Strung Out (13 page)

She laughed, using her fingers to flick scented water over her shoulder in the direction of his face. “I wonder if that could be considered an act of terrorism? We most definitely would’ve made the evening news.”

Given the journalists scribbling frantically on their little pads of paper and the photographers snapping off as many candid shots as they could manage, Erik figured they would make the news anyway.

His hands drifted down through the water until they came to rest on her knees. The length of the tub kept her legs conveniently splayed to either side, leaving her pussy vulnerable to the liquid kiss of the water.

When his palms slipped down across the insides of her thighs, she stilled against him. He could see the rise and fall of her chest in the water. Her breasts bobbed above and below the surface with each breath. He moved his hands lower, and she arched her spine against his belly.

“What are you waiting for?” Her voice broke when his hands slid into the juncture of her legs.

He stretched his fingertips, catching the fullness of her outer labia and spreading her cunt open to the warm water. Her head lolled backward against his shoulder, allowing him fuller access. One hand remained on her pussy, keeping her labia open, while the other slid up her belly toward her breasts.

His lips brushed against her ear. “There’s something incredibly sexy about water.”

She squirmed against him, and Erik shifted lower, anchoring his feet against the opposite end of the tub. The adjusted position gave him fuller access to her body and exposed the tips of her breasts to the cooler air. The darker skin of her areolae puckered tightly, and each nipple hardened.

Her pussy flexed against his hand as her muscles convulsed in anticipation. He flattened his hand against her mound, using two fingers to slip into the smooth grooves on either side of her sensitive clit. Talia’s hips bucked, and the water around them shifted, teasing her taut nipples into beaded points.

She rocked back against him, pushing her soft bottom against his cock. The water created a natural lubricant, and his erection eased into the cleft of her ass. His balls began to ache for release.

Delving into her pussy with both hands, Erik teased her clit while pressing against her tight opening. A soft cry escaped her lips. The sound scored razor-sharp holes in his control. Shifting his shoulders, he arched his neck and took her mouth in a deep kiss. Their tongues melded together until he was mesmerized by her sweet taste.

She wrenched her mouth away from his, eyes opening and snaring his gaze. “I can’t wait any more, Erik. I need you inside me.”

He considered the bed in the adjoining bedroom, but it would take too long. With a splash that sent a cascade of bathwater over the sides of the tub, he pulled them both upright. The waning daylight painted her skin in warm shades of cream and honey. Water sluiced from her breasts and hips into tiny rivulets that caressed her curves.

Erik pressed her forward until her hands braced her body against the tiles. Reaching down, he lifted her leg, gently placing the ball of her foot on the edge of the tub. The position opened her body, baring her cunt and readying her for his entry.

His cock bobbed and pulsed before him, liquid seeping from the tip. Veins stood out against the taut skin, and the pulsating blood pounded in rhythm with his thundering heart. Every fiber of his being was focused on this moment and this woman.

“I’m going to fuck your pussy, Talia.” Looking into the long vanity mirror, he ran the palm of one hand down the slick line of her spine. “And I want you to watch.”

When she met his gaze in the mirror, the all-consuming desire for satisfaction tore into him like a demon from hell. Using one hand to steady his cock, he probed her entrance.

She gasped when he breached her slick opening. The angle created new friction, and he forced himself to go at an agonizingly slow pace. Her muscles gave way, gripping every inch of his cock and undulating against him until his crown pressed against her G-spot and he was fully seated in her heat.

He pulled back and thrust deep, ripping a moan from her throat and causing her hands to clench against the tiles. His balls slapped against her, their heavy weight giving away his impending climax. He thrust again, moving deeply within her.

Soft, higher-pitched noises told him he had just the right angle to bring her over the edge of orgasm. Wrapping his hands around her hips, he bent his knees and forced her to ride his cock.

Tension burned in his muscles, and sweat beaded on his brow. Every movement was one step closer, too close. Until he couldn’t tell where his cock ended and her pussy began. She grew tighter still, milking him until he couldn’t hold off any longer.

One hand shot out, finding the wall and keeping them both upright as his cock pulsed a stream of hot cum into her tight channel. Sliding his hand over her hip, he found her clit with two fingertips.

He could feel her rising orgasm. Two strokes against the swollen head of her clit and a wave of bone-shattering convulsions sent Talia into a powerful climax. Her head dipped forward, and she panted out tiny cries of pleasure with each breath.

Her hands gripped the edge of the tiled wall. “I don’t think I can stand.”

“I’ve got you, sweetheart.” Erik cradled her limp body against his own damp skin and helped her out of the tub and back into the master bedroom.

* * *

“So who cleans up that mess in the bathroom?” Talia curled up against Erik’s naked body.

“I have a cleaning lady come in three times a week. I’m sure she’ll deal with it. Why do you ask?”

The flippant tone of his voice told her he’d definitely never thought about that kind of thing before. No doubt he’d think she was crazy if she tried to explain that she’d practically had a heart attack wondering about it earlier. It would be hard to get used to that kind of mind-set. She was used to doing for herself. Pampering was heading to the hair salon around the corner from her apartment and splurging on a hair trim or a manicure.

“I’m going to make you happy, Talia.” He looked down his chest at her and smiled, but the confident expression on his face made her uneasy. She didn’t want to be the latest addition to his daily agenda.

The last of the daylight changed to long shadows that stretched across the duvet. The tips of her fingers smoothed the downy hair below his navel. “What made you change your mind?”

He chuckled. “You won’t like that answer.”

She rolled over until she lay sprawled on top of his body. Her lower half rested between his legs, and his cock pressed firmly against her belly. Using her nails, she scored a path up his chest to his nipples. Taking one between her fingertips, she gave it a playful tug.

A smile softened his mouth and warmed his green eyes. With tousled dark hair and a shadow beard on his face, Erik looked nothing like a corporate powerhouse. He was simply a man.

“Tell me,” she begged. “What could possibly send you running after me like a crazy man?”

“Courteney showed up this morning in my office.”

Talia considered everything the ice princess had done up to this point. “Did she expect a proposal?”

“Can’t slip anything past you.” He tapped her nose.

“Slip something by me? I don’t generally demand marriage proposals to begin with. Did the two of you ever actually date?”

“We attended several business dinners together.”

She rolled her eyes. “How romantic.”

“Courteney had photos.”

Talia stilled, horrified at the idea that a potentially vengeful woman like Courteney Colton had naked pictures of her and Erik. “Did you get them back?”

He cupped her chin in his hand. “They weren’t explicit.”

“Then why break it off?”

He rolled her to her back and looked down into her face with more tenderness than Talia would’ve ever expected him to be capable of. “Because it was wrong. It was wrong for her, and it was sure as hell wrong for me.”

There were so many ways to interpret his words. And it wasn’t as though the interpretation meant nothing. But at that moment, she was too full of love and happiness to wonder at the dark implications. He’d come after her. He’d decided to keep her. And he’d decided to do it at the cost of a billion-dollar merger.

And for now that was all that mattered.

* * *

Talia hummed a few bars of her favorite Chopin waltz, turned her key, and pushed open the conservatory door. It was early yet, and the sun had only begun painting the floor in patterns of light and shadow to match the tall, decorative windows opposite the door.

She set her keys on the side table and tried to control the smile that seemed determined to remain on her face. In this moment, she was perfectly happy. Everything seemed right in the world.

Erik had still been deeply asleep when she crept out of the bedroom with her clothes in hand. Given that the two of them had spent more than half the night with their sweat-slicked bodies locked together, she hadn’t wanted to disturb his rest. But unless she wanted to lose her place at the school, Talia needed to explain to the headmistress that she’d decided not to take the opportunity in New York.

She lifted the ebony lid of the Kawai grand and caressed the smooth white keys. It had been hard to leave Erik this morning. He’d lain stretched out on his belly, the sheet resting just above the curve of his ass. Her hands had wanted nothing more than to run the length of his spine, following the slight dip as it traveled upward to the nape of his neck where he was so sensitive to her lips.

“So he convinced you to stay.”

Talia turned at the familiar sound of Leslie’s voice. “He offered me the world. How could I say no?”

She put one hand on her hip and cocked her head. “It’s easy. Maybe you need to stand in front of a mirror and practice.”

“If you feel that way, why did you tell him where to find me?”

She heaved a big sigh and plopped down on the piano bench. “I don’t know. I think I knew it would turn out this way, even though I hoped you’d decide for New York.”

Talia wondered where this sense of inevitability had come from. She’d never been one to believe in split-second emotional decisions. She liked to weigh things out and go slowly. But right from the start she’d felt as though she and Erik were on a runaway train.

“So when’s the big day?” Leslie crossed her legs and bounced her foot.

“We haven’t set one.”

“If I were you, I’d convince him to elope.”

A flicker of unease settled in the pit of Talia’s stomach. The lavish birthday party hadn’t been more than a taste of the extravagant parties and eventual wedding the typical socialite planned for these occasions. That kind of party was the norm in Erik’s social strata. But it wasn’t at all the way Talia had expected to exchange her vows.

She shook off her doubts and forced a smile. “I have to go talk to Ms. Warren. Are you coming with me or not?”

Leslie rolled her eyes. “Of course I’m coming. I’m dying to hear you explain how you so wisely chose love over the fulfillment of your lifelong dream.”

She grabbed Leslie’s arm and tugged her out the doorway. “You know, I think they have an opening in the drama department that would be
perfect
for you.”

“Speaking of drama, what’s going on down there?” Leslie slowed their pace as they approached a knot of students at the end of the hallway.

One of the students pointed out the window. “There’s a bunch of reporters down in the courtyard.”

The cluster of students shifted and changed places as each tried to get the best view. The school’s campus was made up of four brick buildings clustered around a courtyard that gave access to the street. By standing on her toes, Talia could glimpse a news crew setting up right beside the big tree at the center of the courtyard.

“Maybe someone’s getting a recording contract!” One of the young men jostled his friend and jerked his thumb at one of the other students. “Why else would we make the news?”

* * *

“What were you thinking?”

Desiree’s demanding voice was accompanied by one of his shoes. The Italian leather thunked against the headboard before falling to the bed and narrowly missing his head. Erik rolled over and sat up, putting his hands to his face and trying to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Oh. My. God. Put some damn clothes on. I don’t want to see that. I’ve got enough to do without adding therapy sessions to exorcise the image of my nude brother from my mind.”

Erik growled. What was her problem? “If you don’t want to see me naked, get the hell out of my bedroom!”

Deciding to emphasize his point, Erik stood up. Desiree snarled some unintelligible insult before retreating to the hallway in order to continue her tirade.

“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“No. But I’m sure you’re about to tell me.” He ducked into the closet. “Did you see Talia on your way up? She’s supposed to be here.”

“No, I did not see Talia on my way up.” There was an unusual amount of venom in her voice. “Not that it matters now that you proposed in front on an entire airport full of witnesses and half a dozen B-rated paparazzi. Are you trying to make us the butt of every joke in Boston?”

He strode out of the closet and flung open the bedroom door. The staccato sound of the door hitting the wall was punctuated by the sound of his zipper. He didn’t bother trying to button the pin-striped dress shirt before going toe-to-toe with his sister.

She aggressively shoved her chin forward and hardened her expression. “Don’t get me wrong. I’d rather see you happy than leg shackled to that hell bitch Courteney, but this is the first time you’ve ever lost your head over a piece of ass, Erik. What the fuck is going on?”

If she’d been a man, he would’ve hit her. But Desiree was his sister. And that much alone meant he owed her some kind of explanation.

She slapped a newspaper across his chest. “Our lovely mother came home from Cabo last night. Guess what she’s going to peruse while taking in breakfast this morning?”

Erik fumbled the paper with fingers that had gone suddenly numb. His mother preferred the
Herald
over the
Globe
. She claimed they had a better eye for news that affected Boston’s most important citizens. What he held in his hands made it difficult to judge whether she was right or wrong.