To Russia With Love (Countermeasure Series) (22 page)

“That’s bullshit. Terese saw your interest in me and mine in you. Women have a sixth sense—a radar in our brain that clues us in on these things. She considers you to be hers. You may think you were only friends, but she definitely wanted more. She wanted to embarrass me in front of you. Obviously, by your reaction, it worked. It was a well-executed maneuver, I might add.”

“If that was the case, then she was truly misguided. I never led her to believe there was anything more between us. That’s beside the point. How old are you? Twenty-six? Seven? I am old enough to be your father.”

“You’re wrong. You’re just right for me.” Jessica’s mind spun out of control and she needed a moment to gather her thoughts. Being so close to him wasn’t helping matters. She looked around and asked, “Where’s the ladies’ room?”

Stephan paused as if trying to decide whether or not to let her go. He then took a deep breath and pointed. “That hall to the left.”

She placed her napkin on the table, avoiding his gaze. She wasn’t sure her eyes wouldn’t give her inner emotions away. Stephan rose and helped her out of her chair. “I’ll be right back.”

Jessica felt the weight of Stephan’s stare on her back as she walked away. It was a heated and longing caress that made her skin tingle. In the empty restroom, she leaned her hands on the sink and stared in the mirror. Her heart banged so hard against her chest that she thought she’d need a defibrillator soon.

Jessica absorbed the implications of Stephan’s words. Here was what she wanted—him. But she wanted so much more. As far as she was concerned, he was her endgame. And now her goal was partially within her reach. Should she accept his offer? Would it be enough for her?

I can’t breathe!
Jessica ducked her head and splashed cool water on her cheeks. She patted her face dry and looked in the mirror, seeing her decision reflected in it. Tossing the towel, she took a deep breath and headed out to join him again.

Stephan rose to his feet and pulled her chair out for her once more. Seated, she composed her features and looked him in the eye.

“I agree to your terms. For as long as you’ll have me,” Jessica added.

Stephan closed his eyes and smiled softly, savoring the sound of her words.
If only they were true.
He knew from experience that eventually she would grow restless, want much more than he could give her, and then she, herself, would walk away from him. But he had made peace with that. The last few days had forced him to rethink his old convictions. He would no longer deny himself what little he could have.

He wanted her. He had lusted over her for months and, since her arrival, it had become painfully obvious to him that she had snared him good and proper. For the sake of his sanity, he had to set a limit in his mind. Maybe exposing himself to massive doses of her would help him build some resistance, sate the thirst that threatened to consume him.

But lusting and loving were two different things. “I need to be sure you understand that when I say it’s over, it’s over.”

A glimmer of hurt filled her eyes but she covered it up with a smile. It took all of his strength not to call it off there and then.

“I understand.” She paused briefly and added, “And accept your terms. But you have to remember it
is
a two way street and accept it if
I
decide to end our agreement.”

Stephan squeezed his eyes shut as relief and pain stabbed him simultaneously. Pain at knowing that at some point she
would
want to end it. He opened them and his gaze collided with hers. There he found the same desire, the same need that had been pooling inside him since the day he first laid eyes on her.

He stood abruptly and offered her his hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

Jessica stood with him and placed her hand in his, reveling in the feel of his skin against hers as they walked out of the pub. She followed him, blind to her surroundings, her pulse loud in her ears, her heart jumping for joy in her chest.

She almost had to run to keep up with his long strides, but the smile never left her face. She was heaving by the time they reached his car from the surge of anticipation that flooded her with every step. Her stomach was in knots as he opened the door of the elegant sedan and helped her in before taking his place behind the wheel.

Stephan appeared as calm and confident as ever. The only thing betraying his emotions was the slight tremble of his hands and the sight of his clenched jaw as he turned the engine. Jessica kept her eyes glued on his profile, allowing her gaze to trace the straight line of his nose, his chiseled chin, and strong arms hidden under his well-cut suit. She had touched the skin under the rich fabric before and her fingers itched to do so again.

The drive was short and charged with an expectant energy that flowed between them. She grinned when Stephan pulled up in front of an elegant Victorian house similar to Trevor and Cassandra’s. She should have known he would live in a house and not a glass-and-steel box.

Stephan rounded the car to help her out, and the gesture brought back the images from the other time he had done the same, back in California. The gentle touch of his hand on her lower back was laden with promise. Her breathing accelerated at the recall of his palms cupping her breasts and the reverent look on his face. Jessica wanted him to look at her like that again. She wanted his hands and mouth all over her body. She couldn’t wait to do the same with his.

Stephan turned the soft lighting on before he closed the door behind them. Jessica absorbed her surroundings. That house was so like him—conservative but comfortable. Sturdy wood furniture and warm colors painted an interesting picture, one she hoped to explore more closely as they spent time together. She hoped to uncover clues as to what made him put restrictions on their relationship.

It was the tone of his voice that gave her hope. The hesitant tone in which he had delivered his restrictions left her doubting whether he really meant them. It was almost as if he was trying to set the limits in his own mind, set the limits for himself. Drawing a line in the sand regarding how far he would take it before he pulled away.

Despite respecting his wishes and understanding that a relationship could only be carried forward if both parties put in the same emotional investment, his limits only served to intrigue and entice her more. A challenge. Jessica would show him how wrong he was, drive him to the brink, make him break his own rules, and compel him to dismiss the boundaries he, himself, had established.

Her stomach churned as he closed the distance between them. She felt the heat of his body as he stood behind her. His breathing deepened and each expelled breath feathered hot across her shoulder, bringing shivers to her skin. She swayed back against him and he groaned at the first contact. Leaning down, he traced the column of her neck with his lips and nipped her earlobe.

A shrill of desire coursed through her. “Stephan….” She turned to look up into his face, and the heat she found in his eyes fanned the flames burning in hers.

“I want to savor this, Jessica. Slow this time. No rush.”

His words wrapped around her chest and squeezed tight. Each poignant syllable pulled at her insides and sent a twinge through her entire body. She held his gaze and nodded. “Me too.”

His hand slid down her arm and clasped hers. He guided her up the stairs, turning the lights on as they walked into a large bedroom suite. The warm, masculine, solid furniture was also present there. A massive king-size bed dominated the sparsely decorated room. He drew her to the edge of the bed and, cupping her face, pressed his lips to hers.

Heaven
. His mouth on hers felt like heaven. The initially chaste kiss gradually intensified into a heated dance of swooping tongues and nipping teeth, ragged breathing the only sound heard in the room as they tried to control the wild fire burning between them.

For the second time, her fingers struggled with his buttons, but this time there was no frenzy. She savored the moment as he had said, taking it slow. Once she opened his shirt and cuffs, she smoothed her hands under his shirt over the skin of his stomach and chest, pushing the fabric off his shoulders until it slipped past his arms to the floor. Her eyes travelled over his bare chest, following the trail of soft hair down his abdomen to the waist of his slacks. Heat flooded her cheeks at the sight of the bulge straining against his pants.

Stephan tipped her chin up and locked eyes with her for an interminable
moment. She leaned forward and, maintaining eye contact, pressed her lips to his chest seductively.

“Don’t do this,” Stephan whispered harshly.

“Don’t do what?”

“Eat me alive with your eyes.”

She chuckled softly. “Is that what I’m doing? Eating you with my eyes?”

“That’s what it feels like. I can almost feel you touching me.”

“Welcome to the club. I have always felt the touch of your eyes on me.”

“I want you to feel much more than my eyes on you,” he rasped as he began unbuttoning her blouse. Soon, it joined his shirt on the floor. His eyes trailed the outline of her lacy bra with fiery intensity before he commanded in a hoarse tone, “Take it off.”

Without hesitation, she unclasped the front of her bra. When the silky lace parted, baring her breasts, he reached out with unsteady hands and slid the bra straps from her shoulders and down her arms. Stephan indulged in the lovely sight before him. Her skin creamy, her nipples erect and puckered from the sensual tension coursing between them. That alone almost brought him to his knees, and sent a surge of blood straight to his aching cock.

His gaze caressed her exposed skin, tracing the curve of her breasts and the valley between them. “Beautiful. Just as I remember. Just as I’ve dreamed of.” He reached and pulled her closer. “This time I want more.”

They bared themselves to each other, each removed layer was one step closer to the complete intimacy they sought, and once all clothing had been discarded, he drew her into his arms. He held her snug against him and groaned at the contact of skin against skin, her beautiful breasts against his chest, pebbled nipples scraping his skin, driving him mad.

Jessica absorbed all that was Stephan. Her eyes soaked in the defined abs, the taut skin. The dusting of hair she had followed to his waistband before now travelled south and surrounded his erect cock. The knowledge she was the reason for his quite impressive arousal set off an intense warmth low in her stomach.

His hands slid to her ass, cupping it and lifting her higher. “Wrap your legs around my waist.” She complied and a moan burst from her lips when he leaned down and took a turgid nipple between his teeth, gently rolling it with his tongue before sucking it deep into his mouth.

Another gasp escaped her and she gripped the back of his neck, holding him to her as he sucked on it in long, lingering pulls. One of his hands splayed at her back, pressing her closer so he could take his fill. He kissed a trail across to the other and gave it the same attention, swirling his tongue around her areola and circling her nipple with his teeth.

Stephan’s hands reverently cupped her breasts, pressing them closer together, and with a moan, his tongue and teeth alternated between each—grazing, teasing, and pulling on the sweet hard puckered buds with little nips. A deep moan escaped Jessica’s lips. Her body pulsed in little jerks with each little tug of his teeth. A wet heat bloomed between her legs and her inner walls contracted at the worshipful look he gave her.

Lowering her onto the bed, he raised himself on all fours, hovering over her, watching her with hooded eyes. “You are beautiful.”

The desire in his eyes fanned the fire burning low inside her. She needed him filling her, thrusting inside her. The urgency that had plagued her months before returned in full. They would have time for foreplay once they had quenched that thirst parching her throat and lips. “Take me.”

Stephan groaned and swept down, taking her mouth in a hungry kiss. He slid his hand firmly over her ribcage and hips and further down between her welcoming thighs, moaning into her mouth at what he found there. “So wet for me.”

“For you. Only you,” she breathed in a husky whisper.

Perspiration beaded on his skin with the effort to contain himself from taking everything he wanted from her. His cock twitched, begging to dive into her heat. In a moment of clarity, Stephan pulled back from the kiss and reached into the box on the nightstand. He kneeled between her creamy thighs and tore at the foil packet. His hands shook as if he was a teenager on his first encounter.

Jessica covered and stilled his hands with hers. With a soft smile she took the packet from him. “Here. Let me.”

Stephan’s heart jumped in his chest and his muscles tightened when she unwrapped the condom with steadier hands and positioned the thin sheath over the crown of his cock. Circling her fingers around his girth, Jessica unrolled it down along its length. When he was fully encased to the root, she lay back and extended her arms to him in invitation, one he couldn’t refuse.

He shifted his weight and settled between her legs again, locking eyes with her. She responded to his unspoken question with a confident gaze and he surrendered to her siren call. In a smooth, slow move, he plunged deep inside her, to the hilt. Their breaths hitched and a soft gasp spilled from Jessica’s parted lips as their bodies melded together.

Stephan held still and rested his forehead against hers as her arms snaked around his back. She shifted her hips and Stephan pushed forward with a moan, pressing his weight against her, pinning her down, speaking through clenched teeth. “Don’t move. Give me a second. I want this to last and I am too close to the edge.”

Jessica had waited too long to finally have a taste, a true taste, of him. Her body ignited at his words, sending a burning heat straight to her clit, tugging at her inner muscles, which pulsed along his length.

Stephan moaned and surged deeper. “Jessica!” he groaned as she met his thrust, arching her body into his. She was gorgeous: the sheen of sweat glistening in the dim glow of the lights, the blush of color flowing from her neck to her cheeks, the tight rosy buds of her nipples taunting him to taste more of her.