Twisted Hunger (31 page)

He shrugged. “That was only a small fib, and I didn’t actually say I didn’t know him, I just avoided giving an honest answer. The truth is, the free tickets were for law enforcement officers and I didn’t want Terrell to get in trouble for bringing me.”

She thought that was reasonable, but the big question remained. “I guess I can understand that. But why didn’t you tell him the truth about why you were there that day?”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t. You told him you were there to make another pass at me.” He winked at her and she got the message. “Are you seriously saying that really
was
the reason you were there? That you didn’t come in to get information for your colleague?”

He shrugged again. “As the lobby guard clearly informed me, everything I was looking for could be easily obtained without bothering you. But since bothering you was my first priority…”

She punched his upper arm. “That’s for lying to me and wasting my time. Don’t do it again, or next time I aim for softer tissue.” He was momentarily spared further interrogation because they had arrived at their destination. She turned her attention outward for the first time since they’d gotten in the car.

“Dear gawd,” she said when she saw the large neon sign in front of a building designed to look like a barn. “The Rhinestone Cowgirl? You’ve got to be kidding.”

His expression was completely serious as he told her, “I never kid about country music. I was assured the dress code here runs the gamut, the ribs are the best in town and the dance floor is passable. Let’s go find out for ourselves.”

And here she thought the hardest part of the evening was going to be resisting his kisses. He had figured out a way to take her on a real date and still keep her off balance. Like any good Yankee girl would do, she hung her head and sighed.

* * *

Teddy slammed down the phone in frustration. Ellery was out again, and he was helpless to do anything about it until after the weekend.

Last night’s punishment had not gone as well as he’d hoped, but then, last-minute arrangements seldom did. Besides, the fact that she had been out with a woman, rather than another man, had already diffused his anger with her.

Giving that some thought, he dialed another Sacramento number and immediately reached the young man who had so quickly arranged last night’s entertainment.

“Chico? George here. I have another small job, but I’d like you to handle it personally. It’s a rush again, but absolutely no physical contact will be required. There will be a little extra in your envelope next week if you do this well.”

* * *

“Come on, Ellery, you may as well admit it. You’re having fun.”

As much as she hated admitting anything to Luke, she couldn’t deny that he’d been right again. “Yes, I’m having fun. But I’m still hoping I don’t dance by anyone who recognizes me!”

Luke had to practically drag her onto the dance floor for her first Texas Two-Step, but once she realized how easy that was, she let him show her the Cotton-Eye Joe, and from there they progressed to a few more complicated dances. Though she wasn’t ready to allocate one of her car radio buttons to the country station, the music was a lot more enjoyable than she thought it would be.

Dinner was as good as promised, although she opted for barbecued pork instead of ribs because of the messy factor. Plus, they were seated far enough away from the loud speakers to continue their conversation. Once she relaxed, she was able to enjoy Luke’s keen sense of humor, especially when it was directed toward people other than herself.

All in all, she wasn’t just having fun, she was having
great
fun. There was only one thing preventing it from being one of the best dates she’d ever had. She still had a smidgeon of doubt about his honesty. Her intuition kept telling her he was hiding something, but she no longer believed it had anything to do with politics. Whenever she introduced a political topic, the look in his eyes shifted to forced interest. She would bet if he had a secret, it was something personal that he didn’t want her to know about.

Her first guess, despite his firm denial, was that he was married, or at least in a committed relationship of some kind. Throughout the evening she questioned him, tested him, tried to trip him up with his own stories, but he never slipped or gave a blatantly contradictory answer. His attention remained solidly on seducing her.

Not that he was being rude or lewd, nor did he break his promise not to talk about a serious relationship. It wasn’t even the way he gazed at her or touched her or held her while they danced—although all of those things were wonderfully entrancing. His manner of seduction was so subtle that it was being conducted on a sub-surface level.

The whole time they were eating, talking, laughing and dancing, his body chemistry was murmuring erotic love poems to hers.

What she did know, without a single doubt, was that if she didn’t have sex with this man, she would regret it for the rest of her life. When she was old and gray and all alone in the world, he would be the one she would wistfully remember as “the one who got away”. As the years passed, his mystique would probably grow into monumental proportions.

The only way to keep that from happening was to accept the fact that he wasn’t there to spy on her and let her body have what it wanted…
now
. Once that was done, the mystique would evaporate and she would be able to put him completely out of her mind. Though she had been celibate for several years, she was now quite glad that she had stayed on the Pill to regulate her periods.

A love ballad began and Luke drew her into his arms for the kind of slow dance she was more accustomed to. Now that she had made up her mind about what she was going to do with him, she let herself thoroughly enjoy the way their bodies instinctively moved as one, and how lovely it felt to have her hand enveloped by his.

And how his lower body teased her with a promise of rare pleasure.

It was up to her to let him know when and how she wanted to end the evening. With her next breath, she put an end to the teasing by relaxing her body fully against his. After she was certain he noticed the difference, she whispered into his ear, “I’d like you to take me home now.”

“But I’m not ready to let you go.”

She leaned back, so he could see her face. “You don’t have to let me go until tomorrow morning.”

The drive home was quiet, as though they both feared that words might jeopardize the precarious balance they had settled into.

Because she had already decided to give in to her urges, she stroked his cheek. His smile encouraged her to leave her fingers at the back of his neck as he drove. She didn’t completely understand it, but somehow, when they were touching, she felt…
different
.

Before the night was over, she intended to know whether the difference was only temporary or whether it was something she needed to fight with all her being.

She had felt comfortable with him all evening but as soon as they were back inside her apartment, anticipation had her feeling nervous again. “Would you like a glass of wine? I’m not sure there will be—”

His finger lightly touched her mouth to quiet her. “Relax. Come sit down with me.” He held her hand as they walked to the sofa and sat down close together. “I had a very good time tonight,” he said with a soft smile as he ran his fingers through her hair.

She started to lower her gaze then made herself look directly into his eyes. “I did too.”

“Since you’ve made it abundantly clear that you don’t want to hear any talk of an ongoing relationship, I won’t tell you how I’m feeling about us… as a long-term, exclusive, committed couple. And I won’t say a single word about how perfect we are for each other or what we could accomplish together. But I think you should know that as far as I’m concerned, nothing more has to happen between us tonight. Or tomorrow night. Or for another month, if that’s how long it would take for you to be more comfortable with me.”

Her fingers tiptoed up his shirt buttons and stopped to toy with the top one. “But what if I just wanted to do some more kissing? You warned me that you probably couldn’t stop a third time.”

He took a slow breath. “I could. If that’s what you really wanted.”

She undid his top button. “What if I wanted to do a little bit more than kissing?” Slowly she unbuttoned the next and the next. “What if I wanted to,” her fingers slipped beneath the fabric and found his nipple, “touch?”

His crooked grin let her know he was finally catching on and was more than ready to jump into the game. “I suppose that would be all right…” His hand trailed down her neck and brushed over her breast. “As long as I can do the same.” With the barest pressure, his palm circled over the peak.

She inhaled sharply as her nipple puckered in instant response and a spear of pleasure shot straight down to the base of her body.

His hand massaged her breast more firmly as he nuzzled her ear. “But if you’re going to react like that, I’m going to think you want to do more than just touch.”

Reining in the primal urge beating deep within her, she murmured, “Well, there’s touching,” her hand moved downward to his belt, “and there’s
touching
.” She cupped the hardening flesh between his thighs.

It was his turn to suck in his breath. “That’s true.” His hand eased from her breast to her knee, then began working its way up her inner thigh. “Just let me know when you want something more.”

She opened her legs to allow him equal rights then gasped when he took them. “I… I think… it would be all right… if you kissed me now.”

Their mouths crashed together, hot and hungry, eager to satisfy. Their bodies shifted and moved until they were stretched out on the couch. What their hands had aroused now pressed together, perfectly matched and equally demanding.

Ellery had wanted to control the pace, control
him
, but it was futile. Whatever it was that happened when they touched was not controllable. “Luke…” she whispered breathlessly. “I want
more
.”

Too cramped on the couch, they intended to move to the bedroom but only made it to the carpeted floor. Anything more comfortable was much too far away. Shoes were kicked off and clothes and underwear were thoughtlessly abused as they were tugged on, yanked off and tossed across the room.

There was only a moment’s respite, when Luke remembered to remove a handful of condom packages from his jacket pocket. Ellery couldn’t help but laugh. He may not have counted on sex that night, but he had certainly come prepared for plenty of it.

The tiny, humorous break made no difference, however. The instant his mouth returned to hers, she was seriously on fire again. Anxious fingers groped and kneaded. Desperate mouths sucked and nipped. But there was only one thing that could satisfy their burning need for each other. And as soon as they were finally rid of all the obstacles between them, Ellery welcomed him into her body with an audible sigh.

But her relief was short-lived, for when he began to move within her, the wildfire blazed with a life of its own. There was no way to hold it back or even slow it down. The voracious hunger was all-consuming, and much too soon, they had no choice but to give themselves up to it.

Ellery felt her body rise to a level of sensual pleasure she had not known existed. As wave after wave swept her along, she knew once was not going to be nearly enough.

Ever so slowly, her heartbeat regulated and awareness of her surroundings returned. Luke began to roll off her, but she clenched her vaginal muscles around him and rolled with him, so that they remained joined on their sides.

“I’m not ready to let you go yet,” she explained, mimicking his earlier comment to her. He flexed deep inside her, still hard, as though he hadn’t had the powerful climax she knew they had shared.

“You don’t have to… until tomorrow morning,” he returned, remembering the words as well as she. His lips brushed softly back and forth over hers until she picked up the rhythm.

With the urgency removed they began anew, gently exploring, slowly discovering each other’s most sensitive areas. They were even able to find the willpower to prolong the sweetness while they relocated to her bedroom before starting all over again.

* * *

Chico figured he’d hung around long enough for what he was being paid. He had the answer George was waiting for. The bitch was definitely banging the guy she was out with tonight and it didn’t look like she would be finished with him anytime soon.

He had never met George personally and couldn’t tell whether the client was hoping to catch the chick with another man or hoping his suspicions about her were wrong. Either way, Chico just hoped he would come through with the little extra he promised after he heard the report.

* * *

It had taken a while, but they were finally sated enough to think of something besides sex.

“Ellery?”

“Hmm?” She felt deliciously drowsy, lying in his embrace with their legs entwined.

“Do you ever go by anything besides Ellery?”

“Sure. Some people call me Miss or Ms. Winters.” She felt his chest shake with quiet laughter.

“I mean, like a nickname. Ellery seems so… formal. And it has three syllables… such a mouthful to say in the throes of passion.”

“I could always call you Madigan… or
Professor
—maybe Doctor?”