Tugging the tie over her head, Charity arranged it at the right spot.
“Voila!” Once she’d cinched the knot, her blindfold was sexy and warm, carrying the lightest cologne and the strongest musk of pure man. “You can do anything. Be comfortable. Be yourself. I can’t see a thing.”
The heat of his body rolled over her so softly, she could wrap herself in it and let everything else go. Just . . . forget.
His voice deepened. “And what makes you think I want your eyes covered?”
Charity’s crossed leg rocked, caressing the side of his. The rumors. About why you hide your body. “Lucky guess.” Lucky indeed, with a hunch that seemed to be paying off. He was still there.
In true Alex Drake form, the man of a million and one one-night stands tested the waters. “What if I want something a little different? A little . . . unconventional?”
His fingers lightly stroking the base of her neck made her gasp. Not the pretend gasp or sighs she’d done too many times to count, but a very real reaction to his sizzling-hot finger against her needy skin.
“Unconventional is my middle name.”
Alex moved closer, his breath making her skin pebble as she held in a shudder. At the low vibration of his words against her neck, she dropped her head back, half expecting a kiss.
“I want to know your desires, Charity. And girls who lie don’t interest me. You know what you want. Are you willing to tell me and see where it goes?”
18
Charity
Am I willing to tell him?
It was clear that however Charity responded, Alex would see right through some fabricated story just to get him off. No doubt about it, the truth was unconventional. It happened all the time, but no one ever chatted it over first.
Here goes nothing.
“I’ll make you a deal,” she said. “I won’t say a word. Not one peep. You can imagine I’m anyone else. Treat me like her. Call out her name if you want. Even Ms. Taylor.”
Alex’s response was soft and honest, bringing on a dozen more questions better suited for another time. If there is another time.
“I don’t know her name. Not her first name, anyway.” The mattress shifted as he sat beside her. “All I’ve known sexually are one-way streets. I need something more. I have to know . . . what do you get out of this?”
Licking the fullness of her lower lip, Charity handed over a quick answer to a deeper desire. Whether or not she could make a memory real—replace it with the here and now—was a gamble she was willing to take.
“I’ll return the favor. To me, you’ll be someone else.”
If it were up to her, Alex would consume every needy corner of her wanting mind tonight. Their time together would fill the void left by an unforgettable encounter that happened months ago with someone else, but never left her thoughts. With Alex, she could lose herself, reliving the sizzling memory of another lover.
For a drawn-out moment, he seemed to be deciding. As his searing breath swept across her neck to her ear, she turned toward him, again ready for a kiss. But he still wasn’t going there. Not yet, anyway.
He let his whisper warm her lips. “Lie back.”
Speechless, Charity succumbed to every raw emotion pent up inside her for months. Willing her tense muscles to relax, she was swallowed by the softness of the comforter as a hot finger skimmed the length of her torso.
Her squirm was unintentional, but she knew where his big, thick finger was heading. And it was almost there. This wasn’t what she wanted. It was bad enough he’d been her chauffeur earlier. Pleasing her wasn’t the point.
This isn’t about me. “I—”
“Quiet,” he said, gruff and stern. “Remember, not a word.”
And in that second, she understood. The knit in her brow deepened as her game played out. Again, she was both the town bike and village idiot. She’d laid down rules for a mastermind who loved games.
God, I hope I don’t regret this.
“You and I have something in common, Charity. We’ve both fucked and been fucked, and it’s a lifestyle that doesn’t lend itself to letting people in. I haven’t sat back and enjoyed the feel of a woman in a really long time. The minute I make the slightest attempt at really pleasing anyone, in her mind, the relationship has started. She’s practically setting a wedding date and looking up Harry Winston rings. But this . . .” His finger made a long, hot serpentine trail across her skin. “This is exactly what I want.”
Teasing her thighs, his sensual finger had an effect unlike other men. Her wetness was escaping too fast.
Objecting, she panted. “This is supposed to be about you. You don’t have to—”
In a strong, swooping grasp, his firm hand held her mouth shut. It was his gentleness that spiked her pulse and made her breath shudder.
“Shh,” he said, resting his weight on her body.
The silkiness of his suit rubbed against her. Only moments ago, the fit was so molded and polished, it could pass for pure steel. But now it was as deceptively soft as he was.
“Now, Charity, I thought you’d be a woman of your word, so I’ll give you a choice. I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth, and either you’re telling me to leave, or we’re both getting exactly what we need.”
His body rolled beside hers, and she nearly lost her mind from the loss of his heat. His fingers feathered her skin just below her belly, ready to claim her, yet keep her distant.
Abruptly, his skating fingers stopped. Cold.
Charity knew exactly what he was waiting for because he was Alex Drake. He wanted his java spiked, his women hot, and his good deeds unmentioned. And in this moment, his demand was unconditional.
He needed her surrender, or he was gone.
19
Charity
Biting her tongue, Charity gave him the only assurance he’d understand. To proceed, Alex wasn’t looking for a nod or a sound, or even a word. He was a man of action, and her body had to do the talking.
Spreading her legs had never been an issue. But tonight, the movements of her body were those of a woman opening herself up to a whole new experience. She cared for him. And she’d do almost anything for the titan who could use a night of just being a man.
Like the parking space and perhaps hundreds of women before her, she erased all barriers to entry. Draping one knee over his body, she opened herself, ready to get up close and personal with the hand that legends were made of. Between her welcoming parted thighs and ready wetness, her green light had to be blaring.
At first, Alex skimmed her with a slow, teasing touch at her entrance. Spreading her building wetness across her plump folds, his fingers were everywhere she needed them to be, skyrocketing her to the brink. With a desperate thrust of her hips, she chased his elusive finger. But it was gone, an apparent punishment for her impatience.
Disappointed, Charity retreated with a whimper. Her fevered breaths filled the air as she smiled, enjoying every second of this penalty way too much.
Again, those captivating fingers slipped through her core, erasing every thought from her mind. He smeared her sensual dew in the most delicious back and forth strokes up to her clit, where a tender round of circles forced her back to arch.