Her body brushed against his, by intention or chance he couldn’t quite tell. But he saw the reaction on her face—the flicker of want that flashed across her features. The way her pupils dilated, the way her tongue sneaked out to moisten her lips. ‘Get your hands off me,’ she said.
‘When I’m good and ready.’ He brought his mouth even closer, breathing in the scent of her, bumping noses with her, nudging her with his chin, rasping his tongue along the seam of her mouth. Teasing her the way she had teased him. He heard her sharp intake of breath as his tongue stroked harder, more insistently. He could feel the struggle in her. The will she had to resist him was faltering just as his had faltered in him. She leaned towards him, her mouth open, her hands on his chest, not flat in the effort of pushing him away, but her fingers curling into the front of his shirt as if she never wanted to let him go.
He allowed himself one touchdown on her mouth. But one wasn’t enough. How could he have thought it would ever be enough? Her mouth flowered open even further beneath the light pressure of his until he was suddenly swept up in a passionate exchange that had his blood thundering all over again.
Her tongue entwined with his, her arms looped around his neck, drawing him closer. His hands went to her neat behind, holding her against his throbbing heat. Her breasts were pushed against his chest so hard he could feel her pert nipples through the layers of their clothes.
Her hand reached between their bodies and stroked the hardened length of him, inciting his lust to fever pitch. He did the same to her, outlining her feminine form with the stroke of his fingers until she was breathing as hard as him. He took it one step further, driven by an urge he couldn’t control. He tugged her trousers down past her hips so he could access her naked skin. He slipped one finger inside her, his control almost blowing when he felt how hot and wet and tight she was. She gasped and moved against his hand in a plea that needed no language other than the one their bodies were speaking. He stroked the bud of her core with the pad of his thumb, feeling it swell and peak under the pressure of his touch.
She suddenly gripped his shoulders and arched up as she convulsed. Violently. Repeatedly. He felt every contraction of her orgasm. Watched as the pleasure rose in a tidal glow over her face.
He kissed her mouth. Hard. Passionately. Swallowing the last of her breathless gasps as the aftermath of release flowed through her.
But then she slipped out of his hold, not quite able to hold his gaze. Her hands pulled up her trousers and fixed her gaping shirt before going across her body in a defensive, keep-away-from-me pose.
‘Holly...’
She gave him a tight smile that didn’t reach her eyes. ‘What’s the protocol here? Should I say thanks? Or offer to do you in return?’
He let out a long breath. ‘That won’t be necessary.’
‘Well, thanks anyway,’ she said. ‘I didn’t know I had it in me to get off like that. That’s quite some technique you’ve got there.’
Julius scraped a hand through his hair. ‘I shouldn’t have taken things that far.’
‘No problemo,’ she said. ‘I enjoyed it, as you could probably tell. Which is another first.’
He frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve never had an orgasm with a guy before.’
‘Never?’
‘No, but don’t tell any of my ex-partners that,’ she said. ‘You know how fragile the male ego is.’
‘How many partners have you had?’
‘Four. Five, if you count yourself,’ she said. ‘But does that count, since you didn’t actually put your...?’
‘No,’ Julius said. ‘It doesn’t.’
She shifted her lips from side to side. ‘So, are we done here?’
He moved far enough away from her so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch her. ‘I’ll see you in the morning. Goodnight.’
‘You mean you’re not sending me on my way to prison after all?’
Julius clenched his jaw. ‘I’m giving you one more chance.’ He hoped he wouldn’t regret it.
She walked to the door to leave but at the last moment turned and looked at him. ‘If I’d wanted to pinch your cufflinks, do you think I’d be carrying them around in my pocket?’
‘Maybe you haven’t had time to hide them in your room.’
Her eyes held his without shame. Without flinching. ‘I had time to do lots of things. I could’ve called the press, for instance. I could’ve given them an exclusive.’