Flirty (5 page)

His eyes visually caressed her before he asked, “So what are you saying, Alexis, that you’d rather wrestle with me than get out of here?”

As she envisioned herself rolling around on the floor with Sam, their bodies touching, grinding, pushing and pulling, wrestling suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

“I…uh…I don’t want to hurt you, or embarrass your pride.” She cleared her throat. “So we should probably concentrate on the hatch for now.”

The corner of his mouth turned up in a sexy, flirty grin. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too.” Then he gave her a wink and said, “We’ll save the wrestling for later.” He glanced at the hatch then back at her. “Ready?”

She nodded and he bent to wrap both his arms around her knees. Exerting little effort, he hoisted her up. With his mouth somewhere in the vicinity of her wet panties, Lex worked to concentrate on opening the hatch, a difficult task considering how hot and erotic his breath felt on her thighs. Actually, come to think of it, the chill was gone from her room, and her body.

She pushed at the hatch then made a fist to pound on the corner. “It’s stuck,” she groaned.

“It probably hasn’t been open in years,” he said, his voice sounding a bit deeper than usual.

She tried a few more hits, and the next thing she knew she was sliding down his body, the movement creating heat and friction between them as he lowered her to her feet. He continued to hold her against him, his large hands splayed over the small of her back.

Feeling breathless, she said, “Now what?”

Instead of answering he pulled a confused face and asked, “Is it getting hotter in here?”

For a moment Lex thought it was because of the heat they were generating inside the closet, but then it occurred to her that something else was going on. The temperature in the room had spiked dramatically, making her uncomfortable in her wet underthings, as well as his oversized T-shirt.

She broke from the circle of his arms and inched away to step back into the bedroom. She checked the radiators, to see if they were on, then moved to her window to look out. When she spotted plumes of smoke coming out of the chimney on the lower roof, she whispered, “Oh my God.”

“What?” Sam strolled up behind her.

“I think there is a fire in the main level hearth. How can that be? I didn’t light a fire.”

“Neither did I.” Sam pressed against her, his body so hot and hard against hers as he looked past her shoulder. Her skin moistened, and the hungry little spot between her legs quivered with want. “But I think I’m convinced,” he said, his breath whispering over her neck.

“Convinced?”

“Someone
is
messing with you.”

She turned to face him, and her hard nipples scraped against his bare chest. He must have felt it, because he glanced down, then eyes that seemed too dark, too hungry, locked back on hers.

“What…what should we do?” she asked.

“I don’t think anyone is out to harm us, so I don’t believe we’re in any danger. Whoever is messing with you just wants to keep you…or us…locked up in this room, for some reason.”

“What kind of reason?”

“I don’t know. I’m sure Errol will stop by in the morning to check and see if I caught his alleged ghost, and we can ask if he knows what’s going on. Why someone would want to lock us in together.”

Her breath came shallow as she looked at his near nakedness. She could only think of one reason why someone would lock the two away in a hot room, especially if they felt the sexual tension between them. But surely to God no one would go to such extremes would they?
 

“And until then?” she asked.

He wiped his brow and shot her a suggestive look, one so full of mischief and playfulness her stomach tightened. “Until then I think it’s imperative that we cool down our bodies.”

As she acknowledged the flare of desire deep between her thighs, she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. “Should I break the window?”

“No.”

“No?”

“It’d be a shame to damage century-old rolled glass when we have other options,” he explained, the deepness in his voice coupled with the intent look on his face curling her toes and firing her blood from simmer to inferno.

“Then what do you suggest?”

For a brief second she thought she spotted conflicting emotions moving over his face, then his jaw relaxed as he touched her T-shirt. His voice sounded darkly seductive and highly suggestive when he spoke. “We should probably shed these clothes.” He dipped his head and wet his mouth, the promise of something far more intimate in his cadence when he added, “You know, for safety reasons. Heat exhaustion can be very dangerous.”

A wheezing sound escaped her lips, and she briefly closed her eyes. “You think we should get naked?”

“I’m certain of it.”

As she entertained the idea, her mind raced, sifting through all the things a guy and a girl could do inside a locked bedroom, sans clothes. She took a moment to picture his hard, completely nude body on top of hers, his mouth on her neck, her breasts, between her legs.

Longing moved through her and she pulled in a fortifying breath to help jumpstart her lust-saturated brain. She tried for casual, like she got naked in front of smoking-hot men all the time, but failed miserably. “Don’t you…ahh…don’t you think that’s a bit drastic?” she asked, her voice lacking conviction as she considered taking advantage of the situation they found themselves in, a situation someone or some ghostly
thing
put them in.

“Drastic times call for drastic measures.”

As she mulled that over, the sound of his zipper curled through the air, and her thoughts scatted, her passion-rattled brain suddenly wanting one thing and one thing only. To see this gorgeous hunk of a guy naked.

Feeling anxious and nervous, she watched, transfixed, as he released the zipper, popped the button, then kick off his khaki shorts. Lacking any sort of modesty, Sam stood before her in his tight boxer briefs, ones that showcased a hard ridge that her hands itched to explore.

Her body stirred, and as the hungry spot between her legs began calling the shots, she gripped the hem of her T-shirt, marveling at this turn of events.
Do it
…some lusty part of her brain screamed.
Just get naked already…

Sam’s nostrils flared, the muscles along his jaw clenching and unclenching again as he met her gaze unflinchingly. “I think you should take it off, Alexis, otherwise you run the risk of overheating.”

She already was overheating.

He thumbed the hem, running the soft pad back and forth, back and forth over the cotton material. As she pictured him touching another part of her body in much the same manner, it prompted her into action and she quickly peeled the shirt from her body.

The possessive, hungry way he looked at her, combined with the growl ripping from his lungs stoked the fire inside her, and she began burning from the inside out. Good God, never had she felt so needy, so wanton before.

Without his eyes ever leaving hers, he removed his boxer briefs, and her gaze dropped, registering every detail of his gorgeous body, taking special note of the impressive erection between his legs. And by impressive, she meant
enormous.

Sexual tension hung heavy and when she caught the naked want in his eyes—not to mention between his legs—she could feel color bloom high on her cheeks. As his beautiful body overwhelmed her, she ran her fingers along her bra straps, hardly able to believe the way this man wanted her.
Her.

He gave a lusty groan, its rich baritone sending a barrage of erotic sensations through her, and her body responded with a shudder. With need unleashing inside her, urging her to shed her clothes, as well as her inhibitions, she pulled the straps off her shoulders, then reached around to release the latch. Good God, was she really going to get naked with this sexy, laidback playboy? She dropped her wet bra on the floor, her body nearly delirious with want as Sam stood there taking in her near nakedness.

“And your panties,” he said, his intense voice resonating inside her and eliciting a shiver from deep within. “You should definitely remove your panties.”

She slipped her finger under the elastic band and drew the panties down her legs. She dropped them into the pile on the floor, then stood back up, baring herself to Sam. When his gaze slid over her, she shifted her body weight from one foot to the other, suddenly feeling a little unsure, a little self-conscious in front of him.

With her nerves getting the better of her she made a move to cover herself but Sam ran his hands down her arms, and stroked the insides of her wrists, his touch burning through her skin. Ripples of sensual pleasure moved through her and she blew a wispy strand of hair from her face. Looking for something to say, anything to break the awkward moment, she found her voice and asked, “Are you feeling cooler?”

“No.”

“No? You mean getting naked isn’t helping to cool you down?”

“Actually, it’s making me hotter.”

The heat in his eyes and the way he looked at her with such need filled her with want and reminded her that underneath her boy clothes she was all woman. A woman who hadn’t been touched by a man in a very long time, and never one as hot as the guy looking at her like he wanted to eat her alive.

Her body trembled, despite the warm air. “That’s not good, Sam. Not good at all.”

She bit back a breathy moan and felt a rush of excitement when his glance traveled over her flesh, halting and lingering at the apex of her legs.

“No, it’s not. But don’t worry. I have an idea on how we can blow off some steam.”

It didn’t take a genius to know that he wanted to take advantage of the situation they found themselves in every bit as much as she did, but that didn’t stop her from playing along and asking, “What would this idea involve?” She blinked up at him, anxious to hear more, despite the fact that getting intimate with a comic book guy who hunted ghosts on the other side of the country wasn’t in her best interest, for many reasons. Then again, they were both consenting adults, and there was no denying that she wanted this…needed this in some inexplicable way. The way he looked at her made her forget that she wasn’t in to one-night stands—or that she wasn’t into stripping in front of a guy either—and there was no disputing the erection between his legs. He wanted this as much as she did. So why couldn’t she just have a little fun with Sam tonight, answer the demands of her body and then when he returned to New Mexico and she returned to Portland, she could put it behind her and go back to concentrating on her career.

“Well,” he began, and shot her a suggestive look, the message clear in his eyes as he brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “Have you ever heard of evaporative cooling?”

“Yes, I paid attention in science class, but in order for water to evaporate off our bodies and cool us, we have to be wet first.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Her throat constricted. “How will we get wet?”

“I was thinking I could use my mouth. My tongue, specifically.” He ran his fingers over her neck, his touch doing delicious things to her body. “I could start here,” he began, as he stroked the underside of her breast. His hand dipped lower, caressing her skin, softly, barely touching, his knuckles nudging her clit before his hand came to rest between her legs. “And I could stop here.”

The temperature in the room skyrocketed and it had nothing to do with the fire in the hearth below her room. “You think that will help?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

She opened her mouth to speak but her words turned into a soft moan when he bent forward to take her nipple into his mouth. “Oh, God,” she cried out. Ruled by lust, with her mind abandoning any rational thought, she wrapped her hands around his head to hold him to her. He made a slow, skilled pass with his tongue, making her body a little hotter, and a whole lot wetter—mainly between her legs.

“Sam,” she murmured and arched into him, running her fingers through his hair. His mouth moved to her other nipple, and he moaned in delight as he drew it between his teeth for a little nibble.

His hands caressed her waist, and he shaped her contours as he sank to his knees. “You are so beautiful,” he murmured as he dragged his tongue over her stomach, stopping to dip into her sensitive bellybutton.

She threw her head back, her legs wobbling beneath her when he slipped his hand between her thighs to widen them. He went back on his heels, his breath hot on her flesh when he said, “Jesus, you have the prettiest pussy.”

Heat flitted across his face as he looked at her sex, and pleasure gathered in her core when he reached out and parted her lips. He growled, and lightly stroked her clit. “But it looks like this part of you is already wet.” He glanced up at her, his eyes warm and teasing, torturing her in the most delicious ways. “Maybe it doesn’t need my tongue after all.”

“Sam,” she cried out, frantic for him to lick her, to take her pussy into his mouth and run his tongue over her swollen clit.

“Unless, of course, you want me to make you wetter.”

“Yes,” she cried out. “I want you to make me wetter.”

His laugh was edgy, churning with passion as he turned his attention back to her pussy. Positioning himself between her legs, he leaned in and ran his tongue all the way from the bottom to the top, paying special attention to her throbbing clit. A violent quake moved through her, and she nearly collapsed into a quivering heap as he applied the perfect amount of pressure.