Hinekiri (24 page)

“It’s just soap.”

“But it’s fragrant. Whenever I smell it, I think of a spring day at home. I think of walking through the cool bush and seeing the kowhai trees in full bloom, covered with bright yellow flowers. It always reminds me of home.”

Hinekiri shrugged, obviously uncomfortable with his words. “One of my friends designed it.”

Richard peeled the cotton shirt down her shoulders and dropped it on the floor. He paused to study the full, round curves of her breasts, showcased in the lacy confection she wore. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to a plump curve, a fraction above the lacy cup. The tart taste of citrus and lemonade sprang to life on his lips. “You taste good too.”

“I aim to please.” There was a hitch in her breathing and he noticed her breasts rise and fall a little more rapidly. Hinekiri wasn’t as calm and nonchalant as she appeared.

“Good.” Richard unbuckled the belt circling her waist and unbuttoned the fly of her shorts. He pressed the shorts down her legs and held on to her hand while she stepped out of them. Richard guided her across to the colorful woven rug on the floor by the bed. He knelt in front of her and ran his hands across her outer thighs, savoring the smooth skin beneath the pads of his fingers.

A shuddering breath pierced the silence. Hinekiri. Although she was open regarding her enjoyment of their lovemaking, Richard knew her well enough now to sense she held a part of herself back. She never shared her true emotions because she was frightened of getting hurt. Hinekiri tried to protect herself and beneath the easy-going exterior she presented to the world, held rigid control over her feelings.

Today, he’d worm his way past her restraint if it were the last thing he did. An arrow of pain shot through him at the thought of her leaving. Hinekiri might be determined to deny what was between them but he did not intend to make it easy for her.

He sat back on his heels to admire her. Today she wore a white bra and a barely there red G-string. “Turn around,” he muttered in a thick voice. “Give me the full view.”

A toothy grin flashed before she turned slowly for his viewing pleasure.

“I thought underwear was meant to match.” The rounded globes of her bottom were very nice.

“I like to please myself. Following the rules all the time is no fun at all.”

“Yeah, that’s my thinking,” Richard said. No way was he going to follow the rules she’d decided to live by. Playing dirty sounded like much more fun. “Step a bit closer.” When she stood a whisper away from him, he pressed his face to her G-string and breathed deeply. Her musky scent washed through him.

Hinekiri shifted from one foot to the other, the soft sigh of impatience bringing a grin to his face. He cupped her bare buttocks in his hands and kneaded the resilient flesh with his fingers. He licked beneath the elastic edging the leg of her G-string and rubbed his chin against the top of her thigh. She widened her stance, allowing him easier access.

“So, pleasure me, sailor. Don’t frustrate me.”

Richard grinned against the red fabric of her panties. Oh yeah. He intended to frustrate her all right. His cock slid against her leg, sending a shiver of pleasure running straight to his balls. This was going to be good. Really good.

He slipped one finger beneath the fabric to test her readiness. His finger skimmed warm, damp folds. When he glanced up, he saw her eyes flutter shut. Unable to help himself, he drew the G-string down her legs before drawing his finger the length of her cleft again.

“You’re very talented at that.”

“One finger is as good as another.” He lifted her and placed her on the bed, following her down on to the mattress.

Hinekiri’s eyes snapped open. An indignant gasp accompanied the move. “That is not true. Some are better than others.”

His thoughts exactly. He’d vote for his fingers any day. “Do tell.” He rimmed the entrance of her pussy with a forefinger, dipping one finger just inside.

She shivered before clearing her throat. A delicate frisson accompanied the slow pump of his finger into her pussy. “I…your finger feels warm,” she whispered. “The male hologram always feels cool. Different.”

Richard withdrew his finger until it rested at her entrance. “I thought you’d had many lovers. Surely some of them had warm hands?” He scrutinized her expression, attempting to read every nuance while he battled jealousy. Richard inhaled sharply to counteract the destructive emotion and laughed silently at himself. Yeah, jealousy when he had no right. They were both adults, mature adults who had lived and loved. Their pasts had shaped them both into the people they were today.

“There haven’t been many males.”

“But I thought—” Richard broke off before he spoiled the moment with the horrid word “courtesan”. He didn’t believe it for a moment.

“Sometimes when I was lonely and on a planet with other beings, I’d meet someone I liked, but mostly I use the hologram machine. It’s practical. Safe.”

Richard wanted to cheer at the confession. Instead, he stroked her delicate nether lips with his free hand and thrust two fingers deep into her channel. He enjoyed the give and flex of her inner walls. His cock jerked in a silent demand for a part of the action. Moisture pooled on his fingers with each slow thrust and withdrawal. His thumb flicked across her clitoris in a teasing pass.

Hinekiri’s lashes shielded her expression but he could tell by the hands tangled in his hair and the frantic tugging that she was nearing climax. An answering tension clawed at his gut but he was determined to prove a point. Yeah, no fool like an old fool. “Do you want me to stop this torment?” Richard kept stroking and pumping, filling her with his fingers.

“Not torment,” she said, tilting her hips to gain deeper penetration. “Feels good.”

“How good?”

“I didn’t realize I’d need to score the performance.”

Hell, yeah. He wanted to be the best—simply the best fuck she’d ever had, the only fuck she wanted to have in the future. Man, he was losing his fight. He wanted to stroke her silky skin and revel in her softness. He wanted to love her and show that emotion openly. Instead, Richard alternatively rubbed and stroked, tapped and teased her swollen nub until he felt the delicate flutters deep in her womb. He pushed deeply, steadily, and the flutters turned to contractions.

“Oh Richard.”

A delicate blush spread from her chest, across her breasts and face. Her violet eyes turned a deep purple, full of passion, full of love, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it yet. They belonged together. Somehow, there had to be a way.

Hinekiri noticed the hot intent in his eyes. He intended to turn her inside out. Newsflash. He’d managed that already. Confusion filled her. Fodo crap, it was her middle name.

Slowly she came down from the peak, her body relaxed and boneless. Hinekiri reached for Richard but he avoided her arms. Instead, he moved down the bed and picked up one of her feet. In confusion, she stared at him, willing him to look at her. She’d thought they would have a holiday together, have fun, a few laughs and some hot sex. But he didn’t play by her rules. He kept changing them, especially this week. Hinekiri was having trouble keeping up when usually she managed her male friends beautifully.

“What are you doing?” A testy note crept into her voice.

“Massage. Ever heard of it? It’s meant to relax a body not make it as tense as a coiled spring.”

Hinekiri realized she was on edge and her muscles had tightened. She willed herself to relax while he rubbed her foot. Richard released her and stood. He walked into the en suite without a word, leaving Hinekiri staring after him, her lips parting in astonishment. She screwed her eyes shut while trying to figure out what the heck was going on with him.

He smirked when he returned. “You might want to close your mouth, sweetheart. No telling what foreign bugs might fly inside.”

Hinekiri’s eyes flew open and her teeth clacked when she closed her mouth. Richard leaned over and kissed her. Their lips moved together slowly. Her stomach fluttered and something in the region of her heart cracked. He kissed her as though he truly cared.

Richard lifted his head. “Turn over onto your stomach.”

“Why? What are you going to do?”

“Because I asked you to.” He didn’t add anything else or inform her of his intentions. Instead, he asked for trust.

A sliver of fear sliced through her heart, further damaging the protective layer she used as a barricade to intimacy, to love. Hinekiri admitted it to herself in that moment. Richard appeared to know her better than she knew herself.

Did she trust him not to hurt her?

Slowly, she turned onto her stomach, her heart thudding anxiously. The male before the mummy’s boy had liked painful surprises and ever since then she’d made sure she controlled the sexual program as much as possible. The hologram male was safe—he didn’t do unpredictable since she programmed him to perform. But Richard had managed to wriggle through her defenses. Richard made her want innovative and unpredictable.

“I have you pegged, sweetheart.” The mattress depressed with Richard’s weight. He straddled her body and Hinekiri bit back a tinge of apprehension at being under his control. Richard seemed to sense her trepidation because his hands glided over her shoulders in long, soothing strokes.

Hinekiri consciously relaxed. He hadn’t hurt her or even suggested they do something she might dislike during the time they’d spent together. She heard him open a container—the creak of the lid a fraction louder than her thudding heart. Then a floral scent burst upon her, the seductive smell of moonflowers. He’d grabbed her bottle of lotion. Nothing scary about moonflower lotion, especially between lovers.

“You like to control your lovers.”

Hinekiri tensed again. The air seemed to disappear from her lungs until an ache reminded her to breathe. “What…what do you mean?”

“I think the mumbo-jumbo about your horoscope has shaded your life and not in a good way.” Richard stroked his hands across her shoulders again, holding her down gently when she would have reared up in argument.

“That’s rubbish,” she snapped. “I’m an explorer—a successful one. My work is so important that mercenaries are trying to steal my charts.”

“You direct every part of your life, even the way you have sex.”

“I don’t.” Hinekiri said the words even as she accepted that he spoke the truth. Unconsciously, she did like to control the way her life rolled out.

“It’s the whole courtesan thing.” Richard smoothed moonflower cream over her shoulders, working his way down her spine. “You think you need restraint to stop the prophecy from coming true.”

“You can talk,” Hinekiri snapped, stung by his character assessment. “You stay in your little town all the time because you’re frightened of change.” His hands paused momentarily before resuming their seductive stroking. Hinekiri tried to hang on to her indignation but his touch was twisting her inside out.

“Part your legs for me.”

“Why?” An ache sprang to life between her legs and she squeezed them together to alleviate the sensation.
The opposite reaction to what he’d asked for
, her conscience shouted.

“Because I like the view.” His hands stopped moving and Hinekiri gained the impression they wouldn’t start again until she cooperated and conceded even more control to Richard.
He hasn’t hurt you. The man has earned your trust.

Hinekiri parted her legs, her heart pumping several anxious beats before settling to something resembling normal.

“The turquoise and green is very attractive. I like it.” He returned to the soothing caresses. He fondled her bottom, applying a generous dollop of cool moonflower lotion.

Moisture pooled between her legs. Her folds felt hot and swollen, definitely in need of his personal attention. Hinekiri thought he’d massage there next but he didn’t, bypassing her needy core to stroke her thighs and calves. Desire built rapidly. She wanted to turn over and seduce him with kisses. She tried to turn over but he gently held her in place.

“I want to touch you.”

“Relax,” he said, his voice holding humor. “Let me do the touching. I’m very talented at it.”

Too good. He was driving her to the edge of desperation. The scent of the moonflower lotion filled her lungs. Each breath rubbed her breasts against the silky bedcover. That in turn stoked the fire between her legs. Hinekiri’s breathing was ragged and she verged on the edge of control. Richard was trying to make her jump, to prove a point.

She knew it.

His hands kneaded her upper thighs and moved down, over the ticklish area at the back of her knees to her calves and feet. A trickle of juices ran down her cleft. He had to have finished. Soon he’d let her turn over and they could have sex.
Sex
. The word sat uncomfortably with her conscience. It didn’t even come close to describing the emotions and sensations between them. Hinekiri skittered away from the next word totally. She didn’t have it in her to love a male.

But instead, Richard worked his way back up her legs again. Using leisurely strokes, he massaged her thighs, gradually nearing her aching core. His fingers dug into the soft tissue of her ass, drawing a groan. Damn, he’d missed a bit. She might have fought lying in this position but he’d reduced her to a puddle of delicious need.

The clunk of a container on the bedside cabinet signaled a series of alarms in Hinekiri. Finally. She half rolled over but he held her in place.

“Stay right there,” he whispered next to her ear. His warm breath sent a tremble the length of her body. Anxiously she waited to see what would happen next, apprehension warring with arousal and need.

Richard trailed a line of kisses down her backbone, his hair rubbing across the tender skin of her back. This time he moved with more purpose, heading south. Things were looking up, even if worry continued to nip at her control.

He pressed a kiss to one buttock before taking a nip out of the other. Hinekiri flinched but he soothed the sting with a wet open-mouthed kiss. Her trepidation fled as his fingers traced circles on her inner thighs. The circles grew until his touch became more intimate. Richard widened her legs a fraction more and settled between them. Before alarm had a chance to take hold, he dragged a finger the length of her cleft, from bottom to top, finishing with a delicate touch over her puckered rosette. Hinekiri trembled, feeling his touch clear to her toes. Her breasts ached for his touch but she refused to ask, instinctively knowing he’d do exactly what he wanted to this time. A test. Hinekiri swallowed but then he touched her again. Intimately. His tongue lashed across her swollen clitoris, sending shockwaves soaring.