Tall, Dark & Hungry (23 page)

His mind was filling with all the things he wished to do to her, and this was just the beginning.

Chapter Twelve

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Terri moaned as Bastien bent his head to her breast and took her nipple in his warm, wet mouth. She felt his tongue rasp the erect nub then press against it firmly as he began to suckle. Her head twisted on the back of the couch, a denial of what she was feeling. Her entire body had gone stiff under the sudden assault of sensation.

It had been so long since she had felt anything even remotely like this, so long since these now aching muscles had even been utilized. She wasn't sure if she could handle it. She'd thought his kisses overwhelming at first, but this—this was a sort of torture, a pleasure pain.

Her fingers, already tangled in his hair, curled clawlike and dragged at him. A moan of pleading slipped from Terri's lips as she tugged until Bastien finally got the message and released her.

"What is it, baby?" he asked. There was concern and question in his voice.

Terri stared at him helplessly. She wanted him to stop, but she didn't want that. In truth, she really wanted him to continue. Yet it had been so long for her, she wasn't sure she knew what to do to please him—or if she ever had. And Terri
so
wanted to please him. The need to do so was almost an ache in her heart. Bastien was giving her such pleasure, she wanted to be able to do that for him, too.

"I… It's been a long time since Ian," she said helplessly at last. "I'm afraid—"

"Shhh." Expression softening, he drew her into his arms, his hands caressing her back in soothing motions. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you. I won't do anything you don't want."

Terri pulled back at his words, her eyes wide. "No. I know. That's not what—I want to please you, too," she blurted.

 Surprise entered Bastien's eyes. He took her face in his hands, simply staring at her long and hard before saying solemnly, "Terri, you please me
all the time.
Just by being you."

"But—"

He covered her mouth with one finger and shook his head. "Let me please you this time. I want you to just enjoy it and do what feels right. Do what you
want
to do."

"But I want—," she tried to say around his finger, but he shook his head again.

"You're always trying to please others. Let me please you for a change. I want to."

Terri wasn't all that certain she could stand much more of his pleasing, but she didn't argue the point.

When Bastien returned to kissing her, she forced herself to relax and simply feel the softness of his lips moving over hers, the taste of him on her tongue, and the pleasure it all brought.

Soon enjoyment wiped all concerns from her mind. Moaning, Terri slid her hands to Bastien's shoulders, clutching the material there as she arched toward him. The action sent her breasts rubbing across the wool of his sweater, sending tingles racing through her body and rushing her toward the fever pitch she'd been at earlier. Liking it, Terri pressed closer and rubbed across the cloth again, chafing her sensitive nipples against the wool.

Bastien nipped at her lower lip, then slid his mouth across her cheek to her ear. Taking that plump lobe lightly between his teeth, he caught her breasts and cupped them with his hands, allowing his thumbs to flick back and forth over their sensitive tips.

She moaned into his mouth, the sound a half growl, wanting him so keenly it was a physical ache. If Terri had ever felt this particular need before, she couldn't recall it. She was pretty sure Ian had never affected her this way. It was doubtful she would have avoided sexual entanglements all these years had she known she was missing this heady, exciting, and desperate experience.

"Bastien." Terri knew her voice echoed the need she felt. She didn't care. She
did
need him. She wanted him. Now. And if asking would get, she would ask. If not, Terri felt she could be even more demanding.

"Shhh," Bastien whispered by her ear, his hands gentling on her back. "It's okay. We have all night. We have all the time in the world."

Terri groaned, her body shifting restlessly in his arms. He didn't understand: She didn't care if they had all night. She wanted him now.
Now.

On that thought, she nipped his chin with her teeth, her nails digging through the material of his sweater and into his shoulder. Neither action was meant to cause pain so much as to get his attention. And they did; he pulled back to peer at her, his expression startled.  "Terri, honey?" he asked.

"I need you," she said on a plaintive note. "Please."

Much to her relief, the desire in Bastien's eyes flared at her raw admission. Catching one hand in the hair at the back of her head, he pulled her forward for a kiss and the tables suddenly turned. Where there had been gentleness, now he was masterful, his tongue thrusting into her mouth with a passion unleashed, and the pressure of his lips forced her head back. Only then did Terri understand that he had a passion to more than match her own, but he had been holding back, perhaps not wanting to shock her.

Bastien wasn't holding back anymore, however, and a smile widened Terri's mouth beneath his at this sign that she affected him as deeply as he did her. Then she stopped thinking altogether, and simply lost herself in what was happening as he thoroughly explored every nook and cranny of her mouth.

Just as Terri thought she might drown in his kisses and be happy in the dying, his mouth left hers on a quest. She gasped and sighed, shuddered and trembled as his lips and tongue moved across her skin: first to her ear, her neck, then to the hollow of her throat. His teeth grazed her collarbone and she shivered with excitement, her hands curling in his hair again. When Bastien finally returned to her breasts, Terri didn't protest; she arched and cried out his name as he both fondled and suckled first one, then the other.

His warm hand drifted down her stomach, and Terri's muscles jumped and tightened by turn. She felt a tug on her jeans as Bastien found and worked at the button. He was shifting farther down her body as he worked and, afraid he would soon be out of reach, she gave up her hold on his hair and grabbed his sweater, tugging it upward with determined hands.

Getting the message, Bastien straightened enough to grab the hem of his sweater and tug it over his head. Terri reached for him as it hit the floor not far from her top. She placed her hands open-palmed on his beautiful, broad chest, then sighed happily as her fingers moved over the soft curls there. She caressed him lightly, pausing to run the tips of her fingers lightly over his small tight nipples.

Bastien allowed it for a moment, then caught her hands. Raising first one, then the other to his mouth, he kissed each palm, then shifted his hold to her upper arms. He turned her body and laid her down on the couch lengthwise, then came down on top of her, one knee sliding between her legs. Terri felt his thigh press against the center of her, and shifted eagerly against the unintentional caress. When he next shifted, so that his hips rested between her legs, there was no mistaking the hardness between her thighs.

Where his leg had been firm, this was rock-hard desire that ground against her, the action matching the thrust of Bastien's tongue in her mouth.

Terri didn't realize Bastien reached between them to work at her jeans until she felt cool air touching her lower stomach. The zipper worked down, and Bastien's hand followed, sliding over the skin there and across her panties.

She gasped and nearly bit down on his tongue, surprised, then caught herself and began to kiss him more desperately instead. Muscles were clenching and unclenching all over her body. Her heart beat out a tattoo as his hand moved even lower. When he finally cupped her sex through the thin white lace of her panties, she bucked violently, her legs spreading farther to accommodate him.

Bastien broke their kiss, took the time to nip and suckle lightly at her bottom lip, then lifted away from her. There was no exploring of throat or chest, no gentle teasing of her stomach. He moved himself right away to sit on the edge of the couch, his eyes on hers as he grasped her jeans and dragged them down her legs.

Suddenly aware of her naked breasts, and self-conscious, Terri raised her arms, crossing them over her chest. Bastien smiled at this sign of shyness but didn't stop. Her jeans were soon a pool on the floor next to the rest of their clothes. Her panties followed.

Terri was completely naked now, exposed and vulnerable to his view. And he did look. He simply sat for the longest time, his eyes raking over what he had already touched and, in some cases, tasted. Terri lay still, biting her lip and wishing he would stop looking. Wishing he would kiss her. Wishing he didn't still have his pants on. She didn't think it would be quite so bad if she weren't alone in her nakedness. She'd barely had that thought when he reached for her hand. Terri hesitated, then uncrossed her arms to place her right hand in his.

Bastien pulled her to a sitting position, then knelt between her legs as he had done earlier. There was no trifle on her belly now, however, and it wasn't her tummy he was interested in. Her eyes widened in shock as he urged her legs farther apart and lowered his head.

"Bas—" Her choked protest died abruptly as he buried his face between her thighs. Terri jerked and stiffened, her body arching up off the couch. Torn between embarrassment, shock, and the first slam of pleasure, she wanted to beg him to stop—but she didn't seem to have a voice to do it with. She wasn't even sure she had a tongue. Or a head. The only part of her body she
was
sure existed at that point was the part he was busily laving. Every cell of her body was suddenly focused in that area, every thought in her head on what Bastien was doing to her.

Terri became aware of a pain building in her chest, and suddenly she realized she'd been holding her breath for several moments. Letting it out in a whoosh, she gasped in another, aware of the fact that she was now panting, but not really caring. She didn't really care about much just then; the entire world could have come to an end outside the penthouse and she wouldn't have noticed. Terri was completely focused on what Bastien was doing to her and the tension he was building.

The tension was becoming almost unbearable. Bastien's ministrations were causing havoc, a pleasure-pain she wasn't sure she could stand. Terri wanted him to stop but needed him to continue, and her movements reflected her confusion. She began to twist her legs in an effort to escape, while at the same time arching herself upward into his attention.

Bastien took it all in stride, merely catching her thighs and holding them firmly in place. He continued to drive her crazy with need, making her buck against him.

"Please," Terri cried, twisting wildly, then gave an excited cry that even seemed loud to her own ears. A shaft of embarrassment slid through her, along with the fear that she might be heard by Vincent or C.K., drawing one of the two men to see what was wrong. Not wanting that, she turned her head and bit firmly into the couch cushion. It didn't stop her moans, but muffled them.

Just when she thought she could stand no more, Terri felt Bastien slip a finger inside her, adding to the pressure. She crumbled, her body convulsing as she cried out into the couch. Wave after wave of ecstasy washed through her as he continued what he was doing. Those waves slammed into her hard and fast, one after the other, again and again until she was sobbing with the release. Only then did Bastien finally lift his head. Moving onto the sofa beside her, he took her in his arms and eased them both to lie on the couch where he held her gently as she trembled and shuddered in aftermath.

Terri held him back, wonder and gratitude uppermost in her mind, but too exhausted by what she'd just experienced to offer him either. She lay still and quiescent as Bastien kissed her closed eyes, the tip of her nose, her lips. The kiss was gentle and soothing at first, then became more demanding, and despite her exhaustion Terri found herself responding.

When his hand closed over her breast, she sighed and arched against him. When it slid lower and dipped between her legs, her passion reawoke as if it had never been sated. She moaned into his mouth, her legs opening like a flower at the promise of sunlight.

Bastien groaned and broke away.

"I want you," he murmured against her cheek.

"Yes." Terri reached between them and found him through his trousers. He was hard against her fingers as she squeezed and ran her palm over his length. She slid her hand to the button of his chinos, but after fumbling with it for a moment, Bastien moved to help. Within moments, his pants were undone.

Terri caught the waistband and tugged down as far as she could, then she changed to pushing the cloth down over his hips. She gave up the effort the moment his sex sprang free of the clothing and landed, hard and heavy, on her stomach. Forgetting about removing his trousers, she caught it in her hand.

Bastien gasped, then reclaimed her mouth, kissing her almost violently as he thrust into her hold. Then he reached between them and brushed her hand away, replacing it with his own as he eased himself lower against her. She felt him probe at her entrance, then he guided himself into her a little way, stopping when she moaned at the stretching sensation.

Terri shifted; and Bastien withdrew, eased back in a little, then withdrew again. It was as if he were teasing her, taunting her with what she might have but didn't. She turned her head slightly to break their kiss, then bit at his chin in silent demand. Then Terri reached down to his behind and dug her nails in there as she arched upward, trying to force him to enter her all the way.

Bastien gave a breathless laugh at this maneuver. But he also reclaimed her lips and gave her what she wanted, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth even as he finally, fully, thrust his body into hers.

Terri cried out as he filled her. It was what she wanted, needed, but it was almost too much. It was almost a relief when he withdrew. Almost. But the moment he did, she wanted him all the way in once more. Fortunately, Bastien had finished with his teasing and thrust forward again almost at once. Then he withdrew and thrust forward again and again.