Prodigal Son (9 page)

“You could be right.” She took another sip from her drink. “I saw you dancing with Samantha. You make a very attractive couple.”

“She’s a beautiful woman.”

“And a friend. You’re a great guy, Jack, but I know how you are. Serial monogamy is great in theory, but sometimes someone gets hurt.”

She wasn’t being subtle. “You don’t want that person to be Samantha.”

“She’s just been through a difficult time.”

“I know about her divorce.”

Helen smiled. “I wonder if you really do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Be kind to my friend.”

“I’ll do my best.” He shook his head. “You put her name on the short list. I’d wondered how it got there.”

“I knew she would do a good job and I thought she was someone you could trust.”

There was something in her voice that implied she knew more than she was saying. How much had Samantha told her about their previous relationship?

“Good call on your part,” he said.

“Thanks. I have my moments.” She looked around at the large gathering. “Ready to plunge back into the hordes?”

“No, but there’s not much choice.”

She glanced back at him. “I know you don’t care or even want to hear this, but your father would have been very proud of you.”

He didn’t say anything because he was starting to like and respect Helen, but as she walked away he acknowledged she was right. He didn’t care about what his father thought.

* * *

Samantha knew she was babbling. It was late, she was tired and hungry and she couldn’t seem to stop talking.

“I think the party had a real positive impact on our relationships with our advertisers,” she said as Jack stopped at a light. “There was so much good feedback and I have some great ideas to bring to the next creative meeting for the website.”

He drove through the quiet, empty streets, nodding every now and then. She knew neither of them was really interested in business and that he already knew everything she was saying.

“The band was good, too,” she added with a bright smile. “A lot of people were dancing. That doesn’t usually happen at parties like this. But everyone seemed really relaxed. Didn’t you think so? Weren’t you relaxed?”

He stopped for another light and turned to glance at her. “You don’t have to entertain me on the drive home,” he said. “It’s okay if we don’t talk.”

Great. So she’d bored him.

She firmly pressed her lips together and vowed not to say another word between here and the parking garage at their building. From there it was a short elevator ride to her condo.

Silence, she told herself. She could do silence.

“I like your car,” she said before she could stop herself. “Is it new?”

“About two years old. Why are you so nervous?”

“Me? I’m not. I’m fine. I had a good time tonight.”

“You sure didn’t drink. As far as I could tell you didn’t eat. So what’s going on?”

“Nothing. I’m fine. Perfectly. See? This is me being fine.”

He pulled into the parking garage and drove to his space. When he turned off the engine, he shifted so that he faced her.

“Are you worried I’m going to make a pass at you?” he asked.

The blunt question shocked her into silence. If she looked at things from the right perspective, life sure had a sense of humor. For the past few weeks she’d been hoping Jack wouldn’t notice her as anything but a co-worker. Now she wanted him to see her as a desirable woman and he was worried she thought he was going to come on to her. Which meant he wasn’t.

She’d spent the entire evening in shoes that made her feet hurt for nothing.

“Why would I worry about that?” she asked, not able to meet his gaze.

“Because of what happened the last time we were alone together.”

Ah, yes. That magical kiss. “It was nice,” she whispered.

“I thought so, too. Still do.” He leaned across her and opened her door. “Come on. I’ll walk you home.”

He came around and helped her out of the car, then took her hand as they walked to the elevator. Seconds later the doors opened and they stepped inside.

She wanted to say something. Maybe invite him inside or at least come off as cool and sophisticated. But she couldn’t think of anything good and she didn’t know how to tell him she wasn’t exactly ready for the evening to be over. Maybe in her next life she would understand men and deal with them better. In this one, she was batting a big, fat zero.

The elevator stopped on her floor. She turned to say good-night, only he was stepping off the elevator and leading her to her door.

She dug for her key in her tiny evening bag and clutched it in her hand.

Her place was at the end of the hall. Jack took the key from her, opened the door then cupped her face and smiled at her.

“You’ve told me no plenty of times,” he said quietly. “Tonight your eyes are saying something different. Which should I believe? Your words or your eyes?”

Her stomach flipped over, her throat went dry and it was all she could do to keep hanging on to her purse.

It all came down to this. What did she want from Jack?

“Talk has always been overrated,” she whispered.

“I agree,” he said as he eased her into the condo and closed the door behind them.

She heard the lock turn just before he bent down and kissed her.

She instinctively leaned into him, wanting to feel his mouth on hers. When his lips brushed against her mouth, she wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him in place.

They surged together, need growing until her mind overflowed with images of them together, naked, craving. Even as she tilted her head and parted her lips, she dropped her purse on the floor and stepped out of her shoes.

He took advantage of her invitation with a quickness that heated her blood. He nipped at her lower lip, then swept his tongue into her mouth, where he claimed her with an eagerness that made her thighs tremble.

His hands were everywhere. Her shoulders, her bare arms, her back. She touched him, as well, stroking the breadth of his shoulders, before starting to tug on his jacket.

He quickly shrugged out of it, letting it fall, then he pulled off his tie. He broke the kiss, then turned her so her back was to him.

“Cuffs,” he murmured as he pushed her hair over her right shoulder, then held out his hands in front of her.

But removing the gold-and-diamond cuff links was more difficult than it should have been. Even as she reached for the fastening, he nibbled on her bare shoulder, then licked the same spot.

Goose bumps erupted on her arms. Her nipples got hard and she felt the first telltale wetness on her panties.

At last she managed to free the cuff links. She started to turn, but he stayed behind her, put his hands on her hips and drew her back against him.

He was already hard. She felt the thickness of his need as he rubbed back and forth. Wanting filled her, turning her body liquid. He moved his hands up her body until he cupped her breasts.

Her curves were modest at best, but exquisitely sensitive. Even through the fabric, she felt his thumbs brush over her nipples in a way designed to make her his slave.

“I’ve wanted to do this all evening,” he breathed before biting down on her earlobe. “That damn dress. You were driving me crazy. I couldn’t decide which would be more erotic—coming up behind you and touching you like this or just saying, ‘The hell with it,’ and shoving my hand down the front of your dress.”

Either would have taken her breath away.

“I want you naked,” he murmured as he kissed her neck. “I want to touch you all over until we’re both exhausted and then I want to do it all again.”

He’d talked to her before, she remembered, her brain turning mushy from too many hormones and too little sex. She hadn’t been with a lot of men, but except for Jack, they’d all been silent.

She loved his words. They not only turned her on, but they left no doubt that she did the same to him.

She turned in his arms and pressed her mouth to his. He kissed her with an intensity that shook her to the core. When she felt his fingers on her zipper, she trembled in anticipation of being naked with him.

Her dress fell in a whisper of silk. Underneath she wore tiny panties and nothing else. He continued to kiss her even as he brought his hands around to cup her breasts.

While she’d always wanted to be voluptuous, she had a theory that her small breasts had the same number of nerve endings as big ones, so hers were more sensitive. Apparently Jack remembered, because he touched her gently as he stroked her hot skin.

Fiery sensation shot through her, making it hard to keep breathing. Every part of her being focused on his touch as he moved closer and closer to her nipples. At last he touched them, first with just his fingertips. He lightly rubbed the very tips before squeezing them oh so gently.

She gasped with pleasure. He groaned, then broke the kiss and pushed her back. Seconds later three books, her mail and a plastic container of fake flowers crashed to the floor. Before she could figure out what he was doing, he lifted her onto the top of the wood console in her foyer, bent his head and sucked on one of her nipples.

Suddenly the mess didn’t matter at all. She closed her eyes and arched her chest toward him. Her fingers tangled in his hair.

“More,” she breathed as he circled her tight, quivery flesh. “Don’t stop.”

He didn’t. He sucked and licked and circled and then moved to her other breast. He replaced tongue with fingers, arousing her with everything he did.

He put one of his hands on her thigh and moved it steadily toward her center. She parted her legs, then cursed the panties still in place as he rubbed her through the silk.

“Off,” she begged, shifting on the console. “I need them off.”

He grabbed them and pulled them down. When she was fully naked, he reached for her and slid his fingers into her swollen, waiting heat.

Heaven, she thought, barely able to breathe. Heaven and then some. He explored her, quickly finding her favorite spot, then teasing it. He shifted so that his thumb rubbed there and his first two fingers could slip inside of her.

Passion grew as her body tensed. She clung to him, barely able to absorb all the sensations. It was too fast, too soon. And yet…

“Jack,” she breathed as she felt herself spinning higher and higher.

His only response was to suck harder on her breasts. The combination of pleasures was too much, she thought as she felt the first shuddering release of her climax. It overtook her body, leaving her unable to do anything but hold on for the ride.

She felt herself tighten around his fingers. He moved in and out, imitating the act of love. Toward the end, he raised his head and kissed her on the mouth. She kissed him back, then sighed as her contractions slowed.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “Wow,” she breathed, both pleased and a little embarrassed at the speed of her response.

He grinned and then picked her up in his arms. She shrieked and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Taking a naked woman to bed. What does it look like?”

“A plan I can get into,” she said, then lightly bit his earlobe. “Once we’re there, you can get into me.”

“I will,” he promised. “In a second.”

“What do you… Oh!”

He dropped her onto the bed, then quickly stripped out of his clothes. She gave herself over to the show, remembering how good he’d looked before.

Time had been kind. He still had a hard, sculpted body and his arousal was very impressive. She reached for him as he joined her on the bed, but he shook his head.

“Protection?” he asked.

She pointed at the nightstand and held back the need to explain that they were, in fact, very new. She’d bought them the day after he’d kissed her. More than a little wishful thinking on her part.

He pulled out the box of condoms and removed one. But instead of putting it on, he slipped between her legs and knelt over her.

“I want you,” he said.

She saw the desire in his eyes and felt her body quicken with an answering need.

“Me, too. Despite my recent thrill ride.”

“Good.”

He bent down and kissed her belly. As he moved south, she knew what he was going to do. Politeness dictated that she at least offer him his own release before taking another of her own, but as she tried to speak, she remembered what it had been like that one night they’d spent together. How he’d kissed her so intimately, with an understanding of her body that had taken her to paradise so quickly.

“Just for a couple of minutes,” she told him as he pressed his mouth against her. “Three at most.”

He chuckled. She felt the movement and the puff of warm air. Then his tongue swept against her with the exact amount of pressure. He circled her most sensitive spot once, twice, before brushing it with the flat part of his tongue.

She was lost. Rude or not, she couldn’t stand the thought of stopping him. Not when he made her feel so good. She pulled her knees up and spread her legs apart, then she dug her heels into the bed.

He moved faster, pressing a tiny bit harder. It was the most intimate act she knew and she’d trusted no one but him to do this to her. She might have trusted Vance, but he’d claimed it was disgusting, although he’d been plenty willing for her to do it to him.

Without warning, her body shuddered into orgasm. She lost control in a way she never had before. He kissed and licked and moved his fingers back and forth as she screamed her release into the night.

She lost track of time and reality. There was only the waves and waves of pleasure filling her. At last her body slowed. She felt him pull back. She reached toward him, not wanting to lose the connection, but then he was there, between her legs, pushing, filling her.

She opened her eyes as he slowly thrust himself inside of her. He was much bigger than his fingers and she felt herself stretching. The delicious pressure made her shudder again and again. She came with each thrust, milking him.

He braced himself on the bed and made love to her. Their eyes locked and she watched him get closer and closer. She wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him inside, feeling him climax and contracting around him as he did.