Time to Pretend (17 page)

Alaina wasn’t sure she liked the stranger in the mirror. Her hair ties were gone. She had no idea what Daniel had done with them. She did her best to tame it into a loose braid, splashed water on her face, and pulled on her skirt.

She emerged from the bathroom to find the living area transformed. Daniel did have a bed, and they had been sitting on it.

The sofa-sleeper was made up with a sheet and a thin blanket.

Daniel had opened some of the windows along the front to let in the warm August breeze. The sounds of cars and the light tinkling of distant music drifted inside.

130

Michele Zurlo

He had stripped down to boxers that didn’t hide much. The shorts hugged the succulent, rounded cheeks of his muscular ass. He pulled pillows from a closet she hadn’t noticed earlier. When he saw her, he threw them on the bed and snagged a T-shirt from the back of the sofa.

He held it out to her. “I thought you would be more comfortable sleeping in this.”

Alaina looked at the shirt, but she didn’t take it. He was being polite, that was all. “I was going to go home. I have to work tomorrow.”

“All the more reason for you to stay.” She crossed the room, targeting her purse and keys while tamping down a rising guilt. Would he still want her when he found out what she had done with Evan? For that matter, did she want to be finished with Evan? The idea of choosing between them lodged a large, salty stone in her chest. “Thanks, Daniel, but I really do need to get home.”

“Lainie.” He had followed her to the kitchenette. His breath heated her neck when he said her name, and his hands heated her hips where they rested.

She turned to face him, using a regretful smile to soften her refusal. “It’s not a line. I really have to work tomorrow. Why don’t you text me and let me know when you have a free night? We could do this again.”

Cold metal encircled her right wrist as a handcuff clicked into place.

Alaina stared down at it, amused to find he had handcuffed himself to her.

“You’re tired,” he said. “And I’m not finished with you. Sleep here, with me, in my bed. You won’t regret it in the morning.” She smiled. She didn’t regret any of the time she had spent with him, not even the disaster of a date they had six weeks earlier. The serious look in his eyes sobered her. “All right, Daniel. I’ll stay, but take off the handcuffs.”

Time to Pretend

131

A cocky smile lit his face. He framed her cheeks with his hands and kissed her with extreme tenderness, his lips and tongue stoking the slow-burning fire he seemed to find every time he touched her.

Because she was still linked to him, her hand moved with his. She gripped his wrist and returned the kiss.

When the kiss ended, he lifted his wrist and studied the handcuff.

He frowned. “I need a key.”

Alaina waited for him to do something. When he didn’t move, she gestured to the handcuffs. “Where is the key?” Leaning over the counter, he lifted his key ring, examined it, and then he dropped it back on the counter. He slipped his hand around hers, holding it as he led her to another closet she failed to notice.

This one had a stacked washer-dryer unit and a laundry basket. Daniel snagged a pair of jeans at the top and searched the pocket.

Turning to Alaina, he bit his lip. She stifled the urge to take over.

“I don’t have the key.”

Who handcuffed themselves to another person when they didn’t have the key? She had no idea how to respond.

“I’ll call Sophia,” he said, reaching for his phone. He tore his eyes from her reproving look to punch buttons on the keypad.

Thankfully, Sophia answered. Daniel’s end of the conversation lacked detail, but Sophia seemed to fill it all in for herself. Alaina heard the laughter through the phone.

Finally, Daniel sighed. “I’ll call you in the morning.” Facing Alaina, he heaved another sigh. “Sophia is in bed. She and Drew both have early starts tomorrow. We can meet her at Drew’s shop in the morning.”

Fatigue had turned her body to jelly. Alaina was too tired to argue, and she was more amused than upset to find herself handcuffed to Daniel. Her tired nod had him exhaling in relief.

She slipped her hand back into his. “Let’s go to sleep.”
132

Michele Zurlo

Chapter 10

Alaina woke on top of Daniel. The bright light of dawn streamed through the windows, undiminished by clouds or curtains. She had fallen asleep next to him, and she had slept deeply. She had no memory of how she ended up sprawled across his chest. His pecs pillowed her head. The warm, male scent of Daniel’s skin kept her from waking completely. Lying this close to him soothed the nerves she should have upon waking this close to a person she had already betrayed.

Her torso lay diagonally across his, and her legs tangled in the sheet and between his legs. The handcuffs had made it impossible for her to remove her shirt, but her bra converted to strapless, so at least she hadn’t been forced to sleep with underwires poking at her ribs.

He supported her with one arm around her back. His hand rested just above her ass. She was sure if he was awake, he would have inched it lower to cup one of her cheeks. His other hand, the one connected to her, held on to her wrist.

She felt protected and cherished, an accident of position and of the necessary intimacy dictated by their circumstances.

Alaina lifted her head and studied him. He was a sound sleeper.

That much she knew from experience. Slate lashes shadowed darkly-tanned cheeks that glowed bronze in the morning light. She wondered what he looked like after a long winter bleached color from his skin.

How pale did he become every year? Judging by the skin tone below his tan line, not very.

His cheekbones were high and prominent. Dark stubble stained his chin and cheeks, giving him that sexy, grungy appearance that he
Time to Pretend

133

wore so well. The first time she met him, he hadn’t been clean-shaven. Looking at him had been the equivalent of being sucker-punched in the stomach, only by desire instead of a fist. It had been true then, and it was true now. She wanted to wake him up and have her way with him.

Of course, when they met, she had hidden her reaction, hoping only a polite veneer was detectable. What would he have done if she had gaped at him, agog over his physical attractiveness? He probably would have turned down the charm and blasted her with some frosty politeness.

As it was, he had ignored her anyway.

The cowlick over his right eye stood straight up as it always did.

Sunlight glinted from it. She had fantasized about running her fingers through his thick, dark brown hair. Throwing caution to the wind, she did it now, shifting her body over him so that she could use her free hand. It was silky and soft, and it rebounded the moment her fingers weren’t holding it down anymore.

He didn’t stir at all.

Emboldened, she peeled her body away from his, intending to explore a little more. He shifted, rolling them both to their sides and tightening the arm around her. “Don’t go yet.” He mumbled the words into the top of her head.

“I can’t go,” she said. “I’m handcuffed to you.” A sleepy smile was his only response. Even breathing told her he wasn’t awake. He had done this the other morning at her house. She had asked if he wanted the alarm set and if he wanted coffee. His responses had been vague and indistinct, yet pleasant.

Lifting a hand, she drew the back of her fingers down his cheek. It was a caress she wouldn’t have attempted if she thought he would ever know about it.

His eyes opened, focusing that chocolaty goodness directly and alertly on her. Against her thigh, she felt the hardening evidence of his morning arousal.

134

Michele Zurlo

“Good morning,” she said. “Are you actually awake, or is this practice for the real thing?”

He smiled sheepishly. “I’m awake now. Did I say something amusing in my sleep?”

Alaina laughed at the way he asked the question. He had apparently been caught in a vulnerable position before. It was another good reason for him to keep his bed hidden from women he didn’t want staying the whole night.

“I’m not sure if you were asleep or not. You were remarkably coherent.”

The arm wrapped underneath and around her body slid down so his hand could cup her ass. “I’m always coherent. It’s not so much that I talk in my sleep as much as it is I’ll answer you when I’m not quite awake. I have unclear memories of the conversation when I wake up.”

Emboldened by his continued interest in her body, she splayed her fingers over his chest and traced light designs on the warm flesh there.

“You spoke first.”

He grasped her wrist so that her movements weren’t inhibited by his weight. “Did I come on to you?”

Alaina shook her head.

“My mistake,” he said, rolling so that she was underneath him.

“Let me remedy that, Dr. Miles.”

His hard body pressed hers into the mattress while he kissed her.

All evidence of the sleepy man who asked her not to leave had vanished. The hand encircling her wrist shifted to hold her hand.

Leaning his weight on one elbow, his fleet fingers made short work of the buttons on her blouse, the only piece of clothing between the two of them.

“We can have sex now, Lainie, and you won’t have to have any ethical concerns about taking advantage of an inebriated man.” Peeling back the white shirt, he kissed a path between her breasts.

Time to Pretend

135

“For the record, I fully disagree with you.” His palm closed over one breast, kneading it.

Alaina looked up at him, unable to figure out what she had said that was disagreeable. “We had sex last night, Daniel. Don’t you remember?”

“Oral sex doesn’t count.” He replaced the hand on her breast with his mouth and sucked hard, stretching her nipple.

She cried out, the pleasure and pain mixing to flood her pussy with anticipation. Evan hadn’t once failed to be gentle in bed, and she had loved everything they had done. She wanted to label this treatment as brutish and disrespectful, but she was finding she had as much of a preference for this kind of lover as she had for a gentle one.

She writhed under him, arching to lessen the sharpness of the sensation. By the time he released her, she could only manage short, panting breaths. “Oral sex does too count as sex.” He subjected her other nipple to the same treatment. “I know. I just love giving you an excuse to use that tone with me.” She reached between them to grasp his hard cock with her free hand. “What tone?”

Daniel closed his eyes and held his breath, thrusting his hips against her grip. “The bossy one.”

She gripped him harder. He moaned, and his movements stilled.

Alaina licked her lips, a purely predatory gesture. “Are you saying you like me being bossy as long as you’re the one in a position of power?”

“I think,” he breathed, “you’re the one in a position of power.”

“Daniel.” The growled word was a warning.

He rolled them both, careful not to jar her hand too much. “Now you’re the powerful one, Lainie. Be as bossy as you want. It turns me on.”

She straddled his hips, sitting up to stare down at him. Mussed, deep brown hair spilled in tufts over the white cotton pillow. His bedroom eyes, heavy-lidded with desire, gazed up at her. His long,
136

Michele Zurlo

olive torso filled the center of the bed, contrasting with the white sheets beneath. One hand rested beneath his head. The other wasn’t allowed to get too far from her hand. It rested on her thigh. He was a fantasy man, sin and satin, fully aroused and awaiting her whim.

“I like this,” she said.

His gaze traveled from where she held his cock so close to her wetness, up her body to her breasts and the wild hair of which she was so self-conscious, and back down. His cock jumped in her hand. “So do I.”

“Where are your condoms?” She was going to ride him hard. He could take it. She wanted no interruptions.

He gestured to the table next to the couch. Convenient.

Wordlessly, she scooted to the edge. He rolled a bit to give her more freedom to move. Ripping a foil package open with her teeth, she pushed Daniel back to the bottom position.

“I don’t want you to move,” she said.

“Anything you say, Doc.” His smirk turned to a gasp as she fondled his sac.

Alaina was heady with the power she had over this strapping man.

Wetness dripped from her pussy, an ache that needed massaging. She used both hands to sheath him.

Returning to her straddle position, she smiled impishly at Daniel.

His eyes fevered with need. “You are so incredibly lovely,” he said.

She slipped the tip of his cock between her folds, moving it forward to rub against her clit. Closing her eyes, she rocked her hips in a circular pattern. Her wet nub swelled. Cream dripped from her vagina.

Daniel’s hips rose, surging closer, begging for more contact.

Lifting herself, Alaina repositioned him to slam down and seal them together. She inhaled at the sudden fullness inside. Her vaginal walls contracted, spasming in anticipation of what was to come.

She rocked, grinding hard against him. Heat spiraled from their point of contact, shooting electricity through her body. When orgasm
Time to Pretend

137

was close, she changed the rhythm, lifting up to slam down on him faster and faster. She leaned back, letting her curls spill in a wild fall down her back as she rode him.

Alaina let herself go, giving in to every sensation, every urge. The hand with the extra bracelet stroked between her legs. Two sets of fingers, one smaller and one larger, rubbed her clit as hard and fast as she fucked him. The pinches were sharp and sweet. The soaked slapping of flesh filled the room.

Her walls contracted sharply, sending her into a violent paroxysm.

Her body stiffened, unable to move, as she shouted her orgasm.