Seduced

Chapter 8

After four hours of exchanging pleasantries and formalities with attorneys, Jessica couldn't help but let loose a little humor now that the evening was over. "How do you save a lawyer from drowning?"

Ryan glanced her way, seemingly trying to gauge her mood. "I haven't a clue," he murmured.

She allowed a tired smile to touch her lips. "Take your foot off his head."

His deep, rich chuckles filled the close confines of his car as he navigated his way back to the main road from Haywood's estate. "Thank you for saving that joke for a more private moment."

"You're welcome." The chill cloaking the inside of the vehicle stole beneath her long, wool coat and caressed her legs, making her shiver. "I don't think your bosses or colleagues would have appreciated my brand of humor quite the way you do."

He flipped on the heater, then turned to meet her eyes, visible by the illumination radiating from the dash. "Was the party that bad for you?"

With a sigh, she rested her head against the back of her seat and thought about his question. "Actually, it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be. Everyone was friendly and warm. Any discomfort I experienced was strictly my own." And, surprisingly, it had been minimal.

She'd survived the evening, and had even enjoyed herself at times, regardless of knowing the occupation of half the guests at the party. She'd seen a different side to what she'd always believed was a hard-edged profession. The associates who worked at Haywood and Irwin were hardworking men and women who just happened to have chosen law as a career, as Ryan had suggested. People with humor and emotions. People with families of their own. People who represented the good and evil of the world because it was their sworn duty to help others and assure them of a fair trial.

But what had made the greatest impact on her was an idle, but profound comment that one of the female attorneys in the firm had made to her while Ryan had been talking to his boss. Having worked in law offices for the past twenty years, the woman found Ryan refreshing as a lawyer. According to her, Ryan was a lawyer who cared about people and catered to his client's needs, rather than focusing on his own personal gains.

And despite her bitter childhood memories, Jessica came to accept on a tentative level that not all lawyers were as cutthroat and merciless as her father's had been. Ryan certainly didn't fit the mold, and she'd been wrong for ever believing he could deliberately hurt someone with selfish intent.

"You did great, Jessie." He reached across the console and settled his hand on her leg. Though a heavy layer of wool separated her flesh from his fingers, she could feel the supportive squeeze he gave her thigh. "And I'm very glad you came with me."

She was glad, too, for purely selfish, personal reasons. Ryan had been so attentive-touching her without reserve, holding her hand, gazing at her with affection-that she'd briefly enjoyed the fantasy of being more than just his date for the evening. But just like Cinderella, by tomorrow morning the fairy tale would be over and reality would return.

She recalled the various comments revolving around her and Ryan that she'd overheard during the course of the evening. "You do realize, don't you, that your bosses and colleagues think we're an item," she said.

He transferred his gaze from the road to her. "Does that bother you?"

"Only because I'll probably never see any of them ever again, and I got the impression that they expect me to be around in the future." Which she wouldn't be,couldn't be.

He shrugged off her concern. "I'll handle any questions anyone might ask about our relationship."

And he'd make it clear that they weren't an item, that she'd just been a date for the evening. The pang of regret she experienced over that thought took her off guard, and she berated herself for being so foolish, for wanting something that was completely impossible with Ryan. And while she'd seen this evening that most of his colleagues juggled a career and a long-term relationship, she knew Ryan's main focus was his commitment to his career. Judging by Haywood and Irwin's enthusiasm toward their young associate, it was obvious that Ryan's goals weren't far from his reach.

You should be proud of Ryan. He's one of our up-and-coming attorneys, and has a very promising future ahead of him at Haywood and Irwin.

Phillip Haywood's praise filtered through Jessica's mind. For as much as Ryan's future goals would consume more time than a relationship or family would permit, she couldn't begrudge him the success he sought, and deserved.

Her fingers slid along the strap of her purse, and she swallowed to relieve the odd pressure that had gathered in her chest. "Your bosses think very highly of you," she said, trying to sound optimistic for him.

He grinned, appearing pleased that he'd gained Haywood's approval. "After six years with the firm, it's nice to get the recognition I worked so hard for. The next couple of years will definitely be interesting as far as advancements go."

He had his heart set on a promotion to junior partner, which was an admirable goal, as well as one that would entail more work, more hours, and no time to cultivate a strong, lasting relationship. His commitment would be to his job, and maintaining his position within the firm.

Not that that issue mattered to her, she tried to convince herself as she glanced out the side window to the twinkling lights of the city beyond the freeway. After a few minutes of silence passed, she looked back at Ryan's strong profile and summoned the courage to express a question she'd been curious about for a while now. "What made you decide to be a divorce attorney?"

Now that the interior of the car was warm, he turned down the heater. "Honestly, it wasn'tmy decision to be a divorce attorney," he replied easily. "I originally wanted to get into corporate law."

She wasn't expecting that response, and found it interesting that he'd settled for a position so different from his primary choice. "What happened?"

"Before I graduated from law school, I was hired on at Haywood and Irwin as a law clerk until I passed the bar and became an associate. The only opening they had at the time was as a divorce attorney in the family law department, and because I had bills to pay, and Haywood is such a reputable firm, I accepted the position and made the best of it." He shrugged, and cast a quick glance at her. "Honestly, now I can't imagine doing anything else."

The message he relayed with his eyes was unmistakable-he was silently asking her to accept him for who and what he was. And in that moment, she realized somewhere along the way she'd done just that. As much as his choice of career made her too aware of her turbulent childhood, she knew they'd remain friends once the New Year's Eve party was over and they went their separate ways. And despite the sudden ache near the vicinity of her heart, she knew she had no choice but to end this tentative, sensual relationship of theirs… before things became any more emotionally complicated for her.

The Lexus came to a smooth stop, and he shut off the engine, bringing her back to the present. She glanced out the window, expecting to see her complex, and was surprised to find them parked in front of his office building. The lot was empty, and the only source of illumination came from the dim lighting in the lobby.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, curious.

He unsnapped his seat belt and turned toward her. "I need to pick up a file on a case that's going to court on Monday so I can review a few things over the weekend." He hesitated a brief moment. "Do you mind?"

Of course weekend work would consume his extra time. She experienced a twinge of regret she immediately dismissed and shook her head. "No, go ahead. I'll wait here."

"I was hoping you'd come with me." Reaching out, he fingered a strand of her hair, which she was coming to realize was a source of fascination for him. "I also wanted to show you the fabulous view from my office in the evening."

Heat seeped through her veins, and a smile tugged at her lips. "Ahh, I should have known you had ulterior motives."

He chuckled, and ran his fingers along her cheek. "Yeah, I'll do just about anything to get you alone and all to myself."

Unable to resist that sexy smile of his, and what his words implied, she accompanied him up to his office, very aware of just how alone they were in the deserted building.

He turned on the overhead lights and strolled toward his desk. "Give me a few minutes to find what I need."

"Sure."

The room was pleasantly warm, and she took off her heavy coat and hung it on one of the brass hooks by the door. While he sorted through files and paperwork stacked on his desk, she drifted toward a credenza along the wall holding framed photographs.

Passing idle time, she gazed at each one, most of which were group shots. Recognizing Ryan and Natalie in one of the larger gatherings, she picked up the professional portrait to take a closer look at the older couple surrounded by six adults and five young children.

Seeing a striking resemblance between Ryan and the older man in the middle of the photo, she turned the picture toward Ryan and asked, "Is this your family?"

"Yep." Setting aside a few file folders, he shrugged out of his jacket, hung it next to hers, and came up beside her. "There are Mom and Dad in the middle, and you know Natalie, of course," he said, then went on to point out his two older sisters by name, and their respective husbands and children.

The photo, as simple as it was, encompassed a wealth of emotion Jessica couldn't help but envy. An abundance of affection radiated from everyone's smiles, happiness shone in their eyes, and love was evident in the strength of the familial bond they shared.

A pang of longing struck near her heart, so strong it nearly stole her breath. "You're very lucky to have such a close-knit family," she said, her voice a whisper of sound in the quiet room. "Don'tever take that for granted."

Ryan recognized the vulnerability that etched Jessica's features and tinged her voice-he'd seen and heard that emotion with some of the women he'd represented in divorce cases. While he'd always managed to remain immune and objective with his clients because he had a job to do, he felt Jessica's pain like a vise around his heart.

Jessica was a casualty of divorce, having been deeply affected by her father's betrayal. She'd lost the stability and security of a complete family in one fell swoop, and apparently was still struggling to find what her father had carelessly ripped apart.

A family.Something hedid take for granted because all he'd ever known was the love and support of his mom and dad, and his siblings. He'd never lacked for affection, had never gone to bed as a child feeling alone, and had never questioned either of his parents' love.

Ryan drew a deep breath, knowing it was time to discuss her past, that in order for her to trust him as he wanted, they had to cross this hurdle together. And maybe, during the course of their conversation she could purge some of the bitterness and resentment caused by one's man lack of compassion.

"How old were you when your parents divorced?" he asked quietly.

She looked at him, initially startled by his question. "I was nine, and Brooke was thirteen." She gave the photo in her hand one last lingering glance before setting it back on the credenza. "I think the most difficult part of the divorce was that before my father left and my parents separated, everything seemed so perfect I was definitely Daddy's girl, and I adored him. He was always so larger than life for me."

He slid his hands into the front pockets of his trousers to keep from touching her, comforting her. "I'm sure whatever problems your parents had didn't happen overnight." From his experience with clients, the strife within marriages sometimes festered for years before married couples split up-which accounted for many unpleasant divorces. He'd witnessed amicable separations, as well as vengeful ones.

"You're right, of course, and I realize now that my father must have been having an affair for quite a while before my mother found out. But as a little girl, I was so wrapped up in feeling secure, that when my dad just packed up and walked out one day, I was devastated." She shook her head, her velvet blue eyes brimming with shadows of old misery. "I just couldn't understand what went wrong, whatI did wrong to make him leave."

Ryan balled his hands into fists, aching deep inside for the innocence she'd lost at such an early age. He imagined her at nine, carefree and filled with girlish dreams, and blinded by fantasies of happily-ever-afters, only to have them crushed by the one man she'd trusted to always be there for her.

She moved away from him and stopped in front of the huge plate-glass window overlooking the city. With the lights on in his office, though, all she could see was the reflection of herself, and the room around her. He didn't approach her, suspecting that she needed to work through this particular event in her life without interference. And so he gave her what she needed-someone to listen to her rid herself of her painful past

"Then my father filed for divorce, and he wasn't satisfied with half of everything," she continued. "From yelling matches that I overheard between my parents, I learned that he felt he deserved everything, because he'd been the sole breadwinner. When my mother disagreed, that's when things got real ugly with my father. Come to find out, his new girlfriend was twenty-two years old and very high maintenance, and he was out to get whatever he could from the marriage at our expense."

Her shoulders lifted as she drew a deep breath, and relaxed when she exhaled, though her spine remained stiff with tension. "He hired a cutthroat divorce attorney who took advantage of my mother's emotional state and took her for everything he could, and since my mother couldn't afford a powerful lawyer, she lost just about everything to my father and his new lover.

"My mom was a mess after that ordeal," she went on, her voice hoarse. "All I can remember is her constantly crying, and staying in her bedroom with the shades drawn. It was awful, and if it wasn't for Brooke taking control and pushing my mother to snap out of her depression, I'm sure we would have ended up on welfare-or worse, Brooke and I would have gone into a foster home."

He watched a shudder wrack her slender form, and she wrapped her arms around her middle as if to hold herself together. "We moved our meager belongings from the house my mother was forced to sell, the one I grew up in, and into a one-bedroom apartment because that's all she could afford. My mother took on two jobs to support us, and because Mom was hardly ever home, Brooke pretty much raised me. We went from dining on solid, nutritious meals to eating macaroni and cheese and hot dogs because it was filling, and cheap."

"What about child support?" he asked. Surely they'd had that extra income to rely on and to help them with expenses.

She turned to look at him, and laughed, but the sound held no humor. "What about it? According to my sister, the checks came sporadically, then stopped altogether, as did my father's infrequent phone calls. I haven't seen or heard from him in over thirteen years."

She was trying so hard to remain composed and strong, when he knew beneath the surface brewed dark, bitter emotions. "It's okay to be angry, Jessie," he said softly.

"Is it okay to hate him for what he did?" Moisture glimmered in her eyes, contradicting the defiant lift of her chin. "For making a family, then walking away from it?"

"No man should ever forsake his children," he said, vehemently believing that.

Divorces happened, it was a sad fact of life. And if there was one thing he disliked about his profession, it was that the children involved were sometimes embroiled in their parents' spiteful attempts to hurt one another. He'd never given the long-term effects of that any thought while handling his cases, but was coming to realize through Jessica that the impact of a nasty divorce on a child left lifetime scars.

Compassion and an inexplicable tenderness welled within him, and it took concentrated effort to remain where he stood, when he wanted to close the distance between them. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that."

She turned back to the window. "Yeah, me, too," she said, her voice a mere whisper.

The office grew quiet and still, and little by little, understanding trickled through him, as well as a deeper insight into Jessica. After everything she'd endured as a child, was it no wonder that she'd never allowed a man to get too close emotionally?

Obviously, his profession had been the initial deterrent for her, but it wasn't the sole reason she'd built a wall of reserve. He suspected that her father's abandonment and the crass way Lane had treated her had left her feeling insecure and unable to put faith in any man's promise.

Dragging a hand through his hair, he tried focusing on the positive. "Your mother is remarried and happy, isn't she?"

She hesitated before answering. "Yeah, she is."

"And Brooke, too," he added.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, her mouth pursed with impatience. "Can you just get to the point you're trying to make with this line of questioning?"

"The point I'm trying to make," he replied very calmly, "is that maybe it's just a matter of finding the right person."

From across the room, he could see her gaze searching his, deep and intense. "And how do you know when it's the right person?"

"You trust your instincts."

She scoffed at his simple response. "That didn't work for my mother or Brooke's first marriages."

"Then maybe you have to trust your heart." Just as he was beginning to put complete faith in his, and what he was beginning to feel for Jessica.

A glimmer of fear flashed across her features. She was scared of risking her heart again, scared of giving, and losing, and having to start all over again alone. But life, and relationships, didn't come with guarantees, and she had to trust in her emotions before she could believe in him.

Knowing there wasn't anything more he could say or do, not on the heels of this particular discussion, he turned off the overhead lights, let the blanket of twinkling lights from outside be his guide, and approached her.

He held out his hand for her to take. "Come on, sweetheart, I believe I promised you a fabulous view."

A tentative smile touched her mouth. "Yeah, you did."

Slipping her fingers into his, she followed him to the high-back chair behind his desk. He settled himself in the seat, and she didn't protest when he pulled her down to sit across his lap, then draped her legs over the armrest while his other arm curved around her back to support her.

He turned the chair to the side to make it easier for them to enjoy the diamond-studded landscape of the city and skyline. Much to his surprise and pleasure, she curled into him, placing one hand on his chest, easing the other around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel the warm gust of her breath against his neck, could smell the light scent of jasmine radiating from her hair and skin.

He closed his eyes briefly, and reveled in the small gesture of trust she'd given him, especially after their emotional discussion. They remained quiet, and he absently stroked the curve of her hip with his palm. Never in his life had anything felt so perfect and right as the feel of her in his arms. And never had his soul encountered such contentment as it did in this moment.

The revelation stunned him. His career and ambition had always satisfied him on a physical, intellectual level, and although he'd always enjoyed the opposite sex, he'd never needed a woman to make him feel whole and complete, had never found one who made him question the tight focus he had on his future.

Until Jessica.

He'd always known that one day he'd settle down, get married, and have a family of his own, but he'd never been in a rush to start that particular phase of his life, not with his career on the verge of taking off. He was still too uncertain of making a lifetime commitment to a woman when he knew how difficult it was to sustain a relationship under the best of circumstances.

Yet, after spending time with Jessica the past few weeks, he wasn't ready to let her go, either. What he felt for her was rare and special-he knew that, and wanted to take the time to see what developed. Without a doubt, he wanted her in his life in some capacity. He liked spending time with her. He liked the way she challenged him. And he loved how she could make him laugh at her ridiculous lawyer jokes, yet want her at the same time.

With her bottom pressed against his groin, he wanted her now. In an attempt to distract his libido, he grasped the first bit of conversation that entered his head. "Sometimes, when I'm working really late, before I go home I'll just sit here in the dark like this, just to relax and unwind."

"I can see why." She lifted her head, and smiled at him. "The view is breathtaking."

"You'rebreathtaking," he corrected, and ran the pad of his index finger down the slope of her nose. "But I'm glad you like the view, and that I could share it with you."

She drew lazy, swirling patterns on his chest with her finger. "It's a nice way to finish up the evening."

One he didn't want to end. Neither did she, if the wistful note to her voice was any indication. Tonight would eventually come to a close, that much was inevitable, but he wanted something more to look forward to.

He made a split-second decision. "I spoke to Marc a few days ago, and he told me that he and Brooke are going to Tahoe over the Christmas holiday."

"Yes."

"What do you plan on doing for Christmas?" He felt her stiffen against him, and suspected he'd tapped into a sensitive subject. Guessed, too, that she'd planned to spend the holiday alone.

She transferred her gaze to the panoramic view, and though it was dark in his office, the glow from the lights of the city silhouetted her profile, and gave him a shadowed glimpse of the raw emotions touching her features. "I haven't decided yet," she said, the words deliberately vague.

He knew better, and couldn't stop the tide of possessiveness that swept over him. "Well, since you have no firm plans, why don't you come with me to my parents' for Christmas Eve? My whole family is there, and it's this fun, lively sleepover."

She shook her head, making her hair shimmer around her shoulders. "Oh, I couldn't."

"Oh, you can." He grinned, and slowly glided his palm from her thigh to just beneath the swell of her breast, tantalizing and teasing her with a light brush of his thumb. "If I remember correctly, I just invited you."

She sighed as he continued to stroke along the graceful, slender line of her body. His caresses were chaste, yet aroused her, if the subtle arching of her back into his touch was any indication. "Ryan… I don't think going to your family gathering is a good idea."

The more he considered the suggestion, the more perfect it sounded. "And why not?"

"I just don't want to give your family the impression that you and I are…"

"Dating?" he supplied.

She ducked her head. "Yeah, something like that."

He heard the regret in her voice, and he didn't like it. Not one bit. "I thought we'd established that tonight was definitely a date, so technically, weare dating." No way was he going to let her write this night off when it had been so meaningful and insightful. "But as far as Christmas and my family go, if it relieves your mind and makes you feel better, I'll introduce you as a friend."

Interest and curiosity mingled in her gaze. "Have you brought many femalefriends to your parents for the holidays?"

He rested his head against the back of the chair, and regarded her with a deceptively lazy smile. "You're the first since high school."

She laughed, and the husky sound filled something within him he hadn't realized was empty until that moment. Then her smile fell away, and he knew in that instant she'd realized the importance of his statement-and just how serious he was about her. He saw a flicker of panic, but before it could spread like wildfire to her brain and prompt her to retreat, he acted.

He cupped her cheek in his palm, wanting this acquiescence, wantingher in ways that defied his emotions. "Say yes, Jessie," he whispered.

A frown creased her brows. "If you're doing this because you feel sorry for me…"

A frustrated groan rolled up from his chest. "Good Lord, you're stubborn. I'm asking because Iwant you there, but mostly I want to share my family with you."

She bit her bottom lip, and her expression softened with gratitude, and a good dose of desire and wanting, too. She touched her fingers lightly to his mouth, their gazes locked, and something sizzled in the air between them.

A naughty twinkle entered her eyes. "Do you think you could coerce me into saying yes?" she asked huskily.

Molten heat spread through his blood, hardening him in a flash. Remembering other times he'd resorted to cajoling tactics, he knew what she was alluding to, knew what she wanted. And no way was he going to refuse her request, not when obliging her was such a pleasurable experience.

A wicked smile eased across his face. "I can certainly give it my best shot."

Delving his fingers into her soft, silky hair, he guided her mouth to his. Her lips parted on a shuddering sigh, and he took advantage, gliding his tongue deeply, touching hers, tangling seductively, stroking her in a slow, lazy rhythm. He thoroughly possessed her mouth, just as he wanted to possess her body and soul.

But that wouldn't happen tonight, he knew. With her so emotionally drained from their conversation, he refused to heap the intimacy of making love into the mixture. But also, he still didn't have any protection with him. The condoms were now at home, in his nightstand, waiting for the perfect moment, theright moment-when Jessica decided she wanted to take their relationship to that next level.

Accepting that he'd most likely have to resort to a cold shower when he got home, he decided to enjoy their necking and petting, and take their tantalizing foreplay as far as Jessica wanted it to go.

With a sultry moan, she shifted restlessly on his lap, turned toward him so her breasts crushed against his chest, and rubbed against him. With extreme effort, the hand he'd parked at her hip remained there, even though primitive male instinct urged him to caress and explore feminine hollows and curves.

He pulled back and looked up into her face, and from the glow of outside lights he could see the flush of passion on her skin. Her lips were damp and swollen from his kiss, her gaze slumberous, her breathing just as ragged as his own.

"Tell me yes, Jessie," he rasped. "Tell me you'll go with me to my parents' on Christmas Eve."

She shook her head and dragged her hands over his chest, finding his stiff nipples with the edge of her nails beneath his starched white shirt. "I think you need to be more persuasive."

Her lips moved up to his ear, and she traced the shell with her tongue, making him imagine her mouth and tongue elsewhere. "Idare you to look your fill," she said, her voice low and throaty and every bit the tease. Her brazenness scalded his senses. He closed his eyes on a groan, recalling their sexy banter at her apartment when he'd picked her up.

The opportunity was his, and he wasn't about to refuse her audacious dare. Meeting her gaze, he reached behind her, found the tab of the zipper securing her dress, and slowly slid it down, down, down, all the way to the base of her spine. The shoulders of the gown fell off her arms, and the material draped around her waist, revealing full, perfect breasts nestled within sheer black lace, her erect nipples begging for the caress of his lips, the slow lap of his tongue.

Soon.

"Very nice," he breathed, and touched his fingers to her knee. Her eyes darkened to a smoky shade of blue, and without a hint of modesty her legs eased apart for him as he slid his palm up the inside of her thigh. The hem of her dress pooled around his wrist, and he looked down to watch the gradual unveiling of her stockings, and the lacy band that gave way to a strip of pale, soft flesh and finally a pair of black panties.

His lungs pumped hard and slow, as he concentrated on tracing the elastic band along her thigh and up to her hip, teasing her, arousing her, using pure seduction to get the answer he sought, the answer she deliberately withheld. "Well?"

She caressed a hand along his jaw, and played the game to her full advantage."Maybe."

He chuckled, liking this playful side to her, and how uninhibited she'd become with him. Very slowly, he slid each of her bra straps down her arms, until the only thing holding up the lacy cups was the tips of her rosy nipples. "You do realize, don't you, that you're forcing me to extreme measures?"

The warning only served to spark excitement in the depths of her eyes. "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do."

He gave a tug, and the lacy webbing slipped lower, giving her perfect, lush breasts freedom. They swayed forward, her nipples tight, and he wasted no time in bending his head to taste her. She cried out as the wet heat of his mouth engulfed her, and he opened wider still to suckle her as deep as he could. His tongue swirled around her nipple, his teeth added to the sensation. She speared her fingers through his hair and sobbed-the sound rife with a combination of pleasure and sexual frustration.

He understood her discomfort, knew what she wanted, what sheneeded. And he planned to give it to her.

Severing their contact for two seconds, he turned her so she sat with her back against his chest, her bottom nestled against his rock-hard erection. Before she realized what he'd intended, he'd slipped his hands into the sides of her panties and dragged them down her legs and off, but left her stockings intact. Then he lifted her knees and draped her spread thighs over the chair's armrests.

She gasped at the wanton position he'd so easily maneuvered her into on his lap. The window in front of them was like looking into a hazy mirror, and she was all but naked except for the dress bunched around her waist, and her sexy stockings.

"Ryan?" An uncertain tremor laced her voice.

Closing his eyes to block the erotic image reflected on the window in front of him, he buried his face in her hair, and inhaled her delectable scent. "Trust me," he whispered. "And watch how responsive you are, how sensual and beautiful."

She relaxed against his chest, granting him the acquiescence he sought. Their new position freed up both his hands, and he pressed his warm palms to her breasts, kneaded the plump flesh, and groaned right along with her when she arched her back and wriggled against his throbbing groin.

Grasping every ounce of control at his disposal, and prayinghe survived this ordeal, he moved one hand gradually lower, moving over her quivering belly, up her trembling thighs, while trailing kisses along the soft flesh at the back of her neck. She continued to watch as he'd instructed, swallowing convulsively, her eyes heavy-lidded as he lazily, leisurely, built the thrill of anticipation within her.

And then, he finally touched her intimately for the first time, with absolutely nothing to hinder the feel of her slick heat and the suppleness of her softly swelled flesh against his fingertips. She was so hot, so wet, and as he eased two fingers deep within her he discovered that she was incredibly tight, as well.

The knowledge made his entire body shudder.

She whimpered as he filled her, and reached back to wind an arm around his neck, as if needing some kind of anchor to hold onto because she was on the verge of flying apart. His breathing turned harsh, and a muscle in his jaw clenched with the effort it took not to pull her to the floor and completely ravish her.

With monumental discipline, he ignored his own raging needs and concentrated on hers. He plied and stroked and escalated her to a delirious fever pitch of desire, which was right where he wanted her… on the edge of exquisite release.

She tilted her head to look up at him. Her eyes, glittering in the darkness, begged for what he withheld."Ryan… please."

The hand lavishing attention to her breast plucked at her hard nipple, rolled it between his fingers until pleasure became near unbearable pain. "Tell me what I want to hear, Jessie."

This time she didn't hesitate."Yes."

Victory was sweet, and excruciating for him, but he accepted the consequences of where her dare had led. Dipping his head, he captured her mouth in a deep, hungry, rapacious kiss, as if filling her mouth with the thrust of his tongue could somehow make up for the loss of not being able to do the same within her pliant body. He increased the pressure to that exquisitely sensitive flesh between her legs, and felt her tense as her orgasm hit.

She moaned long and low as a tremor rippled through her, sweeping her up in a whirlwind of sensation. He took her as high as he could, then brought her back down with a gentleness that belied the raw, untamed fury of his own suppressed climax.

When it was over, she slumped against him, trying to regain her breath… and all he could think about was how easy it would be to unzip his pants, free his rampant erection, and enter her from behind while she sat on his lap. Much to his relief, after a few quiet moments she slid off him and stood to straighten her outfit. Unable to watch her provocative actions, he leaned back in the chair, and slung his forearm over his eyes. The sound of her zipper echoed in his ears, and he heard the shimmy of her panties sliding up her stockings as she put them back on. His belly clenched, and his nostrils flared. Hell, he could smell the honeyed musk of her release still clinging to his fingers.

Then her soft, husky voice wreaked additional havoc with his senses. "Ryan, are you okay?"

Her guileless question almost made him laugh, but it took too much effort. No, he wasn't okay-he was certain he was going to expire from sexual frustration. "Give me a few minutes," he rasped, desperately needing time for his libido to cool.

She gave him five seconds before she touched him, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he opened his eyes to find her kneeling in front of him and pushing his knees apart for her to fit in between. Stunned and mesmerized, he watched her skim her palms up his thighs, and gulped when her fingers worked to unbuckle the thin leather belt around his waist.

His heart drummed in his ears, and his entire body throbbed with each beat, pumping blood straight to the one organ that didn't need the extra stimulation. She unfastened his black dress slacks, lowered the zipper over the thickest, longest erection he could ever remember having, then grasped the elastic band of his briefs to lower them.

Her fingers grazed the bulge straining the confines of cotton, scorching him, setting his nerves on fire. Sucking in a quick intake of air, he grasped her wrists to stop her. "Jessie, if you so much as touch me, I'll go off."

His blatant warning didn't seem to faze her. Instead, an amused, lopsided grin tipped her lips. "Do you think you could give me maybe a minute or two to play first?"

A deep, guttural groan vibrated in his chest. "Sweetheart, you don't have to do this."

She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering with desire, and the need to know him as intimately as he'd known her. "I know I don'thave to do this. I want to touch you, and taste you. Will you let me?"

He struggled with her request and what it would entail, not sure he could handle such an all-out assault. He was, after all, just a man-one who was hanging on to his last thin thread of control.

And then she took the decision out of his hands and put it directly into hers.Literally. And he was lost, unable to deny her anything, especially this.

Her nimble fingers granted him freedom and curled around his shaft snugly, measuring his breadth and length. He gritted his teeth while she explored, and squeezed his eyes shut so he didn't have to watch. Except he could feel… and when she took him into her warm, wet mouth and swirled her tongue around the swollen tip, he shook with the effort it took to restrain his natural impulse to thrust.

He swore when she deepened her intimate kiss and applied the same techniques he'd used on her… suckling sensuously, stroking rhythmically, taking time and pleasure in discovering the taste and feel of him with her fingers, her supple lips, her wicked tongue.

Heat flared. Carnal gratification beckoned. His stomach muscles clenched, and knowing he was fast approaching the point of no return, he tangled his fingers in her hair to ease her away. She stubbornly remained, making hungry little sounds in the back of her throat that reverberated along his shaft. Desperate, certain this wasn't what she meant to do, he uttered a final warning she blatantly ignored.

And then it was too late, and all he could do was surrender to her selfless offering, her inherent sensuality, and her giving, generous heart.