Secret Crush Seduction, page 10
“But—”
“Understood?” he repeated, his hands going to the buckle of his belt. “Or should I stop right now?”
“No, don’t stop. I understand. I do. Okay?”
His smile turning wicked, he unbuckled his belt and slowly tugged it off. When he unzipped his pants, she whimpered like an eager puppy. She couldn’t feel embarrassment. He was driving her out of her mind.
When he revealed the rest of himself, and kicked away his pants and boxer briefs, Adelaide stood mesmerized. Her dreams fell far short of reality, and the reality stole her breath.
“Do I meet your approval?” The arrogant rise of his eyebrow told her he already knew her answer.
“Oh, I don’t know.” She grinned when his knowing smirk faltered. “I have to determine whether we’re a good...fit.”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll fit perfectly,” he purred as he lifted her shirt, his fingers skimming the sensitive skin of her sides. The hair on her arms rose to attention, and a shiver trilled down her spine as she raised her arms over her head.
He released the clasp of her bra with unsteady fingers. His calm arrogance was falling apart as he uncovered more of her body. The sense of power released her from her momentary timidity.
“Well, then. Prove it,” she said, gently pushing aside his fumbling hands from the button of her pants.
She quickly undid the button and zipper herself, and wiggled out of her pants. Her bravado failed her when it came to her panties. So she stood tall in front of him wearing a scrap of lace.
“My God, Adelaide.” He reached out and touched her shoulders, then moved them down her arms. He got down on his knees and peeled her panties off, and said almost reverently, “You’re so perfect.”
Before her shyness surfaced again, she stepped closer to him and turned the shower on. Michael slowly came to his feet, his hands traveling up her torso, then cupping her heavy, sensitive breasts. She gasped at the lovely sensation of his touch, both rough and gentle.
When the shower filled with steam, he wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her into the stall. She moved under the water stream to give him room to join her. He stepped into the shower, and his tall, broad body filled the roomy space, turning it into their own cozy cocoon.
“Your turn to get wet.” Licking her lips with anticipation, she grasped his shoulders and spun them in a circle so he stood under the water. Drops of water trailed down his toned torso and below. Gulp. He looked intimidatingly handsome.
He blocked the direct stream of the shower with his wide back and pulled her into his arms. She pressed against him with a happy sigh and tilted her face up for a kiss. Michael cupped her cheek and rained down featherlight kisses on her face, taking his sweet time before reaching her mouth.
He pressed a lingering kiss on one corner of her lips, then another. She was too frustrated to wait for him to kiss her properly. When he brushed his lips fully against hers, she dug her fingers into his soaking hair and pulled his face down. She sucked his bottom lip into her mouth, but when he didn’t open his mouth right away, she bit down, not so gently. He jerked a little and hissed, but didn’t move away.
She took advantage of his slackened mouth and drove her tongue inside. A shudder ran through him, and the hand cupping her face moved to her hair and fisted in it. He tilted her face as he plunged his tongue into her mouth, devouring her like a man starved. As his reward for complying with her wishes, Adelaide sucked his bottom lip into her mouth again and laved the spot she had bitten with her tongue, soothing away any lingering pain.
“God,” he groaned, his chest rumbling beneath her roaming hands. “I want you so much.”
“Then take me, Michael.”
His head dipped to kiss her along her jaw, to her collarbone and down to the curves of her breasts. He dropped soft, openmouthed kisses on the sides, getting tantalizingly close to her hard peaks. She arched her back and pushed herself to him when his mouth finally closed over one. She whimpered as her hips moved against his thighs, seeking desperately for friction.
“Ride me.” He nudged her legs open with his knee and nestled his thigh between her legs.
And she did. Michael kissed her with raw, feral hunger, and his hands moved possessively over her body as though he needed to touch her everywhere at once. She was so close. He dropped to his knees and spread her legs farther apart.
“Not like this...” She was so close, she couldn’t even protest properly. She didn’t want to come like this. By herself. She wanted him to come with her, buried inside her. “I...ah...”
He licked her sensitive center like she was an ice-cream cone, laving away at her and scraping his teeth ever so lightly over her. She was moaning and thrashing her head against the shower wall. Hell. It was sweet, sweet torture, pleasure intermingling with a need that felt almost painful. Then he sucked her fully into his mouth.
“Michael!” she cried out. Her orgasm slammed into her so hard that her knees buckled. She would’ve slid down to the ground if it wasn’t for Michael holding her up by her hips.
When he stood back up and took in her flushed face, he grinned broadly. “I told you you’d scream my name.”
“Uh-huh.” That was all she could manage because she was busy gasping for air.
He raised his eyebrow and twisted around to shut off the water. He stepped out of the shower first and quickly dried off. Then he reached for her and gently dried her hair before wrapping her in a towel and lifting her into his arms.
A very naked, very aroused Michael eased her onto the bed, then had the gall to walk away from her.
“Hey,” she said, pushing herself onto her elbows. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Condom,” he replied from the bathroom.
Good. Adelaide discarded her towel and got up on her knees, propping her fists on her waist. She was about to rock his world. When he caught a glimpse of her naked superhero pose, his mouth dropped open and his eyes glazed over.
Taking advantage of his momentary awe, she slid her palms up from her naval to cup her breasts. “Are you ready for me?”
“God, Adelaide.”
He quickly closed the distance between them, then crushed her against him as he kissed her with bruising intensity, matching the pulsing desire inside her. With swiftness that made her catch her breath, he laid her on her back and covered her body with his.
This.
The pressure of his naked body against hers nearly sent her over the edge. She hungrily scraped her fingers over his muscular back and moved lower to grab his rounded buttocks. When he made a sound like an animal’s growl, she wanted to laugh with delight, power and freedom. Then he took the tip of her aching breast into his mouth and any urge to laugh evaporated.
“Michael,” she moaned in a voice she hardly recognized as her own. This was Michael. Her Michael. And he was making love to her like there was nothing on this planet that he wanted more than her.
His teeth scraped her hard nipple and her back arched off the bed. He pushed her down with his hips and continued his unbearably hot ministrations. She was panting and writhing beneath him, silently begging him for release.
When he didn’t relent, she begged in earnest. “Please. Now.”
With a grunt, he delved his fingers into her swollen, wet folds and cursed under his breath. “God, you’re soaking wet. You’re ready for me.”
“Yes. Yes, please.”
His hot, heavy body shifted off her, and he ripped the package with his teeth. He held himself in one hand and rolled the condom on. It was one of the sexiest sights she’d ever seen. Then he was back on her, the fire in his eyes making her shiver with anticipation. He spread her legs with his knee and positioned himself at her entry.
“Are you sure?” He brushed off her hair from her forehead. “Are you absolutely sure you want me?”
“So much it hurts.” Her voice cracked, and she let the vulnerability of her admission shine freely in her eyes. “Now take me already.”
He pushed into her and they moaned in unison, and inch by inch he rocked himself deeper until he was buried to the hilt inside her.
“Adelaide. Adelaide.”
Breathing her name like a chant, Michael drove them to a tempo that made her wild. She met him push for push, planting her feet on the bed to take him deeper. Then an aching tightness began gathering between her thighs. Seeing that she was close, he tilted her hips up and pumped into her harder and faster. And the waves built higher and higher until her vision went white with an orgasm so deep and strong that tears filled her eyes.
“Michael.”
She held tight to him, letting herself get lost in the sensations. Before she fully came down from her orgasm, Michael rode her with fast, erratic movements until he yelled out her name and reached his own release.
He hovered over her, supporting the bulk of his weight on the arms pressed next to her head. But he was trembling, and he slowly eased himself out of her and collapsed to his side, dragging her over with him.
Michael gazed at her with such tenderness that a lump formed in her throat. Tightening his hold on her, he feathered kisses on her head, nose, temple and cheeks, and Adelaide felt absolutely cherished.
“Can we do it again?” she asked.
He chuckled and his chest rumbled wonderfully under her hand. “I’m not a twenty-year-old. Give me a couple hours.”
“Wow. You can go again in a couple hours? Okay. I’m game.”
“Are you, baby? You make me crazy. Do you know that?”
“I do?”
“Yes. I want you so much I can’t see straight.”
“Well, we can’t have that. I prescribe another round of hot, sweaty sex in two hours.” She yawned into her hand. “That’ll give us plenty of time to nap.”
“Go to sleep, and I’ll wake you up in a couple hours.” His sexy grin made her stomach flutter with reawakening lust. Still, she closed her eyes. She’d just had the best sex of her life, but she had work to do. After more sex with Michael.
* * *
Concerned for her exhaustion and workload, Michael had decided not to seduce her tonight. But that wasn’t what Adelaide had in mind. He had gone back to his old habit of being overprotective of her, like she was a young girl who needed his help.
That was where he was wrong. She was a strong woman who knew her own mind. Once she put her foot down and made her desires crystal clear, he didn’t have a leg to stand on. Besides, he couldn’t say no to her. The willpower to hold himself back was depleted.
He drifted off to exhausted sleep as soon as Adelaide’s breathing evened out in her slumber. He’d kept a firm hold on her to remind himself she was his—just for a little while. Still, it was a heady feeling, and even in his sleep he felt overwhelmed by the joy and excitement flowing through him.
Sometime later he woke up to a still-dark room with Adelaide’s body pressed against his, her toned, shapely leg thrown over him. He smiled, remembering his promise before he fell asleep, and began drawing slow circles on her back.
She stirred in his arms, then sighed and burrowed deeper into his chest. She was so adorable. With a low chuckle, he pressed a firm kiss on her shoulder, and her eyes fluttered open, then widened.
“Good morning,” he said lazily, even though dawn was a while away.
“Good morning,” she replied then hid a yawn behind her hand.
He was tempted to let her go back to sleep, but she needed to finish her design. The best thing he could do for her was to help her wake up. So he trailed kisses up her shoulder to the sensitive skin of her neck. She wasn’t yawning anymore.
Michael grinned and teased her with featherlight kisses all over her face except for her lips. She began squirming against him, which made him too turned-on to play, and he crushed his mouth on hers, open and hungry.
Their first time hadn’t been a fluke. Their desire erupted between them like a force of nature, and they consumed each other as though their survival depended on it. When she came apart in his arms, he followed right after her, and they came down together, panting and sweaty.
“Are you awake now?” he asked, his chest rising and falling like he’d sprinted through downtown.
“Mmm-hmm,” she hummed through her nose. She sounded satiated and drowsy.
“Oh, no, you don’t.” He slapped her shapely behind.
“Ow,” she grumbled, trying to hide her grin. She liked that, did she? He choked back his groan.
“You go take a shower. I’ll make the coffee,” he said firmly, giving her a light push toward the bathroom.
He walked into the kitchen naked, not bothering to tug on clothes over his sweat-slicked body. In a few minutes, he started back toward his room with two steaming mugs of coffee in his hands. But Adelaide strode into the kitchen before he could take more than a couple steps. She was scrubbed clean of makeup and dressed in the same clothes she’d worn the day before. He wanted her so much.
“Are you kidding me, Reynolds?” She threw her hands up. “You’re serving me coffee naked? I thought you wanted me to concentrate on my project?”
“Don’t go getting any ideas. I can’t put my clothes on until I shower.” Grinning from ear to ear, Michael gave her coffee and a fleeting kiss. “Here, drink your coffee and get to work. My office is down the hall.”
“You’re such a tease.”
Laughing hard enough to make his coffee slosh in the mug, he made his way to the bathroom. He was still smiling when he stepped out of the shower. He hadn’t felt so carefree and lighthearted in a long time. Adelaide had freed something inside him. Something he’d thought was permanently lost. Happiness. She made him happy like nothing else could.
When he peeked into his office an hour later, Adelaide was engrossed in her sketch. He hated to disturb her, but he had to leave for work.
“How’s it going, baby?” And because he couldn’t help it, he kissed her full, pink lips.
“Like it’s on fire,” she replied when he pulled back. “I’m so excited about these designs.”
“You should be. Your idea sounds phenomenal.” He deliberately took a step away from her. “I’m going to leave you to it. You could stay as long as you like.”
“What? You’re leaving?” There was a note of hurt in her voice. But he had to keep his promise to her. He had to keep their relationship a secret, because no matter how right it felt, it would come to an end.
“We can’t both be late to work, and I shouldn’t be seen dropping you off at Hansol. We have a good cover to be seen together, but we shouldn’t push our luck. Sorry I can’t give you a ride back,” he said, cupping her soft cheek. A soft cloud of melancholy settled over him at the thought of leaving her.
“Don’t be silly. I’ll call for a car.” She leaned into his hand.
“What time will you be here tonight?” He drew her closer.
“As soon as I can wrap up work?”
“I still owe you dinner.”
“That’s right.” A lovely smile curved her lips. “One kiss goodbye?”
“God, yes.”
She stood on her tiptoes and planted her lips against his. Her kiss was sweet and full of promise, and brimming with suppressed desire. He responded in kind, because neither of them would have the strength to pull away if they kissed like they wanted to.
Ten
Adelaide was running on coffee and adrenaline by the time she got the whole team together. A few of the designers had class till the late afternoon, so it was past six when she held the meeting to go over her latest sketches.
“Any thoughts? Suggestions? Constructive criticism?” she asked, her palms sweating.
Her team was humming with excitement while Adelaide gave her quick presentation, but they turned still and silent the moment she finished. It was a few nerve-racking seconds before they all burst out talking at once.
“The pants will fit different body shapes and in-between sizes perfectly and comfortably.”
“My brother would love this,” she heard Chris say in the clamor.
“This might give people on the spectrum clothing choices that’s affordable and comfortable.”
“You guys,” Adelaide interrupted, laughter rippling through her. “Hang on a moment. I appreciate your enthusiasm, but so far it’s only an idea. There are a lot of things to figure out before we can turn this idea into a reality.”
“I don’t see something as abstract as an amorphous idea floating around. I see kindling already starting to smoke,” Cindy chimed in, bouncing on her feet. “Soon we’ll have a bonfire. This is amazing!”
“And remember this isn’t the only idea we’re working with. You guys have been coming up with innovative ways to dispel the belief that looking sharp and being comfortable are mutually exclusive.” Adelaide made eye contact with each of her talented team members. “You are doing this.”
An enthusiastic burst of cheers rang out in the studio. Adelaide decided to take the opportunity to broach the subject of models. She wanted this fashion show and her future sensory-friendly clothing line to be part of society’s attempt to accept differences rather than ostracize and judge those who weren’t “normal.” Who defines “normal” anyway? A world of “normal” people lined up like sardines in a giant can was the stuff of dark, dystopian novels.
“Everyone, can I get your attention again?” The room quieted in an instant. The level of respect this group gave her truly humbled her. “Our fashion show is about celebrating differences, right? So I think our models should also reflect those differences.”
“You mean you want to use models with real-people bodies?”
“Exactly. I don’t want to detract from the focus of our event by making it a heavy-handed ‘statement.’ It just seems right to showcase models with bodies that reflect reality.”
