Blazing Bedtime Stories, Volume III Page 13

  “A little dip in the hot tub probably wouldn’t hurt you, either,” she said, working to sound just this side of disinterested. “You’re probably sore.”

  He frowned, then shifted his shoulders as if testing her words. “How’d you know I was sore?”

  “Well, you bitched about the drive enough, it was an easy guess,” she said with a smirk.

  “And you want me to come into the hot tub with you? To, what? Loosen my muscles?”

  Too obvious, Jordan realized. She really sucked at this seduction thing. She just couldn’t bring herself to take the blatant, fingers tiptoeing up his chest and flirting with her eyelashes route. So she needed to stick with subtle strategy.

  “No biggie,” she told him with a shrug that put her towel in jeopardy. “Your bedroom has a sunken tub with jets. You have plenty of towels and privacy.”

  She took two more steps down the stairs, close enough for the cool evening air wafting in behind him to raise goose bumps on all her bare parts. She wasn’t cold, though. Nerves and the awareness in his eyes were keeping her plenty warm.

  “I’ll see you in the morning,” she added, moving to the side as if making room for him to go upstairs to his lonely tub.

  She almost wished he would. Not only because she was having second thoughts, but because then he’d have to brush up against her. And maybe if he did, if his biceps just happened to rub against her towel-covered breast as he moved past, he’d be overcome by lust. Then he’d turn and grab both of her arms in his hands. Push her back against the wall. Lean forward and press his mouth against hers. Kiss her, deep, hot and wild.

  Jordan ran her tongue over her suddenly dry lips and huffed out a deep breath. Wow. Maybe she didn’t need his actual body. Fantasies were plenty hot, thank you.

  A part of her, the part that always pointed, screaming, toward the safest exit, told her to listen. To turn towel and head right back up those stairs. Hot fantasies didn’t cost one single bit of embarrassed effort or risk possible rejection. And didn’t she already have enough rejection in her life?

  Jordan was actually shifting to leave when she realized how conditioned she was to copping out. No. This weekend was about learning to be stronger. How to stand up for herself, to go for what she wanted.

  And she wanted Sebastian Lane.

  No way she was giving up that easy. Chin lifted, she planted both feet on the stair and crossed her arms over her chest. The towel shifted a scary inch higher. Sebastian’s eyes rounded, then narrowed.

  “Are you sure this isn’t some game?” he asked gruffly. “Maybe temptation in a towel?”

  Unsurprised by his insight, Jordan made a show of rolling her eyes and gave a little laugh.

  “Oh, please. If I wanted to seduce you, wouldn’t I have tried already? When have I flirted? When have I hinted? Shown the slightest interest? Why wait until you’re here horning in on my peaceful weekend?”

  She kept her breath steady, even though her heart was pounding like crazy as she waited to see if he’d buy that. It’d sounded so good upstairs when she’d practiced it, but now? Said aloud? Totally lame.

  He didn’t look convinced. So Jordan made a show of heaving a deep sigh that apparently, from the heat in his eyes, did interesting things to her towel.

  “What are you worried about?” she asked. “You think I’m going to go back to the office and tell everyone you did something as innocuous as hot tub with me? Are you worried they’ll think you sacrificed your principles and got hot and wild with the boss’s daughter? Or worse, that you didn’t? I thought gossip didn’t mean anything to you.”

  She held her breath, thinking of her sister’s suggestion that Daddy had propositioned Sebastian. Any worries she might have harbored that it was true faded as she looked into his eyes and saw, instead of nerves or guilt, simple frustration.

  Sexual frustration.

  The same kind she was feeling.

  Empowered, energized, and for the first time ever, filled with sexual power, she took that final step off the stairs and, her hand still clutching the towel, moved past Sebastian. Just as she reached the hallway, she shot him her sexiest look over her bare shoulder and said, “Or, like everyone else, are you afraid of my daddy?”

  She grinned at his scowl, then headed down the hall, her swinging hips making the terrycloth flutter. Enticingly, she hoped.

  By the time she reached the door off the kitchen that led to the wide redwood porch spanning the back of the house, she heard his footsteps. She took her time turning on the stereo, then pouring a glass of wine from the bottle she’d left on the sidebar earlier.

  If her hand shook as she raised the glass and she gulped more than sipped, well, he was too far away to notice. But refilling the glass might be a giveaway. So she carried it, almost empty, over to the hot tub, where she used her toes to flip the switch. Seduction or not, there was no way in hell she was bending over wearing just a towel.

  “You really do have a hot tub,” he murmured from the doorway.

  “What? You thought I made it up so I could parade around in a towel?” she teased.

  “Of course not,” he said quickly, almost as if he was afraid to put the idea of her and deliberate temptation in the same sentence.

  “So, what’s the deal? Did you decide to join me?” she asked, wishing she’d gone ahead and refilled her wineglass anyway.

  “Do you have extra suits?” he asked, glancing around the dusk-washed patio. Like there might be a changing area or something.

  “The only person who wears a suit is my dad,” she said with laugh.

  “I meant swimsuits,” Sebastian said with a grin.

  “So did I.”

  Jordan took a deep breath and, biting her lip and doing it quickly before she could think twice, flicked the towel so it unknotted and fell to the deck.

  SEBASTIAN ACTUALLY FELT the blood pour from the upper hemisphere of his body, swooshing down in a rush to fill his poor, neglected dick.

  Holy shit. She was…gorgeous. He couldn’t tear his eyes from Jordan. Slender curves, smooth skin and deliciously long legs that just begged for his kisses. Pert, rounded breasts tipped with dusky rose nipples, pebbled invitingly in the cool night air. The dusting of curls between her legs made his fingers itch to touch. Explore. Feel.Oh, God.

  He gulped.

  Then she turned and he couldn’t help it. He groaned aloud. Her ass was just as perfect as the rest of her. He watched her step into the bubbling, scented water. The tiny, rational part of his brain urged him to get the hell out of there. Run, fast. The aching, neglected part of his body screamed at him to strip and get in the water already. He knew it’d be pointless, since the curse had rendered him pretty well useless.

  But for once, Sebastian didn’t care about the end results. He just wanted to touch Jordan. To kiss her. Taste her.

  He’d always wanted to.

  Without conscious direction, Sebastian’s fingers went to the buttons of his shirt. Flicking them open, he stared at the water, wishing for a glimpse of the heaven hiding beneath the dark, bubbling surface. He toed off his shoes, then tossed his shirt over the back of a chair. Walking toward the hot tub, he arched a brow at Jordan.

  His hand paused on the zipper of his jeans and he waited for some signal.

  She just leaned back against the tile tub wall and spread both arms along the edge. Then she gave him a wicked, I dare you look.

  Sebastian’s jeans hit the deck so fast her eyes went wide. Then she laughed. The sound, a husky melody, made him almost as hard as the sight of her lush curves had. His boxers joined his jeans and he took that final step of no return.

  With a glint of appreciation, her golden brown eyes traced the length of his body, stopping for a long moment on his jutting manhood. She gave a silent whistle, then let her eyes finish the tour all the way to his toes.

  “I guess you’re right,” she said with a naughty little smile. “Gossip is horribly misleading.”

  “Huh?”

  “Well
, as popular as the talk of your…gift is around the water cooler, the rumors definitely didn’t do you justice.”

  For the first time since he was fourteen, Sebastian didn’t know whether to grin or stammer like a blushing schoolboy at the sight of a girl looking at his dick. Of course, just like when he’d been fourteen, he had no idea what it would do, either.

  For a guy who’d spent his whole life struggling to be the biggest—so to speak—and the best, it was wildly humbling to stand there and know he wasn’t. He’d jumped out of airplanes, been shot at and interviewed a psychotic mass murderer. But he’d never felt so, well, naked.

  But Jordan’s smile didn’t judge. She just looked amused and, yes, his ego was grateful to see, impressed. For maybe the first time since he’d hit puberty, Sebastian wasn’t worried about proving himself. As he stepped into the hot, frothing water, all that mattered was paying Jordan back for that sweet look of acceptance.

  It wasn’t until he was submerged to his waist and moving across the hot bubbles that he saw it. The hint of nerves in her eyes. Brow creased, he wondered briefly when he’d last seen nerves in a woman he was naked with. And if he’d cared.

  Maybe he had deserved to be cursed.

  “Nice,” he commented, trailing his fingers over the water as he sank down to the seat about a foot away from her. “You do this often?”

  “Relax in the hot tub?” she asked with an arch of her brow. “Or get naked with a coworker?”

  He almost snorted water, his laugh was so deep. Sebastian leaned back, resting his elbows on the ledge, and grinned at her. “How about both?”

  “Well there was the time that Nancy in marketing and I were taking that kickboxing class at Duchesse Defense and had to hit the showers afterward.”

  He smirked. “Not quite what I meant.”

  “No?” she smiled, wafting her hand through the water between them. He noticed how delicate her fingers were as they came closer and closer to his chest with each pass.

  “If we’re going to compare gossip, it’s only fair that you fill in a few blanks,” he told her, giving in to the curiosity that had always nagged at him. He’d tried to chalk it up to reporter’s inquisitiveness, but now that he was naked with her, he could admit he was fascinated by Jordan. “My sex life is water cooler news. Yours is a total mystery.”

  Her smile was pure seductive beauty. Slow, wide and wicked, it dared him to keep talking sex.

  “Why don’t you fill in the blanks yourself, Golden Boy? You’re the star reporter. What do you think?”

  Unable to resist, he caught her hand as it passed within inches of his chest. Threading his fingers through hers, he shifted, just a little, to find her leg with his.

  Her caramel eyes went huge, then narrowed. He grinned. God, he loved her reactions. Wrapping his ankle around her firm calf, he teased the back of her leg with his toes.

  “You know, any good reporter isn’t going to listen to rumor,” he teased. “He’s going to get the facts for himself.”

  With that and a soft tug, he pulled her buoyant body through the water. Her gasp was barely audible over the jets of the tub, but he saw it and smiled. A slow, sensuous smile that promised this wouldn’t be the first gasp she’d give. He planned to make damned sure of it.

  As she bumped gently against him, she pressed her hand to his chest. Her damp fingers were trembling, just a little. But enough to remind Sebastian of his stand when it came to Jordan. She was a good girl. Not a do-her-then-pat-her-on-the-ass-on-the-way-out-the-door kind of gal.

  Which, combined with his current unfortunate sexual impediment, meant this was about the stupidest idea in the world. His brain scrambled for a way out even as he loosened his hold on her hand.

  “Well, I guess we’ll see who the better reporter is now, won’t we,” she said before he could untangle himself.

  “Huh?”

  “You just admitted you think I’m something of a mystery,” she said in a low, husky tone. Her fingers now trailing an enticing, heated path up his chest and over his shoulder.

  “Which indicates,” she said, her fingers sliding in little swirly patterns down his arm, “that you’ve thought about me. You’ve wondered. You’ve…wished.”

  Oh, yeah, he was wishing. Big-time. And, he realized with a silent groan of relief, big was the operative word here. A delicious feeling of hot power poured south, filling and hardening him to fondly remembered lengths.

  He shifted on the slick hot-tub seat, reveling in both the feel of Jordan’s legs as they slid along his and his body’s glorious reaction.

  “So why don’t you tell me about them,” she invited quietly, her finger now tracing a path up the back of his neck.

  “Them?” he asked, forcing himself to stay still instead of grabbing her with both hands, hauling her tight against him and wrapping her legs around his waist so he could drive himself into her glorious body.

  This was crazy. His mind, that dim voice almost smothered by desire, screamed caution. Almost as if she sensed his doubts, she shifted, placing her hands on his shoulders, her touch sending shock waves through his body. Then, in a move made all the more sensual by the buoyant water, she made his hottest fantasies come true when she pulled herself forward, sliding her legs over his hips.

  “Your wishes. Tell me about your wishes,” she said in a husky whisper.

  “Are you magic?” he asked as he lowered his mouth toward hers. “Are you going to make all my wishes come true?”

  “Maybe…” She shifted, lifting herself in the water so he caught just a glimpse of her dusky rose nipples. Sebastian ran his tongue over his suddenly dry lips. With a little grin, Jordan mimicked the move, first rubbing her mouth, whisper soft, over his. Then she slid her tongue over his lower lip and gently sucked and nibbled him into idiocy.

  With a groan of surrender, Sebastian reached down to settle his hands on the curve of her hips, his fingers sinking into the sweet softness of her butt. Unable to help himself, he lifted her closer. Weightless in the water, she gave a little mewling sound of pleasure, then she curved her legs, wrapping them tight around his waist and straddling him. He swore it felt almost as good as an orgasm when the friction of her curls swept over the hard, aching length of his dick.

  She made a sound of delight, hooking her feet behind his back and pressing, undulating, teasing.

  Freaking killing him.

  Sebastian groaned.

  To hell with it. He didn’t give a damn about the risks. All that mattered was feeling Jordan, here in his arms. Tasting her. Pleasuring her.

  Even if the results did kill him.

  5

  SEBASTIAN’S DELICIOUS talent was definitely under-reported by the gossips, was Jordan’s last thought before her brain overloaded on pleasure. Her lips slid, soft and sweet, over the delicious fullness of Sebastian’s. Open mouthed, sensual. Hinting, but not blatant. The motion was driving her crazy.

  As if frustrated by her teasing, though, he growled. He didn’t ask for control, he took it and turned her world on its side as his mouth went wild on hers.He scraped his teeth over her bottom lip, then wrapped his tongue around hers. The dance was intense, fast and wild. Her body went into overdrive at the thrusting power of the kiss. He demanded she keep up, match him thrust for thrust, passion for passion. Her breath shuddered, her body heated.

  Needing more, she rubbed her swelling nether lips against the silky length of his dick, mewling in delight at the friction. Still calling the shots, his hands gripped her butt tighter, setting the pace for her undulations. Slow, long slides up and down his belly, teasing her with the promise of his length, hard and huge.

  She moaned a soft protest as his hands stopped their kneading caress, leaving tingling shivers behind. But she didn’t stop her delicious movements. Need built with every pass. She wanted him inside her. Soon. But this dueling foreplay felt too good to end quite yet.

  He trailed his hands up her sides in a smooth, easy move. She held her breath, wondering. Hoping. Her
nipples, already beaded in the bubbling water, tightened even more. Teasingly close, his hands trailed over the full sides of her breasts, cupping, weighing. But he bypassed the aching tips. Instead he traced his fingers across her collarbone, up her throat and, with one hand around the back of her neck, he pressed his palm to her cheek in the most romantic gesture she’d ever experienced.

  It was all Jordan could do not to whimper and melt all over him like a starry-eyed ingenue, ready to fall all giddy in love with one sweet caress.

  Oh, no, she reminded herself. This was all about the sex. Great, mind-numbing, orgasm-screaming sex.

  He tunneled his fingers through her hair, cupping the back of her head. He pulled her, weightless in the water, up higher. Her heels slid up the small of his back and she shivered as the cool evening air ripped the warm blanket of sexual fog away. Goose bumps coated her arms and shoulders. Her nipples, now inches away from the heated bubbles, beaded with the chill.

  Before she could fully register the change, though, Sebastian let go of her head. His hands first pressed against the outside of her thighs to tighten her legs and secure her in this new position. Then they swiftly slid up her wet, trembling body.

  Jordan cried out as his palms warmed her nipples. His hands swirled in slow, gentle circles, rubbing the aching nubs. Each rotation sent a spiral of answering pleasure down her body, tightening the ache between her legs. Needing to touch, to caress, she ran her own hands up and down his arms, cupping the rounded hardness of his biceps with a purring little growl of appreciation.

  He shifted, one hand now tracing a line down the center of her body, from between her breasts to her belly button, then back up. His other traced gentle, concentric circles around her areola. The circles grew tighter, smaller, closer. She wanted to scream. To force him to touch her. To give her the pleasure that was just there, beyond the edge of her reach.

  Then, as if realizing she was right on the edge of sexual insanity, he flicked the sensitive tip. Her body went stiff. She arched closer, her undulations more intense.