Sexcapades (11 page)

Wiping her mouth with the towel, Petra gave herself only a minute to recover before she climbed onto the couch. She stood over him, a foot on either side of his hips, putting her pussy directly in line with his face.

She didn’t need to say a word. Darcy grabbed her by the hips and pulled her forward. His mouth latched onto her clit and he teased the swollen tip with his tongue. It was her turn to hold onto his head, but there was no direction needed on her part. She clung to him, fighting off the impending orgasm as much as she welcomed it. Things moved too quickly between them, this insane race to grab pleasure and prove to each other that they could win when it came to sex. If it didn’t feel so fucking amazing, she might beg him to slow down, take his time.

Instead, she screamed as her orgasm hit her, causing her body to bend around him. Darcy’s pleased moan tickled her clit. But after a few seconds of pleasure, her body rebelled and her legs gave out.

Darcy cradled her, going so far as to tuck her head under his chin. They were both sticky with food and come, clearly in need of a shower.

“That was unexpected, but wonderful.” He kissed her head. “You know, I don’t expect you to have sex with me. We can just hang out.”

“I know.” And she really did. “I’m not normally like this.”

“I figured. I just hope I’m not pressuring you—”

“You’re not. Honestly, I’ve never felt anything but drawn to you since we met.”

He nodded once. “We’re going to need a shower.”

“That proved to be interesting last time.” Those were memories that wouldn’t ever leave her.

“Maybe we can have a repeat performance?”

“Oh yeah. And afterwards, I really will take you up on something to eat.” And if things went her way, maybe everything else would work out too.

“What, you didn’t eat enough just now?” Darcy lifted up the bowl with the smudged remains of the cheesecake. “This appears to be come-free.”

Petra laughed and snuggled down.

Chapter Twelve

Life has a way of throwing you curves sometimes. The important thing is knowing how to roll with them.

—PC,
Sexcapades
—
sex advice for women

Screw rolling with them.
It’s time to give life a swift kick in the teeth.

—D. Williams,
Mantastic
—
advice for REAL men

Darcy cleaned up and changed into a T-shirt and jeans while Petra was in the shower. He’d considered joining her, but if he went in there the only thing that would happen would be another round of sex. And while that was not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, they needed time to talk if they were going to come through this thing intact.

On the drive over to his place, he’d been occupied by the notion that someone was stalking Petra and she hadn’t said anything about it. She’d probably still be keeping it inside if she hadn’t wanted to ask the committee about it.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew there was no reason for her to trust him with something like that. They weren’t in a relationship. They’d had sex a few times, sure, spoken online, but that was it. What right did he have to expect her confidence in a matter like this? Yes, he was a trained professional who helped victims of abuse all the time, but she didn’t know about that side of him. She only knew the smart-assed sex guy.

The irony wasn’t lost on him.

He had pulled together a light lunch for them by the time the shower turned off and Petra emerged, fresh and clean and smelling like his soap. Fuck, that really shouldn’t turn him on as much as it did.

“I wasn’t sure what you like, so I have a variety of stuff here.”

“Ooh, olives.” She snatched up two along with several pieces of cheese before padding to the living room. “Thanks for this. I was too freaked out this morning to actually eat anything.”

There were a few ways this conversation could play out. The last thing he wanted was to upset her and give her the impression she couldn’t count on him, so he was going to have to be smart.

Picking up the platter, he tried to act casual as he joined her. Petra had taken up residence on one end of the couch, her feet tucked neatly beneath her bum. It was easy for him to picture her wearing one of his oversized shirts and nothing else. She fit too neatly into the picture of his ideal Saturday morning.

Avoiding temptation, Darcy sat down in the chair opposite her. This way he’d give her space in case she felt uncomfortable with the discussion. Plus, he wouldn’t be able to wrap his arms around her, pull her into his chest. Kiss her neck, her lips—

“Do you have any more olives? These are awesome.”

Right. Olives. “So I think we should probably talk.”

“Olives?” She batted her eyelashes.

Darcy held out the platter, giving her a moment to scoop up a few more. “Talk?”

“Okay.” It came out sounding more like
moky
, but he got the idea.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the phone calls?” There, not too pushy but to the point. Petra began to cough and for a moment he thought she was going to choke. “Are you okay?”

“Yup. Just surprised me.”

He let her get over her coughing fit before leaning forward. “Pet, this is serious.”

“I know it is. I called Alice and she said to keep the recording and make note of when it happened. I spoke with the cops and they confirmed that there’s nothing they can do about it. Besides, it was only two calls. That hardly means someone is stalking me.”

“I didn’t mention anything about stalking.” He’d thought it, of course. He’d worked with many women who’d been stalked by men. Things usually started off innocently enough, but in every case the situation escalated. “I’m glad Alice knew enough to tell you to do that. It’s important to keep records of everything. Even if you don’t think it means much.”

“Alice works at a law firm. So she knows stuff like that.” Petra began to pick at the hem of her shirt. “It was only two phone calls. And they’re probably just someone who doesn’t appreciate the type of blog I write.”

“I’m sure it won’t be anything serious.” God, he hoped not. “But you need to take care of yourself. Be around people you can trust.”

“Like you?” There was something in the way she said it that told him she wasn’t one hundred percent convinced he was worthy of her trust. Fine, then. He’d have to prove he was.

Darcy clasped his hands and let them dangle between his legs. He couldn’t look at her while he said this, not if he wanted to get through it all.

“Yes, I’m someone you can trust. I know I’ve only let you see the D. Williams side of me, but that’s because he’s a guy with no problems. D. Williams can say what he wants, do what he wants, and the world simply cheers him on. I don’t have that luxury.”

Petra had stopped eating and he could feel her gaze on him. He couldn’t stop himself from looking up and meeting her gaze. Her hair was unbound, the locks damp and curly around her face. For the first time since they’d stumbled together, Darcy knew she was looking at
him
and not D. Williams.

“You know I’m a psychologist.”

“Before I met you I wasn’t sure if you really were, or if it was just a thing you were portraying. Something to give you some shred of credibility.”

“Nope, I’m the real deal. I spend a lot of time working with women and their children who have escaped from bad relationships, or women who are having difficulty in other ways.” He couldn’t tell her any details, but even if he could, he liked Petra too much to dump that kind of shit on her. “Let’s just say that I’ve seen the end result of stalking more than once. It’s not pretty.”

Her near-silent
oh
was little comfort to him. He didn’t want to see that look of understanding, of pity on her face. It was weird, but having her think of him as only D. Williams gave him a break, freed him to be something else for a while. Now every time she looked at him, she’d see the man who sat beside traumatized women, helping them through some of their darkest days.

Petra ran her hands down the tops of her thighs, slowly nodding as she did. “Okay. So what you’re telling me is that you’re not a chauvinistic jerk.”

He chuckled. “No, I just play one on the internet.”

Petra sighed and got to her feet. “So you know lots about sex, including how to give a woman multiple orgasms, pressure points that heighten sexual arousal—and what was your post about sensory deprivation?”

PC had been particularly snarky with that post. Something he now realized meant she was interested in learning more about the topic. “How to enhance foreplay by eliminating your partner’s sense of sight.”

Petra smiled. “You’re great in bed and you’re noble too.”

“Noble is also going a bit—”

“You counsel abused women and children! I’m pretty sure somewhere in the definition of what noble means, that’s listed as a qualifier.”

“I’m also a workaholic whose track record with women is shit. My last girlfriend lasted all of a month because while I was busy at work, she loved to invite friends over to my place and claim it as her own.”

Petra’s unladylike snort brought another smile to his lips. “To quote you, then I believe you’re spending time with the wrong women. We’re not all a bunch of gold diggers.”

There was a term he didn’t think he’d ever be able to associate with her. “I know that. But my life doesn’t leave me a lot of time to find the perfect woman.”

One moment Petra seemed to be considering his words, the next she was crossing the space between them and straddling his lap. Her breasts were now eye level with him, and oh so tempting to reach out and fondle.

She pinged him on the forehead. “Eyes up here, lover boy.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You wanted to know why I didn’t tell you about the phone calls. So let me speak.” She lowered herself so they were now eye to eye. She really was beautiful. “I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed.”

“About what?” God, he would never have given her a hard time about something as serious as that. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I don’t think you appreciate how you come across to people.” She shrugged and cocked her head to the side. “Well, at least how you come across to me.”

“I thought I was an ignorant Neanderthal.”

“A noble ignorant Neanderthal. One who happens to be sexy and smart.”

She thought he was sexy. He knew he was grinning, but he couldn’t stop himself. “And that made you embarrassed about the call?”

“Darcy, you’re fun, and for the first time in my life I had somehow caught the attention of the fun hottie. Do you know how many years I’ve spent wishing I was one of those women? The ones who can walk into a room, bat their eyes and be instantly tripping over men?”

“I think you’re selling yourself short. You didn’t see the looks the men gave you the night of the nomination reading. I knew if I didn’t get over to you fast I’d have more competition than I’d be able to handle.”

Petra blushed, but for once she didn’t look away. “I only know you as the confident, sexy, arrogant D. Williams. And you really only know me as PC. She would be able to handle a little faceless harassment because someone was jealous of her success.”

Darcy cupped her cheek, loving the feel of her skin beneath his touch. “But it was a bit harder for Petra to handle?”

“Yeah. Emotionally, I’m a big squishy marshmallow. I dress in tank tops and shorts year round and half the time I forget to style my hair. I’ve also been known to go out in mismatched socks. It freaked me out. And I liked you so much...” She bit her lip and let out a sad chuckle. “I didn’t want you to know who I really am. You seemed to like PC so much. I didn’t want to shatter that.”

Too many layers and illusions. The freedom his online persona offered him, offered them both, was coming back to haunt them in a way he could never have foreseen. “I like you, Pet. You, not the wild PC who doles out sex advice at the drop of a hat.
You.
”

This was it, everything laid bare for her to see. It wasn’t fair to either of them that they were standing on the precipice of something big, beautiful, and they couldn’t take that final leap over the edge.

“I want to kiss you.” His voice was rough, squeezed tight by emotions he didn’t want to examine too closely. “But if I do that I think it’s going to be a lot harder to leave you alone until after this competition is over.”

“It’s not like it’s forever.” Though her frown told him she didn’t like the idea any more than he did. “And if it means we both get to keep our sites in the competition, then it would be worth it. Your brother can still use the reference, and I won’t have to worry about any of my sponsors pulling their ads.”

“I’m more concerned about your stalker. If he managed to get your cell number, what other information has he snagged?” That had been the biggest part of all this. He didn’t want her going back to her place, staying alone when someone might have access. “Can you stay with Alice?”

“Let me try calling her again.” She didn’t get off his lap, instead reaching across him to grab her cell. The moment she turned the power on, the indicator flashed that she had a message. “Maybe that’s her.”

Darcy could hear the muffled murmur of the voice mail’s robotic tone telling her that she had one message. The second the man’s voice came through, Petra jerked in his arms.

It took every bit of his self-control to keep from snatching the phone from her hand. “Put it on speaker.”

Petra’s hand shook as she pressed the buttons, replaying the message through the speaker phone.

“Hello, PC. I wonder if you got my message this morning? Of course you did. I saw how you kept looking over your shoulder all the way to meet your boyfriend. Did you get spanked by the organizing committee for being a naughty girl? Or did you leave that to him? I saw you leave together. I bet you’ve gone back to his place to fuck. You like to fuck, don’t you, baby? Maybe I’ll show you what it means to be fucked by a real man.”

Darcy did take the phone then and pressed End. “That’s enough of that shit.”

“Oh my God.” All the color had drained from her face, and her eyes had grown wide. “Who the hell is that?”

“Someone who’s trying to scare you.” It was working too. He was terrified for her. “Don’t delete that.”

“I won’t—” Her bottom lip quivered as she pushed herself free of him. “What the hell did I do to deserve this?”

“Nothing.” He jumped to his feet and wrapped her in his arms. “Don’t think for even a second that this is in any way your fault. It’s not. He’s a sick fuck and we’re going to do everything we can to stop him.”

“We?”

He pushed her hair from her face. This time there was no hesitation as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. “We. Did you honestly think I’d leave you to handle this on your own?”

“We’ve only known each other for a little while.”

“Hey. You’re PC and I’m D. Williams. The only one who is allowed to give you a hard time is me. We’ll stick together until we can stop this bastard.”

“What about the competition? If they think there’s more to our relationship, or if that reporter starts digging too much, we’ll both be screwed.”

“I’ll handle things.”

“But—”

“Pet. I’ll handle it. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. And I’ll be damned if I let them sabotage our moment in the spotlight.” He kissed her again, this time letting his lips linger on hers for a heartbeat longer than he should. “Now, I think it’s time you call Alice and tell her that you’re fine and that you’re going to stay with me for a bit.”

“Here?”

“I meant what I said. I won’t let anything happen to you. Even if that means keeping watch over you for every minute between now and when this thing is over.”

God help him if this jerk actually did something to her. The longer Darcy held Petra in his arms, the more he realized he wouldn’t be able to let go. Ever.