positive. At the end of the thirty days she"s out of here."
"Clint?"
The sound of Alyssa"s voice pulled him from his reverie. He realized his hand had moved higher on her thigh. He smiled when he answered her. "Yes?"
"What are you going to do to me?" she whispered, tilting her head back to look at him.
In an amazingly calm voice, he said, "I"m going to introduce you to another version of Playing with Fire, but the object of the game will remain the same. My goal is to blow you up and, baby, I"m about to make you explode all over the place."
He murmured the words against her lips and felt them quiver beneath his. He then shifted her position in his lap to remove her T-shirt and wasn"t surprised to find her completely naked underneath her nightclothes. She said she trusted him; now he would see just how much.
He stood with her in his arms and then laid her back on the sofa, fully open to his view. His gaze slid over her, lingering on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, the gold ring in her navel, her womanly core and her long, beautiful legs.
"You are beautiful," he whispered, barely able to get the words out. Entranced, fascinated and totally captivated, he slowly dropped down to his knees in front of her, needing to touch her, taste her all over.
He reached out and his fingers immediately went to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, cupping them in his hands before leaning closer to let the tip of his tongue taste the curve of her throat. Then he pulled back and watched his fingertips swirl around a budded nipple, feeling it pucker beneath his touch.
A soft moan escaped her lips and he saw she had closed her eyes, was biting on her lower lip. Little did she know he hadn"t even gotten started.
"How does my touch feel, Alyssa?" he asked in a low voice as he continued drawing circles around her nipples with his fingertips.
"Good," she murmured in a voice so low he could barely hear her.
"Do you like it?"
"Yes," she responded and it seemed her words had been an effort. She refused to open her eyes to look at him.
He then slowly moved his hands, lowering them to her stomach, skimming the taut skin there. She felt soft to the touch and he smiled at the ring in her navel.
He eased his hand between her open thighs and heard her sharp intake of breath when he nudged her thighs even farther apart, wanting to touch and explore her everywhere. His fingers dipped inside of her. She was wet, drenched, and her scent consumed him totally.
Fighting the urge to taste her, he removed his hand from her and let his fingers travel downward past her knees and then to her beautiful feet. There wasn"t a part of her he wanted left untouched.
"Now for the taste test," he whispered, determined to taste Alyssa"s first o.r.g.a.s.m on his lips.
She opened her eyes and stared at him. "I don"t think I can handle much more."
He smiled. "You can. Trust me."
She nodded and he leaned forward and captured her nipples in his mouth. And things started from there. Never had he wanted to taste a woman so badly, and he went about showing her how much. She looked so sensual and s.e.xy that intense emotions tore into him as he moved his mouth lower to the area he craved.
She let out another deep groan the moment he lowered his head between her legs, and when the tip of his tongue touched her she nearly came off the sofa. But he had no intentions of letting her go. He pulled back only long enough to shift her body to place her legs over his shoulders. He was filled with a primitive s.e.xual energy that was consuming him. He intended to transfer that energy to her in this very intimate way.
He tightened his hold on her hips and lowered his mouth to her and immediately found his mark, capturing her womanly core, locking his mouth to it. She tasted sweet. She released a litany of moans and arched her back and he greedily began tormenting her with his tongue.
Her body was on fire, he could feel it. She was on the verge of exploding. He could feel that, as well. His grip tightened on her hips when she let out a scream and he continued to hungrily stroke her with his tongue, enjoying the way she was pushing her body against his mouth.
G.o.d, she was responsive, completely filled with pa.s.sion, a fantasy come true. And when she couldn"t take any more and blew up, when an explosion racked her body, he continued to give her a hard kiss. He felt his own loins about to burst and fought back for control. This was her time. His time would come later.
Tonight was for her.
When the last quake left her body, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He would give her time to recover and then he intended to perform the process all over again.