Sexual Persuasion (10 page)

“Christ, you feel good,” Alex murmured in her ear. “Tight and wet, a warm cocoon.”

Tight because he was larger than any man she’d ever been with, but she didn’t comment. Both hands cupped her ass, holding her to him while he pumped into her, one thrust after another, until both were panting and grunting, lost in the moment. Their passion was frantic, overwhelming. She felt the pulsing of her orgasm build inside, gaining force like the crescendo of a symphony. Then the cymbals crashed, and violent throbs exploded in her pussy, leaving her breathless with pleasure.

“Oh, ooh,” she whimpered. “I’ve never―” She couldn’t go on, couldn’t find enough air to take into her lungs. His breath came in short spurts, and he held her so close their bodies could have fused from the heat they generated. He kissed her temple in sweet culmination.

Both were covered in perspiration, ripe with the scent of sex. Damp strands of Charlotte’s hair clung to her neck and cheeks. Sweat trickled down her back. He stayed inside her for a long time, her legs still clasped around his trim hips, while his massive erection ticked down like the cooling of a hot engine.

“I didn’t want that to end,” he said, planting more kisses on her neck, “but
sometimes things are out of my control.”

He let her down slowly and held her close.
Her liquids dripped down her legs. Her heart thumped hard against his chest.

“I’m still excited,” she said.

“Good, because we have first-time lust out of the way. Now I want to take it slow. Savor the beauty of the act. We might even try it on the bed.”

She laughed and buried her cheek into his damp chest and rubbed her breasts against his belly. She looked around. “That’s right. We haven’t made it past the entry, have we?”

He lifted her chin and centered his gaze on her face. “I’m not complaining.” A quick glance caught the mess of clothes on the floor, and he stooped to pick them up. “I might have to wear them again.”

As he walked to the bathroom to remove the condom,
Charlotte noticed his naturally dark skin tone showed a lighter band where bathing trunks kept the sun from tanning him. She eyed his well-defined pecs, tight ass, and strong, shapely legs. A jagged scar extended from his upper arm to above his elbow. She wondered how he got it. She’d find out, but not now.

Then she thought, this was one day. One day to learn what made Alex Andros tick. And she had a feeling his inner workings were as complicated as a fine timepiece. One day wouldn’t be enough. As he picked up his pants, the packet of Jack’s photographs fell from his pocket and scattered
faceup over the floor, in an ugly configuration with Charlotte as the main focus.

The display looked like something out of an S&M magazine.

Charlotte in bondage paraphernalia.

Her breasts encased in some torturous-looking device.

Posed with Jack in unspeakable sexual positions.

She sucked in an audible breath before her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a slow, pained wail. She slid down the wall to the floor, unleashing a series of sobs that had her gulping for breath.

“Shit.” Alex hurriedly picked them up and stuffed them back into the envelope, but she’d already seen them. Every disgusting one.

One Baby Step at a Time

“How could he have done that? How?”

Alex pulled Charlotte’s shaking body up off the floor and into his arms. Big teardrops spilled from the rims of her eyes onto his shoulder. He rubbed the back of her head
to comfort her. “He said you’d already had sex. Once you passed out, he didn’t do anything but pose you and take pictures.”

“And you believe that?”

He didn’t answer. How could he and be truthful? He’d worked up a complete profile on Davidson for Max, and the hotel heir’s sexual proclivities weren’t a secret. “These are all the photos. He can’t threaten you with them. He knows what will happen.”

“That’s what he told you,” she said between sniffles. “You don’t know him. Jack will say anything to manipulate people into doing what he wants. Those aren’t the only photos. I guarantee it.”

He wished he could argue the fact, but he couldn’t. “I know him better than you think.” He brushed away her tears. “If there are more, I’ll get them. I promise.”

“How could I have been so stupid? It was all there if I wanted to see beyond the facade.”

“To deal with Jack, you have to play his game. I will.” He lifted her chin and bent to meet her gaze. “You trust me, don’t you, Charlotte?”

“You were the one I called, so I must.
At least when it comes to taking care of Jack.”

“And otherwise?”

“Don’t ask me that. We just had great sex, but I barely know you. How can I say whether I trust you the way you mean?”

“Then I’ll have to earn that trust, and I have one day to do it. That was the idea, right? One day?” He checked his watch. “Two thirty. I have the rest of the afternoon and night to convince you I’m not like Jack Davidson.”

He moved into her, still reeling from the sensation of her inside him, from the touch of her warm, naked body. He stroked the gentle curve of her back down to her firm buttocks, felt the light gloss of perspiration on her face. Her nipples hardened against his chest. Then, as if she fought her own desire, she arched her back and pulled away.

“How do you plan to do that in one day? A man tells a woman what she wants to hear in the beginning. He wines and dines her, makes promises he later breaks, and then one night she’s tied to a bed and drugged while he photographs her in sordid poses for his own lascivious pleasure. Then he threatens to expose them for the world to see.”

He forced her to look at him. “I’m not Jack Davidson.” Tears clung to her lashes. His heart broke. Davidson had betrayed her, and now Alex had to earn her trust. He didn’t blame her for being cautious.

“Who are you, then?” she said. “Why are you different?”

How could he answer that? There were times he asked himself the same question. He wouldn’t defend his past choices, because he’d make the same ones again, with hopes of a different outcome. But hindsight is always twenty-twenty.
Why is this so damn hard?
“I’m someone who cares.” He wrapped his arms around her. “Judge me by how I am with you. That’s all that should matter. Forget what you’ve heard.”

“I want to. But―”

“No buts.”

She backed away again, but he couldn’t let her go. He caught her by the arm. “One day to see if it’s more than sexual chemistry.
More than lust.” The déjà vu moment flashed before him like a streak of lightning across a starless sky.

~~~~~

Alex thought of bolting for the door of Gianni’s apartment, but something held him back. He didn’t know what, precisely. His unquenchable sense of adventure? Curiosity? Yes, both of those things. But the real reason hit him in the groin: lust. The idea of sex with Gianni appealed to him, and the erection straining his pants proved it.

This would be a one-night stand. He’d make that clear. No affair. No relationship. Did that make him gay? Or did it make him like Max―accepting of any and all who satisfied his momentary desire? He didn’t know, and frankly, he didn’t care. Life was an experience, wasn’t it? Gianni, with his seductive looks, style, and fluid movements, lured him like a magnet, leaving Alex powerless to break away. Experiencing one night of sex with another man was like smoking dope. You tried it once or twice. Everyone did. That didn’t make you an addict.

He knew what he was going to do. He wanted to, as long as both men wore protection. Was Gianni sexually active, trading partners indiscriminately? Alex wouldn’t take any chances. One night. That was all. One night.

Then fear clenched his stomach, and he gained mental control. What was he doing? “I…I really have to be going. I have an early class tomorrow.”

Gianni got up and stood behind Alex’s chair, putting his hands on his shoulders. “What’s your rush?” His fingers deftly worked into his neck, tight with tension. “You’re all tied up in knots. I can fix that.”

Alex stood. He didn’t face Gianni.
Didn’t want him to stop kneading his fingers into his shoulder muscles. “No. I have to go.” But he didn’t move. He couldn’t. Then Gianni’s hot breath swirled around his ear, leaving a pleasant scent of coffee lingering in the air. His fingers lightly traced Alex’s neck and down the spinal column, manipulating and soothing like a practiced masseuse.

“
Come on, Alex,” Gianni whispered. “You felt it. I know you did. Same as me. It’s called chemistry. Don’t fight it.”

In a moment of pure abandonment, Alex accepted Gianni’s mouth on his neck, hot and liquid, jolting Alex’s cock in anticipation.

Gianni turned him around. He smiled. Desire radiated in his dark eyes, and he kept his seductive gaze on Alex as he pulled him closer. And closer still. Until he planted his hot, liquid mouth on Alex’s lips while one hand strayed down the front of his body. Alex welcomed the warmth of Gianni’s hand on his hard, anxious cock.

~~~~~

He let go of Charlotte’s arm.

Stop, Alex, stop!

Why was he in that place? He couldn’t let the past infringe on the present.
Admit it. You’re afraid. You want something, and you’re afraid of getting it. You need to let the past go.
He sucked in a lungful of air and cupped her chin. “I want you, and I don’t want to screw up. Trust is how we begin to know each other.”

“Knowing one another means letting someone know you.
Are you willing to do that?”

Even to him, the silence sounded louder than any cannon’s blast.

“I thought so,” she said.

“I don’t know, Charlotte. That’s the truth. Can we take this one step at a time?”

“I might not be able to afford that step. It took me six months to find out what a lowlife Jack was. Doesn’t make me appear very bright, does it?”

“We all make poor choices at some point in our lives. That doesn’t mean the next one will follow suit.”

“Have you?”

He looked off into nothingness, as if the answer floated in the air.
Okay, one baby step forward.
“Truth? In retrospect, I guess so. But I didn’t think so at the time.”

“Will you tell me about it?” Alex didn’t answer, and Charlotte scoffed. “It seems you have trust issues too. You’re afraid of telling me things that might turn me off. So who’s being dishonest? You know what’s been going on in my life. I know nothing about you other than what people have told me. You say I should trust you, but you don’t trust me.”

The truth of her words forced him to face a reality he’d refused to acknowledge. How would she react if he told her the only person in his life he truly loved was a man? Why, he wondered, if he had no regrets about his time with Gianni, was he unable to tell her?

Because he knew if he did, he might destroy any chance of building a relationship. People gossiped about his sex life, but they didn’t
know
. She’d heard the rumors. He’d even joked about them. He knew he’d eventually have to tell her the truth, or she’d never trust him. He cringed at his hypocrisy. He picked up his briefs and started to put them on. The heat of her stare burned into him.

How could a woman with Charlotte’s voluptuous body present a picture of such innocence?
But the innocence attracted him first, then the rest of her. Deep-set blue eyes, long lashes, and a pert mouth. Alex had to fight off that element he disliked in a relationship. The urge to possess another human being. To own someone.

She stood naked before him, wisps of blonde hair framing her face, eyes questioning. “You’re leaving?”

“I’d better.”

“Why?”

How could he answer that? He wanted her to know everything about him, and conversely, he didn’t want her to know anything. “Because I’ve asked more of you than I’m willing to give in return right now. So you’re right. I’m dishonest when I’ve claimed otherwise. I expected you to judge me on how I treated you, how we were together, but I realize that’s not enough. So now I will be honest. I’m not ready to let you in, and that’s unfair to you.”

“Yes, it is.”

He nodded and continued to dress.

“But if you leave,” she said, “I’ll never know enough about you to make up my mind. And we do have the rest of the day.”

He stopped with one pants leg half on and raised his gaze to meet hers. “I am who I am. I won’t apologize for anything that got me to this place. But I can promise one thing: I’d never intentionally hurt you.” He saw the slight upward curve of her lips.

She took her time answering. “I believe you.”

Moving closer, she touched his cheek. “Now do we want to stand here naked for the rest of the afternoon? I’m getting a chill.”

He dropped his pants and stepped out of them. “From my viewpoint, the scene is quite lovely, but if you’re chilled, I’m pretty sure I could turn up your temperature.”

“I don’t doubt that for a minute.” She took his hand and placed it on her mound.

He gently massaged her. “You’re warmer already.”

“What do you say we finish this in the shower? Then we can order Thai from the restaurant down the street.”