Relentless Seduction (10 page)

Claire took off her glasses and pinched her nose. There was no one to help her now. She was alone.

Back in Boston, she was accustomed to being alone. And at twenty-nine, with no one special in her life, she’d pretty much accepted that she might be alone the rest of her life. But that was before Rafe had shown her what she was capable of.

Could she go on with her life never feeling his touch, or hearing his soft Southern drawl ever again? She’d have to.

Her future loomed before her. Lonely. Empty. Filled with what-ifs. Straightening her spine, she grabbed her glasses from the table. Self-pity wouldn’t save Julia.

After a long hot shower, she wrapped a towel around her and padded out to her overnight bag. The room was mostly dark, the only light coming from the weak bulb in the bathroom. Street noise outside had quieted.

She retrieved her still-folded PJs and recalled why she hadn’t worn them the night before. Memories of the things Rafe had done to her, with her, sent a shockwave of desire pulsing between her thighs. The feel of his hands on her body. His mouth. She shivered, dropped the towel and clasped her breasts, rubbing her thumbs over the tightening nipples. As she slid her hand down between her thighs, a shadow in the corner moved.

She gasped and covered herself with her arms.

A man sat in a chair at the table. She could feel his gaze on her like a buzz of electrical current. Her heart thumped in her chest and she couldn’t catch her breath. “Rafe?”

10

R
AFE
HADN
’
T
MEANT
TO
come up here. He should be pouring drinks at the bar. Or working on payroll.

But Claire was leaving. And he wanted one more taste of her. It was as simple—and as messed up—as that. And, oh, when she’d dropped that towel.

“Come over here,
cher.
”

She hesitated, and then took a few steps toward him until she was a couple feet away. She was trembling, and so close he could feel her heat and smell her clean linen and honey scent. Impossibly, his body hardened even more.

“Don’t cover yourself, not from me.”

She blinked and didn’t move. Would she refuse him? Then she let her arms drop to her sides.

He groaned. Her breasts were full and ripe, the nipples so tight and pointed, as if they were begging to be touched.

“Now take the towel from your hair.”

He watched her chest rise as she drew in a shaky breath, lifted her arms to pull the towel away and then dropped it on the floor. Her hair spilled down around her shoulders in dark, curling mutiny.

He’d never been so hard in his life. He licked his lips. “Claire.” He leaned forward to grip her waist and bring her between his thighs.

He took it as a good sign when she moaned and held on to his shoulders, so he slid his hands up and cupped the sides of her breasts. Her skin beneath his fingers. So soft. He lowered his forehead to her sternum and swallowed back need. Need for her. Her body. Her presence. In his bed. In his lonely apartment. He felt her shiver, and slid his thumbs across her nipples. Heard her quick intake of breath as they tightened to hard peaks.

His blood racing, he licked one, then rolled the other between thumb and fingers.

Her nails dug into his scalp as she cried out. Smiling, he sucked harder and swirled his tongue around the bud.

But he needed more, wanted to be inside her, with her. He tugged her closer and moved his mouth down to her belly, gently scraping with his teeth. Desperately, he helped her up to straddle his lap, unbuttoning his constricting jeans as fast as his trembling hands would let him.

While he freed his aching cock, she yanked his shirt off over his head and kissed along his jaw to his throat. Her hands roamed down his back, around his waist and up over his chest, tracing his tattoo with her fingers, thumbing his sensitive nipples.

He returned her kisses eagerly with a thrusting tongue. His hands fumbled with the protection, then he positioned his cock at her entrance. Breaking the kiss, he caught her gaze and grasped her hips to press her down over him.

He shuddered as she sank onto him and he held her still so he didn’t embarrass himself before they’d even moved. He was buried deep inside her and she was hot and tight around him.

Pressing his nose to her throat, he swallowed and gritted his teeth against unwanted emotions. But he couldn’t shake the goofy notion that this was where he belonged. He’d never belonged anywhere before, but he did here, with her. Surrounded by her. This woman who’d needed him. Who thought he was one of the good guys.

Who wouldn’t need him anymore after tonight.

He had to move. Pushed up with his hips. Her long legs reached the floor and she used her leverage to rise and sink back down, again and again. He groaned and held fast to her hips as she moved over him. She made love with him like she pursued her friend: with relentless determination.

Her breasts bounced and he let go of her waist and captured the white globes in his hands, reveling in the full, firm flesh.

His orgasm hit him like a shock wave. He’d wanted to wait for her to come, his whole body was quickly clenched in pure pleasure. Then he felt her passage grip his cock and squeeze and she stilled and arched away from him, a low keening cry rumbling in her throat.

He’d never seen or heard anything so sexy in his life. He thrust up with his hips, pulled out and pushed back in, finding his release in her, finishing with a long groan of pleasure.

When he could breathe again, he opened his eyes. His cheek lay on her breasts and her fingers ran lazily over his shoulder, down his back. He had to force his arms to relax from around her back and tried to sit up. Her arms tightened around him and she hummed her disapproval.

“Don’t worry,
cher.
I’m not going anywhere.” He gripped her butt and stood. Her long legs wrapped around him as he carried her to the bed and tumbled down with her onto the mattress.

His weight on his elbows and knees, he cupped her face and softly kissed her lips, her forehead, nose and eyes. After a few moments of lying with her, he somehow found the strength to untangle himself, shucking his jeans and underwear before crawling back in bed beside her.

With a whimper, she reached for him, palmed his nape and brought his mouth back to hers, her tongue growing bolder, sweeping in and making him ache. All of a sudden he got it. This was a goodbye kiss.

Everything in him screamed refusal. Despite his earlier one-last-time intentions, he wasn’t ready to let her go. He took control of the kiss, moving over her, caressing her flesh with his hands and following with his mouth. He licked and nibbled at her shoulder, at the sensitive place just below her ear, which made her moan.

His lips and tongue traveled down to the side of her full breast, beneath it, nuzzling all around until she purred and took his head and guided him to her nipple.

He took his time licking and sucking first one then the other, building her up slowly before moving down to her belly. He held her hips still when she tried to lift them and brought his lips to her pelvic bone and farther down through her trimmed curls to the hot wet core of her.

Without him asking, she spread her thighs and guided him to her, her fingers tensing his scalp. She writhed and whimpered while he brought her to the brink. She wanted it now, but he pulled back. If this night was all they would have he was going to make damn sure she never forgot him. So, he soothed her fever, making her wait, until she begged him to finish what he’d started.

He used every skill he had, using his tongue and fingers to bring her once more to the edge and make her plead, and then, this time he watched as she lost control and yelled his name. She dragged in long breath after long breath, as if she’d just run a marathon. Until he realized she’d started sobbing.

Merde.
What had he done? As he leaped up beside her, she rolled away from him, trying to hide her face and streams of tears.

Women. He curled around her, reached over and smoothed the hair away from her wet cheeks and tucked her head under his chin. “Shhh, now,
cher,
” he murmured.

She cried harder, sobbing as if she’d been storing up tears for decades. He panicked, unsure how to help her exactly. He stroked her back and crooned, “Hush, now.” And, “It’s all right,
cher.
”

After a few minutes she let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry.” She wiped her cheeks and he grabbed a couple tissues from the bedside table and handed them to her.

“Thank you.”

“Ain’t no thing,
cher.
”

“It is a thing.” She wiped her cheeks with the tissues. “It’s everything. I guess it’s all finally getting to me. The last several days of being so scared. The things Julia said. Worrying about her still.” She blew her nose.

“She made her choice. The Colony’s not dangerous. She’ll be all right.”

She gave him a skeptical look, but didn’t respond. After a few minutes of silence he thought she might drift off to sleep.

“Julia’s mother was never well. Bipolar, actually.” Claire spoke quietly.

Rafe raised his brows, but said nothing.

“Julia used to come over every night right around dinnertime, and my mom always invited her to eat with us.” Claire chuckled. “She’d always think about it for a second, and then agree to stay like she was doing us a favor.” Claire sniffed and wiped her nose with the tissue. “She had such a fierce pride, despite the fact she was always filthy, her clothes were ragged and her hair so ratted, my mom finally took her to a salon and had it cut into a cute bob. I think that’s when she decided she wanted to become a hairdresser.”

Claire drew a deep breath and took the hand he’d left resting on her waist and twined her fingers through his. “There was no stability at Julia’s mom’s house. Sometimes it was okay. Mostly not. But despite Julia’s tough exterior, she was always susceptible to any guy who paid her the least bit of attention. She clung to boyfriends so tight they’d end up running in the opposite direction.”

Rafe let out a reluctant breath. “She’s not a little girl anymore, Claire.”

She stilled. “I know.”

“You can’t make her leave if she doesn’t want to. It’s her choice.”

She tugged her fingers out from between his. “But she’s been brainwashed.”

Rafe scoffed. “Come on. She may be confused, emotional but she hasn’t been brainwashed.” He rose up on one elbow to look Claire in the eye. “She’s there of her own free will.”

“I told you, she’s always been susceptible to anyone who made her feel special.”

Anger seared a path to his gut. “She still chose to leave you, Claire.” He rolled off the bed, shoved his legs into his jeans and paced to the kitchen. Twisting to face her, he jabbed a finger toward her. “Wake up and notice the real world. Everyone looks out for number one. You think she’s worried about you? Hell, no. You saw how she treated you back there.”

He pulled the coffeemaker out, began filling the carafe with water. “That’s the way the world is, Claire. People leave you and you can’t count on anyone but yourself. The sooner you learn that, the easier life gets.”

* * *

C
LAIRE
BLINKED
. T
HAT
’
S
THE
way the world was? My God, he was so bitter. Were they even talking about Julia anymore? She didn’t think so. She sat up and scooted to the edge of the mattress, thinking about his words,
people leave you.
“Your parents were in a car accident, Rafe. They didn’t choose to leave you.”

He jerked his gaze to her, narrowed his eyes. “Right.” He grabbed a can of coffee from the fridge.

She sniffed and dabbed at her nose again with the tissue. Maybe he would talk about it now. “What happened after they died? Did you have family to take you in?”

He scooped coffee grounds into the filter. “Sure. I went to live with my dear old pappy. My mother’s father. After a year of that I finally understood why my mother got pregnant with me at sixteen and married my dad.”

Claire swallowed. Did she really want to hear this? “Did your grandfather abuse you?”

He glanced at her, his expression cold, unrelenting. “I just got tired of being his nursemaid.”

“He was sick?”

“Sick?” He scoffed. “You ever seen a man so drunk he pisses himself?” He jabbed the start button on the coffeemaker and turned his back to her, leaning his palms on the counter’s edge.

“So you ran away. Lived on the streets.”

He didn’t answer. She stood and wrapped the sheet around herself, then moved close to him. “How did you come to own your own business?”

“Same as anyone.” He smirked. “Got arrested. Swore I’d never be locked up again. Found work on an oil rig in the Gulf.” He shrugged. “Saved my pennies and the rest is history.”

Claire hadn’t thought she could admire him any more than she did. She was wrong. “You beat the odds.”

He reached for mugs from the cabinet, slammed one down at her last words. “Yeah, that’s me. One in a million.” His jaw tightened before he turned away from her. “And I sure as hell didn’t need or want anyone’s help,” he ground out between clenched teeth.

A chill ran down Claire’s spine. Meaning he didn’t need her. But she knew that already. So why did it hurt deep in her chest? Had she really thought their lovemaking had been something special to him?

The coffeemaker gurgled in the otherwise silent apartment.

But she still wasn’t leaving without Julia. And she wasn’t going to leave here without telling the great loner a thing or two.

“Did you know there are over thirty-thousand motor vehicle-related fatalities every year in the U.S.?”

He turned to lean his back against the counter, folded his arms and threw her a bewildered look.

“And I believe the number of alcoholics is something like twelve million.”

“Where do you get this stuff?”

Yes. She was a statistics geek. “I told you. I just remember data easily.” She pushed her glasses up self-consciously. “But my point is, it’s illogical to take what happened to you personally.”

Rafe jerked his gaze to hers. “It sure as hell felt personal.”

Claire bit her lip. “Yes. You’re right. I’m sorry. I—I didn’t mean... That is, I only meant that we live in an imperfect, random world. The whole human race could’ve been one molecule away from never becoming more than an amoeba. I know it’s tempting to ask oneself, Why did this bad thing happen to me? But that’s like wondering why Homo sapiens lived and Homo erectus became extinct. Who knows?”

He squinted. “So everything is just chance and nothing really matters in the end?”

She frowned. “No. We all matter.
We
can make the difference. There is an indefinable quality, an unknown factor in the equation that I believe can’t be understood.” She mimicked him and leaned against the counter’s edge beside him, adjusting the sheet around her. Her feet were cold on the linoleum floor. “It’s one of the big questions humans have been struggling to answer ever since we could reason. Why do we exist? Some find comfort in a higher power. Others are always searching.” She shrugged again. “But no matter what the answer, I believe we have a choice.”

“About what?”

She was captured by gray eyes so intense she thought she’d never escape their scrutiny. And why would she want to? “We can choose to let what happens to us defeat us, or we can fight and make something good come from it.”

“How could anything good come from what happened?”