By Private Invitation (25 page)

The song ended but he seemed in no hurry to release her. In fact, she knew his desire
was rising along with hers. She felt his erection lengthen and harden against her
lower belly, and his chest rose and fell in an ever-increasing rhythm.

But he didn’t move his hands, didn’t let them wander. And that merely built the anticipation
until her skin ached for his touch.

As they swayed, she pressed closer and closer until she swore she could feel the heat
of his stiff cock through their clothes.

“Belle?”

God, she loved the way he said her name. Her nerve endings tingled and her pussy pulsed
with need. “Yes?”

He deliberately ignored the question in her voice and instead tugged on her hair until
she tilted her head back. Then he kissed her with the most devastating desire she’d
ever experienced.

His lips moved over hers, eliciting a swift response she couldn’t control. And didn’t
want to.

Her body buzzed with desire from her curled toes to her tight nipples. Her mind went
blank and only sensation processed. The heat pouring off his body, the tension building
between her legs, the pressure on her lungs that made it hard to breathe.

He kissed her with a dominating force that made every cell in
her body melt in surrender and she opened to him. Her lips parted for his tongue to
slide in and tangle with hers.

Her hands clutched at his shoulders, fingers sinking into sleek muscles, wishing he
was naked so she could get her hands on his warm skin. His hands moved to her waist,
where they slid under her T-shirt to stroke along her sensitized flesh.

He splayed his hands on her back, each finger a hot brand. Arching into him, she rubbed
her aching breasts against his chest, silently begging him to ease her. Or make her
burn hotter.

He chose the latter, his hands sliding up to cup her breasts for a brief second before
sliding back down. She moaned in protest but he’d already begun to lift her shirt
over her head.

Pulling back, he tugged the T-shirt up, having her lift her arms over her head so
he could pull it off. His gaze dropped to the pink lace bra Kate had designed and
his lips curved in a smile.

“Very nice, sweetheart. You’re going to be leaving that on.”

His husky voice made her sex pulse, and a flood of juices seeped into her already-wet
panties.

“I’m going to lay you out on the counter and have you for dessert. I’m going to make
you scream my name and then I’m going to make you beg.”

Annabelle couldn’t breathe. The air in the room had been replaced with a drugging
haze that she couldn’t seem to draw into her lungs. She barely noticed when his hands
moved to her jeans and pushed them over her hips.

As she watched, he went to his knees in front of her, dragging her jeans down her
legs, lifting her feet to get rid of her sneakers, and tossing her jeans to the side.

Panting, she swore she felt his breath against the sheer lace panel of her pink thong.
Her knees nearly buckled when he placed a kiss on her stomach directly below her belly
button.

Her hands slid into his hair, grasping the strands so tightly he couldn’t get away.
Not that he seemed in any hurry to do so.

His mouth and teeth blazed a path from one hip to the other, nipping and sucking and
kissing. His hands reached around to caress her buttocks before filling his palms
with them and pressing her closer.

As he spread her thighs wider, she was truly afraid her legs wouldn’t hold her upright
any longer. Reaching behind, she braced herself on the breakfast bar just as he pressed
his mouth over her clit, causing her body to arch.

He tongued her through the lace, the slightly rough texture of the material making
her clit throb with each swipe of his tongue. Teased her until her body felt like
one tight ball of sensation, nerves popping and flaring, muscles clenching, her brain
about to overload.

And when he nipped her, a short, sharp orgasm lit through her with the intensity of
a flash fire.

Her mouth parted to gasp in air as she sagged, only to have Jared stand and lift her
onto the counter.

“Lay back, Belle.” His voice had dropped to almost a growl. “Lay back and hold on,
honey.”

Without conscious thought, she did as he asked, her eyes closing as her head came
to rest on the counter.

The surface felt cool against her naked flesh, but she only had a second to notice
before Jared grabbed the strings of her thong and drew it off. He wasn’t gentle about
it, and the wet material didn’t want to separate from her flesh. So the flash of almost
painful sensation that flashed through her nearly made her come again.

Overstimulated and starting to ache, her back arched and she spread her thighs until
she knew her sex was completely exposed.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Jared’s voice came from somewhere above her. “You are so beautiful.”

Practically panting with desire, she cried out when one hand molded to her breast,
pinching the hard tip between his fingers and sending lightning flashes straight to
her womb. It tightened in response as did her pussy, and she opened her eyes to find
Jared.

The glow of the light over the sink gave off just enough illumination for her to see
the hard planes of desire on his face. His mouth had drawn into a straight line that
made her sex pulse with the promise of satisfaction.

But not before she danced to his every command.

His other hand began a slow, forceful caress from her knee to her hip and down again.
He repeated the motion until his hands worked in a rhythm that made her body respond.
He stroked and she lifted into his hand, her flesh molding to his.

Switching hands, he paid attention to her neglected breast and leg until she thought
she might sink into a blissful stupor.

Just as she felt her body tighten for what she hoped would be a climax, he released
her.

Her eyes flew open and she tried to speak, to beg, but before she could, he put his
hands under her ass and lifted her sex to his mouth.

He flicked his tongue over her clit before plunging it between her plump lips and
into her sensitive sheath. After a few seconds, he retreated to nip her clit with
his teeth, testing her limits with sharp bites and gentle squeezes.

Her body moved as if she had no control over it, completely under his domain.

And he played her like a grand master.

By the time he lifted his head and opened his jeans, she would have thought it couldn’t
get better.

But it did.

When the broad head of his cock pierced her, she felt an entirely new set of emotions
and sensations shift through her.

She’d moved from pleasure to complete abandonment. She wanted him to fuck her, begged
him to fuck her, hard and fast, as he worked his cock into her in controlled thrusts.

Her hands reached for his wrists to hold herself steady as he rocked against her,
vaguely noticing how his thrusts began to lose their smoothness.

He was losing his control with every thrust, every retreat.

She loved it. She tilted her pelvis and took him even deeper on his next plunge. He
groaned as he thrust and held for several seconds before she rotated her hips and
caused a shower of sparks to ignite low in her body.

Her sheath tightened around him just before her orgasm detonated.

She cried out, her body caught in the throes of her climax, and she vaguely registered
the fact that he was pumping his release into her body seconds later.

Minutes later, when she’d regained enough energy to move, she opened her eyes and
looked straight into Jared’s. Dark with some emotion she couldn’t fathom, his eyes
stayed glued to hers as he pulled away from her body. Then he reached for her hands
to pull her up into a seated position, lifted her into his arms, and carried her to
the bathroom.

“Can you stand?”

She lifted her eyebrows. “Think that highly of yourself, do you?”

There, that made him smile. “I only ask because you look…a little tired.” He set her
feet on the ground but kept an arm around her shoulders as he nuzzled a kiss into
her neck. “Shower?”

Part of her wanted to just curl up in bed with him and pass out. But the other didn’t
want the night to end, knowing he wouldn’t be there when she woke. And that— No, she
didn’t want to think about that now.

“Only if you promise to wash my back.”

“Baby, that’s not all I’ll wash.”

In the bathroom, Jared turned on the water and waited for it to get to the desired
temperature before he stripped off her bra and waved her in. Then he shed his clothes
before following.

As the water fell around them, she let him wash her from head to toe, falling more
and more under his spell with every stroke of his hands.

He poured her body wash into his hands, then slicked it all over her body, paying
careful attention to her breasts and between her legs.

She felt arousal flare low in her belly and stepped closer to wrap her arms around
his shoulders.

“Will you stay tonight?” She barely whispered the words in his ear but his hands faltered
for a second.

“Absolutely.”

Jared couldn’t get his brain to shut off.

Annabelle had fallen asleep right away, which made him want to beat his chest like
a caveman. He’d fucked her so good, she’d passed out.

And yeah, he knew that sounded crude but damn…

So why was he still awake when normally he’d be passed out too?

Because he loved lying here, holding her. That was part of it. The other part was
the phone call he’d made earlier today. He
hadn’t told Dane the whole truth about why he wanted him to come up here, and Dane
had inferred that his visit would involve sex.

Yes, that was part of the reason. And no, he couldn’t completely explain his rationale
for inviting another man into her bed. Except for the fact that she’d enjoyed the
hell out of their play at the Salon and he wanted to give her more of that pleasure.

Hell, he wanted to give her a lot more than simply pleasure. Which made the second
part of why he wanted to talk to Dane tricky.

But he had to know.

The bell over the door rang only minutes after she’d unlocked the shop.

Annabelle still wore the smile she’d had since waking up with Jared’s bigger, harder
body curled around her. He’d tried to convince her to stay in bed with him and had
almost succeeded.

But she did have a business to run.

Jared had kissed her one last time and ran his hand over her ass in a hot caress before
he got up, pulled on his pants, and called his brother. She’d left to give him some
privacy, since they seemed to be talking hotel business.

She didn’t recognize the man who walked through the door but there was something about
him that seemed familiar.

First, she noticed how absolutely gorgeous he was. Straight, dark hair hung around
a face full of sharp planes, cheekbones to die for, a straight slash of a nose. Only
his full mouth…

She knew that mouth.

She felt a frown crinkle her brow. Why would she know him?

Her gaze shot back to his pale green eyes. She drew in a quick breath, her pulse kicking
into a staccato pace as goose bumps covered her entire body.

Oh,
shit
.

She took a deep breath, trying not to let her recognition show.

What the hell was he doing here? Maybe he didn’t remember her.

Oh, God, please let him not remember me.

She forced a friendly smile, hoping he couldn’t see the sheer panic rushing through
her like adrenaline. “Can I help you?”

He didn’t answer immediately, just let his own smile build.

“Nice shop,” he finally said.

Her smile wanted to slip but she shored it up. “Thank you. Can I help you with something?”

Was that smile of his supposed to mean something, or was she reading too much into
a simple expression?

“I was told you have a decent collection of erotic art.”

She swallowed hard and forced her mouth to hold its pleasant curve. “Are you looking
for something in particular?”