The Mistress Mistake (20 page)

"It's okay." He began to soothe her
immediately. "No problem. I'll teach you how. Would it make you
feel better if I give you step by step instructions?" He was
looking deep into her eyes and his hand became caressing.

She didn't know if he was teasing or if he
was serious. "Y-yes, actually. Would that be okay?"

"I can't think of anything better. But let me
tell you one thing now. You can't hurt me. And no matter what you
do to me, it will feel good to me. So don't worry about trying to
do it right. Anything you do will be right, I promise you that."
His voice was rough, driven with desire.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do after .
. . afterward. You know, with the stuff. I've read that you're
supposed to swallow it, but I--"

He must have read the indecision in her eyes
because he began shaking his head and cut in, "You don't have to
swallow it." His attention slid to her mouth and then focused on
her eyes again. "You can if you want, but sweetheart,
not if it
makes you uncomfortable
. You put that sweet little mouth on me
. . . that's all I could ever ask for." Not giving her even a
second to change her mind, he lifted her hand where she absently
caressed him, shrugged out of his shorts and underwear, and sat
back down again.

"Come here a minute," he ordered, as he
lifted her under her arms and brought her up over him, to straddle
him. He wrapped his arms around her, and began kissing her, so
hotly and deeply she almost forgot about what she wanted to do to
him. His tongue dueled with hers and his hands ran up and down her
spine in a heated caress. On an upward stroke, he lifted her
t-shirt, broke the kiss just long enough to pull the shirt over her
head, and tossed it aside. Before she could cut it off, she let out
a tiny, uncontrollable sound of distress.

He fastened his hand to her chin and locked
her eyes with his. "No. We're past that shit, baby." With his free
hand, his palm encompassed the breast he'd marked so thoroughly the
night before. "You gave these to me last night, of your own free
will, and you can't take them back. I won't let you. They're mine
now, just like the rest of you, understand?"

Unable to so much as nod her head because his
grasp on her chin was so tight, she whispered, "Yes."

At her agreement, he began kissing her again,
and within mere seconds, her arousal was at molten levels and she
was aching to slide down between his legs once more. With that
thought in mind, she broke the kiss and mumbled, "Please, now."

He moved his hands to her hips, and with one
fluid motion, she was on her knees and between his thighs again,
but this time, without his clothes to separate them. His erection
was thick and large, right in front of her face, and she had the
confusing feelings of both wanting to touch it and kiss it, and
turn around and run from it at the same time.

But he reached down and put his hand on her
breast, and began stroking her nipple and all thoughts of running
from him fled her mind.

He took matters into his own hands and began
instructing her, just as he had said he would. Taking one of her
hands, he lifted it and wrapped it around the base of his shaft.
"Your mouth's not going to be able to go deep enough, so you want
to grip it like this." His voice was even but Jessica looked up and
saw that sweat had broken out on his forehead and his eyes had
dilated. "Hold it tight, baby.
Yeah, like that."
His lids
dropped over his eyes and his head fell to the back of the couch,
as he took deep, roughened breaths. Getting himself under control,
he slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head.

She made a tentative move toward him, and his
hands fell to her hair and he helped her move toward his straining
penis. "Jessica, I'm probably not going to have any control, it's
going to be fast, sweetheart. But I'm going to warn you when I'm
about to come so you don't choke, okay?"

Her eyes flew wide at that threat.

At the look he must have seen in her eyes, he
began to soothe her immediately. "It's okay, baby. I'm going to
warn you." He continued the inexorable push toward his erection and
then she was upon him. Her lips opened and her hand tightened. She
took several small licks, and raised her head to look at him.

"Is that right?" she asked. His fingers
pinched her nipple, and the erotic taste of him was already making
her want to rock her pelvis.

"God, yes.
Open your mouth and take it
inside." His body jerked when she did as he asked. "Now move your
hand, like this." He put his hand over hers and showed her the
strokes, very like the strokes she'd used on him before. "Move your
mouth with your hand." His breath hissed out as she attempted to
follow his instructions.

He gently twisted her hair in his hands and
wrapped his fingers around her skull, moving her with the force he
needed. He only let her take six or seven even strokes and then he
began tightening under her touch.

Pushing her head down with enough gentle
force to keep it there, he hissed out, "I'm about to come." She
adjusted the angle she'd been using only slightly, just enough that
she wouldn't choke, as he'd told her. She felt his body clench, and
he groaned with the force of his release. She tasted his hot, salty
essence as he held her tightly to him, and she knew he was in a
mindless state of orgasm.

After a few seconds, he allowed her to lift
away from him, and she took her mouth from him, and looked around
frantically. He handed her an empty Coke can from the side table
with the lift of an arrogant eyebrow. She looked at it, looked at
him and then just closed her eyes and swallowed. She knew he
watched her do it, and she felt his muscles tense as he pulled her
up to him, hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe. He
kissed the side of her face, and ran his lips to her ear. "Thank
you."

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Did I
do it right?"

"Not bad."

Hurt, she lifted her head and looked him
straight in the eye.

He continued carelessly, "I think after
thirty or forty more tries, you might get it right."

It was then that she knew he was teasing her,
and content, she smiled at him and dropped her head back down.

His voice was deliciously evil when he
whispered in her ear, "And now I get to pay you back."

And he proceeded to do just that.

****

Connor left Jessica dozing on the sofa and
slipped outside to the swimming pool. As he gazed at the water
where the moonlight reflected, the memory of what she'd so recently
done to him inundated his body and deluged his brain cells.

He was a drowning man, sinking under her
spell more and more every day. He needed to get a grip. He'd never
intended to get this close to her, and for damn sure never intended
to care this deeply for her. The things he felt for her . . . he'd
never felt anything like this before in his life.
Ever.

And the guilt of that remained, but there
were times he thought it might be worth it. Times like tonight.
She'd given of herself so awesomely, so beautifully, so very
fucking exquisitely. He felt as if he was on a precipice, and he
didn't want to fall off. There was no doubt he was conflicted,
angry at himself for letting this happen, angry for not having the
right stuff to fight against it.

He should fight against it, he knew he
should. But he couldn't. Not yet. She was too sweet, too soft, too
soothing to think about letting her go, regardless of the guilt he
felt. But there was no way, absolutely no way, he'd allow himself
to become even closer to her. Even now, he needed to find a way to
put distance between them.

Surely to God, he'd tire of her soon, if only
somewhat. And that's when he'd make the move and let her go,
because there was no way in hell he could do it now. No, he wasn't
getting tired of her yet, not even a bit. Making the break would be
easier later, when he wasn't feeling this crazy obsession about
her. When these possessive, territorial feelings had slacked off
some, surely to God it would be easier to let her go and get his
life back on track.

His lonely, guilt-ridden life.

Sunday evening came too soon, and Jessica
knew she couldn't put off what she had to tell him any longer.
Steeling her nerves, she went to stand in the doorway of his study,
where he was busy on the computer.

He was wearing reading glasses, and she'd
never known he needed them. Instead of making him more
approachable, they made him seem more austere, and her muscles
tensed as he looked up when he heard her approach.

Leaning against the doorframe, she ran her
eyes over the room, noting the bookshelves and the state of the art
computer equipment. When the air got thick around them, she finally
let out the breath in her lungs. "I need to go home."

"Home?"

"Back to the apartment," she qualified.

His eyes narrowed and his frown that seemed
to be almost permanent, intensified. "Why?"

"I got a job. I start tomorrow."

His mouth flattened even more and his stare
became piercing. "A job." The words were monotone.

"Yeah. Full-time for the rest of the summer,
and then part-time when school starts."

Very carefully, with exact movements, he laid
his pen down on the desk and asked succinctly, "Where?"

She named the large supermarket near the
university.

"Why did you do that?"

"Why did I get a job?"

"Yes."

"Because I need the money." Her nerves were
shot and she had to concentrate on her words to keep her voice
even.

"I don't think you need the money,
Jessica."

"Yes, I do."

"I don't give you enough?"

"I don't want you to give me any."

"You want out of our relationship?"

This was deteriorating rapidly. "I didn't say
that."

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing. I just need to get back to
Richardson so I can go to work tomorrow."

He began to strum his fingers on the desk in
a repetitive motion. "It's never been part of our deal for you to
have a job."

"I didn't realize it was part of our deal
that I couldn't." Oh, but that wasn't quite right, was it? She
knew
he'd take exception to her working. That was one of the
reasons she'd been dreading telling him.

"You expect me to be okay with this?"

"You work . . . I don't see why I can't."

"How are you planning on getting there and
back without a vehicle? The apartment isn't within walking
distance."

Geez.
His tone and his questions made
her feel like she was in front of the school principal. But then,
she knew he would react this way. "I'm going to take the
bus."



"Does it stop at the complex?"

A new set of butterflies took off in her
stomach when she knew she was going to have to give him an answer
he wasn't going to like. "About half a mile away."

His features hardened. "And what are your
hours?"

"They're usually going to be nine in the
morning until six, with an hour break for lunch."

"Usually?"

Shit. Here came the part where he'd throw a
conniption because her time with him would be interrupted . . . and
because of the fact that she'd have to walk in the dark. "Monday
and Wednesdays I'll work noon 'til nine." She told him that
quickly, to get it over with.

"No." The single syllable came quickly, and
it was inflexible.

"Connor--" Her thoughts fled as he pushed to
his feet and walked around his desk. He came to stand in front of
her, and lifted his hands and pushed them in her hair, either side
of her face and raised her eyes to his.

"No," he reiterated more softly, his thumbs
stroking her cheekbones.

Jessica took a deep breath and focused on the
part of the equation that somehow, she knew, wouldn't matter as
much to him. "I'll be home by nine-forty-five, tops. And the other
nights I'll be home way before you get there, I promise."

His hips pressed into hers, a subtle threat,
while his hands and voice stayed gentle but firm, as if he were
explaining a simple concept that she just couldn't grasp. "That's
not the problem, Jessica. The problem I'm having with this is your
lack of transportation. As much as I don't want you walking to and
from the bus stop, I realize that it's a relatively safe area and
during the daylight, I'm sure you'll be fine. But there's
no
fucking way in hell
you're walking after dark."

She ignored his dictate, and focused on the
reason for it. "I've thought about that, and I'm going to get some
mace."

"Some mace." He repeated her idea and then
rolled his eyes and shook his head as if she had no sense at all.
"That's not good enough." His words stopped as if he was deep in
thought and then he continued more abruptly, "No, you need to call
them in the morning and tell them you won't be able to take the
job--"

Angrily, she pushed against him and
interrupted him with her ace in the hole. "So you want me to have
to do this again after our time together is over?" She motioned
with her hand between their bodies, indicating the relationship
they were in.

His teeth gritted and he snarled like an
animal,
"No."

"If I save a lot of money now, I won't ever
have to do it again."

His snarl became a low, wounded growl and
Jessica knew that he realized he was going to have to let her win.
"You get off at nine tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I'll be waiting for you in the parking lot.
You can either accept that I'll pick you up on your late nights, or
we can have a blow-up, drag-down fight about it, but I guarantee
that it'll be pointless because I'll win. That's the only way this
is happening."

Jessica inhaled sharply and tried to settle
her nerves. "You do realize that you're not the boss of me,
right?"