Seven Sexy Sins (20 page)

He said nothing, struggling to retain his self-control, breathing heavily.

“Are you all right, Rusty?” She kissed him. “Don’t you want to hear the rest of my ideas?”

“Faith…”

She whispered in his ear, giving him more glimpses into her imagination, each more innovative and dirtier than the last. Eventually he went to lift his hands toward her to stop her, forgetting he was chained, and he made a loud clunk as the metal hit the wooden slat.

She stopped and met his gaze, her eyes slightly glazed, and he realised she was having as much difficulty as he was holding on.

“Repeat after me,” she said softly, ceasing to move. “Faith Hillman, you are a sexy individual in your own right.”

He repeated the words, wishing she’d kiss him, every inch of him throbbing for her.

“I haven’t corrupted you,” she said.

“I haven’t corrupted you.”

She let her lips hover above his as she started to move again. “And it’s not my fault you’re a very, very naughty girl.”

He closed his eyes. “Faith, please…”

Her lips touched his gently. “Come for me, sweetie.”

He shook his head. “You first.”

“Oh no.”

He opened his eyes and looked at her, confused.

“Tonight is for you, honey.” She kissed him again. “I want to watch you.”

He blinked, overwhelmed by her words. He’d never been with any woman who’d been so concerned with his pleasure. Some girls had satisfied themselves as if he were a vibrator that happened to be attached to a body, some had gone down on him as if they felt guilty letting him do all the work. But most had been content to lie there and let him pleasure them, and he’d done so, not realising it could be any other way. And suddenly he realised he wasn’t the only one doing the corrupting. Faith had spoiled him, too, for other women. How could he ever sleep with anyone else again without thinking of her whispering his most secret, erotic fantasies into his ear?

“Come on, Rusty.” She brushed her breasts against his chest, ground her hips against his, arousing herself as she moved on him. “Come for me. I know you want to.”

And there was really nothing he could do but give in to her demands. She’d owned him tonight, beaten him at his own game, made him realise he’d been kidding himself when he thought he had something to teach her. She’d been right—all he’d done was show her the way. She’d found the path quite easily on her own.

Her hips were relentless, insistent. He looked deep into her eyes, knowing she was going to watch him. She must have seen something in them, something in his expression, because she smiled. Then he felt the hot heat of concentration in his groin, and he swelled inside her, saying her name as he came, conscious all the while of her dark eyes on his face.

And just as the wave receded, she tightened around him as her climax swept over her, and he just lay breathing heavily as she took her own pleasure, powerless to do anything but watch her and think how beautiful she was.

She stayed atop him for a moment. Gradually their breathing slowed, and she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder. Her hair covered his face, but he didn’t mind, because it smelled of mint conditioner, and her skin was warm on his.

Eventually she lifted her head and met his gaze. He opened his mouth, seconds from telling her he loved her.

At that moment they heard the front door open and Eve call out. “Faith? You home?”

Faith shot upright, panic threading through her at the sound of Eve’s voice. “Shit!” She lifted herself off Rusty, searched hurriedly for her panties, and pulled them on, followed by her jeans. “I’m coming,” she yelled to Eve, finally locating her white shirt and donning it, buttoning it up hurriedly.

She turned to face Rusty, remembering she’d handcuffed him when she saw him still stretched out on the bed, completely naked, eyebrow raised as he waited patiently for her to notice him. “Help?”

“Shit.” She froze for a second, hearing Eve mumbling something down the corridor. Where the hell had she put the key?

“Pocket,” he reminded her, nodding at her jeans.

Of course
. She retrieved the key, freezing as she saw the handle of her bedroom door twitch. Stuffing the key in his hand, she ran across the room, opened the door and slipped outside before Eve could come in.

“Hey.” She ran a hand through her hair self-consciously. Then she froze. Eve’s face was white, and as she saw Faith, her features crumpled and she burst into tears.

“Oh my God, what’s happened?” Faith steered her toward the living room, over to the settee. Eve sank onto it, her face in her hands as she sobbed. “Why are you back so early?”

“Dan and I had a row.” Tears leaked through Eve’s fingers. “It was awful. It’s all over, Faith. We broke up.”

“No…” Faith put an arm around her, shushing her friend as sobs wracked Eve’s body. Her mind whirled furiously, half of it wondering what on earth Dan had done to screw up the best relationship he’d ever had, the other half trying to puzzle out how she could excuse herself to go back in and rescue Rusty. She reached across to the table, extracted a tissue from the box and handed it to Eve. “Ssh, now. Come on, tell me what happened.”

Eve took the tissue, wiped her face and blew her nose. She looked up at Faith, her eyes swollen. “Is Rusty here? I saw his car outside.”

Fuck
. “Yeah, ah, he popped in to help me when my computer crashed.” It wasn’t the worst lie in the world—he was good with computers, but that didn’t explain why he was there at eight thirty at night, and in her bedroom at that. Especially as her laptop was currently on the floor by the coffee table.

Eve leaned across to put her tissue in the bin, and Faith quickly shoved the laptop under the sofa. As she looked up, her heart gave a leap at the sight of Rusty standing there, hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans. He was wearing his shirt, but the buttons were only done up in two places, and she remembered the way they’d popped off across the room when she tore it open.

“Hey.” She stifled the urge to giggle. “Did you sort out the computer?”

He blinked, looked down at Eve as she sat up and said, “Yeah. All sorted.” He frowned as he saw her wet face. “Eve?”

“Oh, Rusty.” Eve stood, walked up to him and threw her arms around him. She started to cry again.

“Hey, ssh.” He looked over at Faith. “What happened?”

“She broke up with Dan, apparently.” She studied him calmly, although inside her heart was thudding. He’d rested one of his hands on Eve’s waist, while the other stroked her back comfortingly. Eve had buried her wet face in his neck, and was pressing herself against him.

Against her will, Faith felt an uncharacteristic stab of jealousy. Eve had dated Toby, then Dan—was she now making a move on Rusty? Faith shook her head, knowing that was unfair. Eve was upset—she wasn’t conscious of her actions. She wasn’t even suspicious of his presence at the house, whereas usually she’d have cottoned on in no time. Eve had known Rusty as long as Faith had—they were old friends. Of course she would turn to him for comfort, and of course he would comfort her. She wouldn’t expect any less.

It wasn’t the fact that he was holding Eve that was bothering her, Faith knew. But it reminded her of what was going to happen once their last two sins were completed. He would be standing there, like this, another woman in his arms, his attention focussed on her, while Faith had to watch as someone else laid claim to his heart.

She turned away, her throat going so tight it felt for a moment as if someone were choking her. “Brandy,” she said, and walked to the kitchen. She took out two glasses, filled them with ice and poured a generous amount of the spirit over the top. Her hands were shaking, and she made herself drink a mouthful of it, feeling it sear its way down her throat before she returned to the living room.

She paused in the doorway. Eve had slipped her arms around Rusty’s waist and he’d pulled her close and was murmuring something in her ear as he stroked her back. Faith leaned against the doorjamb, feeling a wave of misery. He chose that moment to look up, and their eyes met. She realised her expression must have been completely transparent, because he frowned slightly, and then his eyes widened. He looked down at Eve and gently moved her arms away before leading her back to the settee.

“Here.” He took one of the glasses from Faith and handed it to Eve. Then he lowered himself to his haunches before her, so he could look up at her face. “I’ll talk to him, okay? Don’t worry. It’s not the end. We’ll sort something out.”

She nodded and sipped the brandy. Faith heard the rattle of the ice in the glass as Eve’s hand shook. She bit her lip, feeling terrible. Her best friend was broken-hearted, and all Faith could think of was herself.

Rusty stood, kissed the top of Eve’s head and walked over to Faith. He took her free hand and led her into the hall. Then, when they were out of sight, he turned her and put his arms around her.

Faith leaned her forehead on his shoulder. Somehow he knew what she was feeling.

They stayed like that for a few seconds before she pulled back. He cupped her face in his hand, stroked her cheek with his thumb. His green gaze was intense, and she had a flash of him as he lay on his back and looked up at her helplessly, completely at her mercy, the memory making her shiver. He searched her eyes for a moment. She bit her lip and closed her eyes. She didn’t want him to see what she was trying to hide from him. That she was crazy about him. And that she loved him, with all her heart.

He hesitated for a second. He kissed her, just a soft touch of his lips on hers. Then he drew back, and when she opened her eyes, the door was closing behind him.

Chapter Nineteen

Faith talked with Eve for a couple of hours and soon worked out that she was part of the problem. Eve wanted to move in with Dan, but he’d told her that although he wanted to live with her, he was worried about leaving Faith on her own. Eve had blown up, saying he treated Faith like a child, and he’d responded that he still felt responsible for her, and things had deteriorated from there.

Faith listened to Eve talk, feeling a peculiar mix of emotions. Annoyance that Dan was refusing to accept she’d grown up. Guilt that she was somehow responsible for Eve and Dan’s argument, even though the rational side of her knew it wasn’t really her fault. Irrationally, there was some relief mixed in with it that Dan was still looking out for her, accompanied by a twinge of fear for what would happen when Eve inevitably moved out. Which she should do, obviously—her place was with her boyfriend, Faith was under no illusions about that.

But Faith had never lived alone. She knew many women her age did, and she wasn’t afraid of the practical side of things—she knew how to work out the bills, who to call if they had a water leak, and where the baseball bat was if she suspected someone was sneaking about. But she knew she’d miss the company.

When a knock came on the door around ten o’clock, she went and answered it, not surprised to see her brother there. She stepped outside, studying him. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He looked sheepish, tired.

She rested her hand on his arm. “Ask her to move in with you, honey. She loves you, you know.”

“I know.”

“It doesn’t come around very often, Dan. You’ve got to hang onto it when you find it.”

He frowned. “But—”

“Don’t you dare say you don’t want me to live on my own.” She made her voice fierce. “I’m perfectly capable.” She couldn’t keep it up though, and kissed his cheek. “You’ve looked after me long enough. It’s time to let go.”

She was feeling tearful as she turned and slipped on the sandals she’d left outside the door. “I’m popping up to the supermarket. I expect you to be gone when I come back.”

He hesitated. “Will you be…” He bit his lip. Then he smiled. “Okay.”

She nodded and walked off.

The supermarket was only ten minutes away, and she walked swiftly. She remembered she was wearing a white shirt with no bra underneath. No doubt her nipples were showing through.
Great way to attract attention as a single woman, Faith
. Luckily, the neighbourhood was nice, the pavement well-kept, the gardens fronting the bungalows lined with neat hedges. Still, she crossed her arms over her chest until she reached the shop.

Inside, the lights were bright, and she winced, knowing she must look a sight, her hair tangled, her make-up kissed off. Trying not to think of Rusty chained to her bed, she picked up a basket and wandered around, choosing herself a bottle of wine and a couple of bars of chocolate, feeling miserable.
Time to get drunk and fat
.

Her phone beeped, and she took it out and flipped it open. It was from Rusty.

Where r u? U ok?

She sighed and sent back:
Supermarket. D&E making up. All good. Thx 4 nice evening. Night.
She pocketed the phone and set her jaw determinedly. She was not going to cry.

Thirty seconds later, as she added some chocolate fudge brownie ice cream to her basket for good measure, the phone beeped again.

Ur not wearing a bra, r u?

She frowned and texted back:
What? How do u know?

Frozen aisle. Either that or ur v pleased to c me.

She glanced at her chest to see her nipples showing clearly against her shirt and looked up. He was leaning against the cabinet at the end of the aisle, and he laughed as she tipped her head and glared at him.

Pocketing his phone, he walked up to her. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She balanced the basket on the edge of the freezer, breathless. “How’d you find me?”

“I rang Dan. He said you were coming here.” He touched her cheek. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” She lowered her lashes, overcome by a wave of memory of the things she’d said and done that night, and of how gorgeous he was. He’d changed his top, she noticed, donning an All Blacks T-shirt that stretched nicely across his chest. She’d have to hunt down the buttons of his shirt for him. He was still studying her, smiling, and she shifted awkwardly. “You spoke to Dan, then?”

“Yeah. He just threw his rattle out of the pram. He didn’t need much convincing to make things up.”