Wicked Game (9 page)

“Better.” She said releasing the pressure on his hand, but not altogether. After the second drink, she relaxed completely, her words were slightly slurred, and she smiled up at him a lot. Her eyes shone from the wine. “You know, Jaime, you really are a nice-looking man, despite your bad attitude. It’s no wonder all of the women stop and stare at you. Some of the men too.”

“I guess you’re right, Pepper, but I am mildly famous too, you know.”

“Really? What for?”

“Pepper, are you drunk?” He couldn’t help laughing when she reached for his hand and missed. “You
are
drunk. It was only two glasses, Pepper.”

“I know. I can’t handle it. You should know that by now.”

“Are you going to puke?” He remembered that first morning they’d spent together. Her leaning over the toilet, topless, spilling all of the gin and most of her dinner into the toilet, and him fighting an erection and a serious feeling of foreboding.

“Not right now. I could sleep, though. I didn’t get much last night.” Her eyes were drooping, now that she pointed it out. “Do I have time for a nap?”

“About four hours. Give or take.”

“Oh good.” She laid her head on his shoulder, and before he could react, her breathing turned soft and rhythmic. He didn’t have the heart to tumble her back in her own seat, so he let her be, flying the entire nonstop trip holding Cassandra Pendleton’s hand while she slept, and ignoring the overly invasive looks of the other passengers and flight staff as well.

Tomorrow there would be a gossip item somewhere about his non-relationship with his personal assistant. He would deal with that tomorrow; for now he simply enjoyed watching her sleep and the blessed silence that went along with it.

Chapter Ten

About three days into her stay at the Plaza with Jaime Dalton, Cass came to one horrific realization. Jaime didn’t drink. Ever. However, he sure as hell didn’t mind getting her buzzed if it suited his purposes. And tonight it seemed to suit his purpose.

He looked magnificent in a tuxedo, with his blond hair slicked back from his face, a diamond ring glittering on his ring finger—his team ring, he’d told her. He’d also told her that after this year he expected to replace it with a Super Bowl ring. He was deadly serious, but she didn’t understand anything he said after that.

“You don’t speak football, do you, Pepper?” he asked after her second glass of wine. The Nike reception had turned into a full-out party in the Plaza ballroom. Loud music played, and big men and beautiful women danced around them. “That’s all right, you look great in that dress, and that’s all that matters.”

“I know two things, Jaime Dalton, about football.” She liked the way he looked at her when he said she looked great in that dress. As if he were trying to think of a way to get her out of it. And since that morning last week, she hadn’t been able to think of anything but getting naked with him. Often. Excessively often. Like in the middle of lunch today, when he offered her a bite of his sandwich and his fingers brushed her lips, and she thought she might melt.

“What’s that, Pepper?” He smiled at her, his eyes sparkling in the dim lights. She knew that look. He used it when he thought he was messing with her head.

“That you play it, and that I’m not interested in it.”

“At least you have that much down pat.” Something about him was slightly off. He laughed too often, talked too loud, and looked around too much.

“Jaime, are you looking for someone?” she asked after her third glass of wine disappeared. She didn’t actually remember drinking it. But she felt all nice and … fuzzy.

“No. Hey, Pepper, you want to dance?” He didn’t wait for her to respond before he dragged her to her feet and into the middle of the group of people who were doing little more than rubbing their bodies together.

“This isn’t dancing,” she told him sometime into the second song after he mashed her chest to his.

“Then what do you call it?” He looped her hands behind his neck and swayed with her.

“I don’t know. Are you hard?” There was a definite bulge pressed against her belly.

“You look very nice tonight. That dress fits you perfectly,” was his answer. His breath against her cheek was warm. “Are you wearing another pair of those cheeky panties you like?”

“Are you flirting with me? No, seriously, I can’t tell—either you are flirting or being mean. Which is it?”

“Flirting, I guess,” he sighed, his eyes growing distant. “Failing too.”

“Not really. I just wanted to make sure I was reading you right. Besides, I want you to. Flirt, not be mean. I’m tired of fighting with you.”

“Then you won’t mind if I do this.” He placed his hand on her ass and squeezed, pressing her closer as he did so. The bulge behind his tuxedo trousers grew harder, larger, causing her to gasp.

“I was hoping you would kiss me, but I guess that’s okay too.”

“Pepper.” He stared into her eyes, flame raging behind his whiskey-colored eyes, warning her that playing with him was definitely playing with fire. “I’m going to take you upstairs now. If you have any objections, you might want to say something.”

“Will there be bondage and spanking involved?”

“If you want.” He stopped stone still, as if he were holding his breath waiting for her to reply.

“Did I say I did?” She wasn’t that drunk. But her heart rate did spike at the thought. “I was hoping for a little revenge from last week.”

“Oh, then you want to tie me up and spank me?”

“The thought occurred to me.”

“No, absolutely not.”

“Like you gave me a choice.”

“You liked it.”

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t.”

“You liked it, Pepper. You were cream beneath my hand. I could have done anything to you, and you would have begged for more.”

She noticed belatedly that he was slowly leading her to the edge of the dance floor, almost casually, trying not to call attention to them and their quiet argument. So what if he was right. She’d wanted him to bend her over and fill her from behind. Craved it the whole time he finger fucked her, his cock hard and huge in her hand, when it should have been inside her.

“Why are we discussing this now? I thought you were avoiding the issue?”

“I was, but now that we’re talking about it, I’ve got this profound urge to…”

“You are not tying me up again, Jaime Dalton.” But even as she hissed the words, her traitorous body began to tingle in all the wrong spots.

“If you don’t want me to, then why are your nipples hard and your breathing ragged?” He smiled that Cheshire cat smile at her, and she knew the game was becoming dangerous.

“Because this dress is irritating my skin, because we’re dancing, because you’re doing that thing you do when you try to get me off balance and embarrass myself.”

“All I’m doing is walking you to the elevator. In case you didn’t notice, we left the dance floor a while ago.”

“Then why am I still pressed against you?”

“Because I like you there. And because it keeps you off balance so I can do this.” As she watched, he loosened his tie and slid it from around his neck. The silk material was still warm from his body when he wrapped it around her arms, just above her elbows and pulled it tight.

“People can see,” she hissed, anger and fear once again filling her senses. “And you don’t want the media to know about me.”

“They already know about you, Pepper.”

“They know I’m your assistant. You think I haven’t noticed that I embarrass you. You certainly would rather they don’t find out you have some sort of kinky need to tie me up because you can’t dominate me any other way.”

“Keep it up and I’ll gag you,” he said just as the elevator doors opened. Thankfully, no one emerged to overhear them. Or worse, to see her arms tied behind her back. “Is this scarf thing around your neck pinned or anything?”

“No, why?” She watched in horror as he tugged the long silk scarf from the elaborate knot and pulled it from around her neck. “No, Jaime, please don’t.” But it was too late, the elevator went dark, and she heard him chuckle.

“Why is it when I cover your eyes, you stop talking?” He ran his hand along her arm, over her shoulder. Goose bumps followed everywhere he touched. “It is a miracle. Oh, Pepper, your hair smells wonderful.”

She liked his fingers in her hair; the way he ran them through the strands felt sinful.

“Are you wearing a bra?”

“No,” she whispered against his cheek, the elevator wall cold beneath her back. He had fast hands. He tugged her skirt up, caressing her leg with one, while the other stroked her throat.

“I love these panties. Damn, Pepper, how many pairs do you have?” He cupped her ass, running a finger under the lace.

“I don’t know. Several.”

“At least you have good taste in something,” he said just before he slapped her there, caressing after she yelped. “We’ve got five more floors to go, baby. Think I can make you moan before then?”

She didn’t have time to answer, he slid his finger down her back crack, between her legs, and before she could catch her breath, he pushed into her, sliding in just deep enough to make her wet—not that she needed much coaxing—then out to torment her clit. She wanted more, deeper—oh God, his cock felt huge against her belly, and she arched against him. “That’s it baby; oh that feels good. Can you come for me, Pepper? Right here in the elevator.”

He eased his other hand between her legs, pushing her back against the wall as he surrounded her, filling her from behind with one, stroking her clit from the front with the other. “Come for me, Pepper. Oh yeah, that’s my girl.”

She couldn’t stop it, the double onslaught more than she could handle. Sensation swirled inside her, from her toes to the tips of her hair, consuming her. His jacket was rough against her face; she cried his name against his shoulder begging him to stop, begging for more, until she lost herself completely, and the world came to a sudden spinning halt.

“Our floor.” He withdrew his fingers from her slick pussy, her dress slithering down her leg made her gasp just as the doors slid open.

As he took her by her elbow and walked her down the hall, she could feel his impatience. Thank God they weren’t far from the elevator; she didn’t think she would manage to stay upright much longer. Her legs shook, as did her arms. Her skin felt super sensitive where he touched her. The slightest graze of his jacket or his pants leg had her trembling with anticipation and need, so much so, that by the time he closed the door to their suite behind them, she was on the verge of melting.

“How do I take this dress off?” He leaned her against the door while he fumbled with the straps that crossed her back.

“It zips at the side, but you’ll have to untie me to take it off.”

“Fuck that, I don’t have that much time.” She heard a sickening rip and knew the delicate lace didn’t survive his big hands, but she didn’t care. His mouth on her nipple was hot, the air on her skin cool. “Oh God, Pepper, you taste good. Like vanilla ice cream. I could spend the rest of my life tasting you.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that, but the groan that came out must have pleased him because he picked her up, and before she could count to three, she was lying on her stomach in the middle of a bed of silk. Her bed. It had to be, his was at the far back of the suite. “And as much as I like these, they have to go.”

He pulled her panties down her legs and over one sandal, then the other, catching on the heel of the second one before he tugged it off. “The sandals can stay. Get on your knees, Pepper.”

His hand stung when he struck her—once, twice—pain and need swimming through her mind at the same time. “Spread your legs,” he ordered. “I want to see your pussy. That’s it. Pepper, spread them wide. Just for me. Mmm, Pepper, you have a pretty pussy.”

“Jaime?” She didn’t know why she called his name, she hated him, but God, she wanted him to touch her. She’d do anything if he would touch her. There, right there.

His tongue was so damned hot she had to bury her face in the comforter to keep from screaming when he licked her clit. “So sweet. You have a sweet pussy, Pepper.”

She couldn’t stop this time; she cried out, his name, God’s name. Her toes felt like they were on fire as he licked her, flicking her clit with his teeth. “Oh baby, scream for me. I like that.”

She mourned the loss of his tongue, the heat, the sudden plummet back to earth from the brim of insanity. Hypersensitive to everything, sound, scent, touch, she felt him move onto the bed behind her, heard the soft sound of something tearing and then the zinging sound of his zipper.

“Open for me, Pepper. Oh yeah, baby, that’s it; tell me how you like that.”

The blunt head of his cock eased into her slowly—agonizingly slow. “How does that feel, Pepper?” he asked again, drawing her mind down from the stratosphere, forcing her to acknowledge him, and the things he did to her.

“Jaime.” She had no idea how to tell him how good it felt, she tilted her hips to take him deeper. His moan when she eased back against him told her all she needed to know.

* * * *

Pleasure, hot, wet, and greedy, enfolded him. Dark hair and honey golden flesh tumbled against chocolate silk inflamed him. Her strangled cries sent him reeling.

Her skin gleamed in the light, sweat-sheened and as silky as the spread beneath her. Her face was a mask of pleasure and pain as he pressed into her; her hands lay against her sides, useless, her fingers reaching for the bed or for him, unable to reach either. She shifted on her knees, angling her body to take him deeper, her ass smooth beneath his hands as he grasped her, guiding her back against him. Her creamy pussy throbbed around him, driving him to do things and say things he’d never dared before.

Cassandra Pendleton took him to the edge of sanity. Her cries for more and harder, faster were more than he could bear. She spiraled over that edge, her body contracting around him, threatening to take him with her. But he wasn’t nearly ready to lose himself. There was so much more of Cass to taste. He wanted to taste every square inch before the night was over.

He fought orgasm, waiting for the one gripping her to pass before he eased out, untying her arms as he went. She reached for the blindfold, but he grabbed her arms and flipped her onto her back. “Leave it,” he told her. “Or I’ll tie you to the headboard.”