Beauty in His Bed (4 page)

“Seb.” She moaned, arching to take him even deeper.

He rewarded the plea by settling his mouth between her legs.

Beneath the sharp tang of her sex, she tasted sweet, like honey. He paid attention to her cues, lightening the touch of his tongue as she trembled on the brink. Holding her steady, he slowly eased his finger deep into her hot sheath while flicking her clit. The slightest touch of his mouth wrenched pleading cries from her throat. She gripped his hair, pressing him closer to her weeping slit. Abandoning her sensitive bud, he removed his fingers to fuck her channel with his tongue. Each thrust tightened the muscles in her thighs and drew out a hoarse cry. She was close–and he wanted to topple her over. He reached up to fondle a nipple while he returned to her clit for one last, long suck.

Glancing up, he watched her face shine with ecstasy. Eyes closed, teeth buried in her lower lip. So fucking sexy. He felt her pussy pulse against his chin as he continued to draw out her quivers. Soon the same massage would clutch his cock. But not soon enough.

Nuzzling the insides of her thighs, he fumbled with the button on his slacks. As it sprang free, he stood, delving into the drawer of his nightstand for a condom. “Turn over.”

He watched as she obeyed. Her legs trembled as she raised onto all fours, her bare ass displayed for his perusal. The crinkle of plastic filled the air as he opened the condom packet. When she glanced over her shoulder, her hair cascading like a mahogany waterfall, his cock twitched. What a woman. Sexy as fuck.

Rolling the condom onto his length, he approached. He ran his hand over the lush globes of her ass. When she moaned, he followed the trail with his mouth. He couldn’t get enough of her.

The shirt barred his fingers from touching her bare back. He wanted to remedy that, but the urge to have her was overwhelming. Gripping his cock, he ran the head over the slick folds of her pussy. When she tried to impale herself on him, he nearly lost his seed. He pinned her in place with a hand on her back. Then he slowly plunged into her hot, tight sheath.

Soc au lait,
she fit him like a glove. He pulled back, holding her hips as he watched himself disappear into her channel and re-emerge slick with her juices. Even though it nearly killed him, he kept the pace leisurely, savoring the moment. The slow slide into her tight sheath was perfect. Heaven.

But his lust soon overwhelmed him, spurring him to greater speeds. Even with his slacks still confining his movements and his shirt molding to his torso, this one moment transcended all other sexual encounters. He couldn’t get enough of her and had to stop himself from digging his fingers into her skin.

The slapping sounds of skin against skin filled the silence along with her curt moans. As they increased, he knew he’d found the sweet spot deep inside her. Grinding against it, he bracketed her body with his. He tongued her nape as he continued to thrust and retreat at a frantic pace. With every pass, her breasts bounced, begging for his hands. Finally, he gave in, balancing long enough to roll her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Her core clenched around his cock, tightening with each plunge. So close…but she neared her peak, too. He wanted to feel her spasm around him. Reaching beneath her body, he sought out her sensitive clit.

With a groan, she climaxed. He quickened his pace, hammering into her lush body. As her tremors started to subside, she glanced over her shoulder. Lips parted, hair in disarray. Their gazes met. Held. For a second, Seb remained poised, filled with pleasure so poignant, he ached. In that instant, he felt more at home than he ever had before. In that instant, his will to fuck her dissolved. He wanted to make love to Amy instead.

Don’t be ridiculous.

Pushing the utopian thoughts aside, he pumped himself to completion.

Satisfaction soared throughout his limbs, locked in place. Amy collapsed onto the bed beneath him in exhaustion. As soon as he recovered the strength, he disentangled himself and retreated into the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

When he returned to the bed, Amy had begun to sit up and straighten her clothing. Ignoring the pang in his chest, Seb eased onto the bed. With an arm, he pinned her beside him, leaning down to whisper in her ear.

“Don’t leave,
cher.
I’m not near done with you.”

Chapter 4

Amy woke in a strange bed with a pleasant ache between her thighs. The afternoon and night before replayed behind her closed eyelids. But instead of feeling sated, she was anxious.

It has to be a mistake.

Amy didn’t inspire that level of all-consuming lust in any man. Even Tim had insisted on turning off the lights before they made love. So what had last night been, a fluke? Best to leave before the morning light shattered the illusion.

Opening her eyes, she peeked behind her, searching for Seb. His snores ruptured the silence. He lay limp beside her, sleeping on his stomach.
Good.
She had time to sneak out.

But first, she needed to use the bathroom.

Easing her naked legs from the bed, she slowly rested her weight on them. The bed creaked, but Seb slept on. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. Then she tiptoed to the bathroom. Where had her clothes gone? Her suitcase still sat by the door, so at least she could change. The rest would have to be collateral damage.

After shutting the bathroom door as quietly as possible, she locked it and switched on the light. Voiding her bladder took seconds but after her wild romp from yesterday, she still felt sticky. Sticky and sweaty. Could she risk a shower? She opened the door a crack, listening for Seb’s snores. Still asleep.

When she turned on the shower, the water squealed while heating up. “Shit, shit, shit!” Once it had quieted, she listened for signs that Seb still slept. The apartment was quiet except for the patter of water hitting the shower tiles. Then the bed creaked and Seb’s snore split the air again.
Thank God.
Amy laid a hand over her pounding heart.

She showered as quickly as possible, washing the remnants of last night from her skin. Now all that remained was a pleasant memory. Time to leave before even that soured. She rubbed a towel over her hair, used the brush sitting by the sink, and shrouded her body with another towel. Then she crept back into the bedroom.

The zip of her suitcase sounded like trumpets to her ears, but Seb only shifted in bed. His snores ceased, but he didn’t wake. Dropping the towel, she rummaged through her clothes for a clean pair of underwear and a bra. After donning those, she chose a long-sleeved shirt, which thoroughly covered her, and a looser pair of jeans than the ones she’d worn yesterday. Then she glanced around the room for her discarded clothes.

Seb lay on the bed, watching her steadily.

Shit.

“Fixin’ to leave,
cher?
”

Double shit.
What could she say? Focusing her gaze on a spot on the wall, she struggled to think up an excuse. “Monique. I never checked in with her yesterday and she’s bound to be worried, so I should really get going…”

“Pig shit. Stay a spell, darlin’. Have breakfast with me. Monique can wait.”

Amy dared a glance at him. He seemed genuine. Did she really want to risk ruining the memory of last night? But as her stomach rumbled, she figured she might as well join him. Monique probably wouldn’t be at the store at this early hour, and Amy had no idea where she lived.

“I’ll stay for breakfast. Happy?”

Seb stretched his arms over his head. The movement shifted the sheet down his torso, baring delicious inches of his chest and abdomen. The sheet formed a tent over his straining erection. Catching where her gaze had strayed, he grinned. Amy averted her eyes.

He sighed. “Ain’t how I pictured my morning, but it’s a start.”

* * * *

Amy entered the cute little restaurant just down the street from Seb’s apartment with a smile. Seb followed on her heels, using a hand on her back to guide her to a booth by the window. When she slid in, he claimed the spot beside her, instead of the one across from her. His thigh pressed intimately against hers. That would be distracting.

Today, he’d dressed in faded jeans and a white wife-beater tank. What an abrupt change from the pristine slacks and dress shirt he’d worn when they’d met. But these clothes suited him. In them, he looked raw, primal. Exactly what he’d shown himself to be last night. Not to mention, he was the only man she’d ever seen who could look good even in a man’s tank top.

A saucy waitress sidled over to their table. Flipping over the white mugs on the table, she poured two full of coffee. “Morning, dawlin. What’ll you have?”

With a bedazzling smile, Seb said, “I’ll take me a po-boy.”

“Dressed?”

He nodded. “Make it two.”

As the waitress walked away, he leaned in and whispered to Amy, “You haven’t experienced New Orleans ‘til you’ve had a po-boy.”

She smiled weakly. What was he doing here with her? That waitress was beautiful, leggy, blond. A real southern belle. What did Amy have that could compare? To hide her unease, she added cream and sugar to her coffee and stirred.

Seb did the same, tasting his before asking, “What do you do? In New York?”

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. He seemed sincere in wanting to know. “I’m a bank teller,” she said finally.

“Sounds exciting,” he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, and what do you do? Fight crime?” She already knew from the suit he’d worn yesterday that couldn’t be true.

Shaking his head, he confessed, “I’m a lawyer.”

“Sold your soul for money, huh?”

He laughed, nearly spewing coffee across the table. When he caught his breath, he said, “Not hardly,
cher.
Environmental lawyer, I am.”

Meaning he worked for a good cause but made pennies compared to the big guys. Not that she cared, but it wasn’t quite as big a black mark in his books. If he’d done it for the right reasons.

“Why an environmental lawyer?”

He shrugged. “Only way to please myself and mama. She’s married to the bayou. If I’d left it to her, I’d be a…fly fisherman or some other nonsense.”

Amy giggled at the disgusted twist of his lips.

The waitress returned with their sandwiches, lingering just a little too long as she lowered Seb’s plate.
You need breasts for that to look good, bitch.
Amy buried the ungrateful thought, biting into her meal.

“This is good!”

Seb shot her a sly smile. “Told you.”

The next few minutes passed in silence as they ate. Then Seb asked, “You got much family up in New York, or what?”

Amy shrugged. “Just Colleen, my cousin. The rest of my family lives in Minnesota.”

“Not close with your family?”

“I am, with Colleen. I–”
Haven’t seen her in six months.
Not since Amy had moved in with Tim. Her ex had monopolized her free time. For Pete’s sake, she hadn’t even met Colleen’s fiance! Could she really claim to be close?

Forcing a smile, she switched the focus off of her life. “What about you? Do you have any siblings or cousins?”

Seb grinned. “Too many.”

A cellphone trilled. Amy didn’t recognize the sound. It couldn’t be hers.

Seb fished his phone out of his pocket. He grinned. “Speak of the devils.”

“Your family?”

Nodding, Seb grunted in agreement. “My nephew.” He thumbed the buttons of his Blackberry and sent a text. As he tucked the phone away, he shot Amy a smile. “He wants my advice about this girl he likes. What are uncles for, r’what?”

He stood, the shirt stretching across his chest with the bunching of his muscles. “Ready,
cher?
” He held out a hand to help her up.

When they approached the front, the waitress readied their bill. As she passed the total to Seb, her hand brushed his arm. “I haven’t seen you in a coon’s age, dawlin. You come back soon, hear?”

Amy felt like throwing up. Had he and the waitress…
None of your business.
She wasn’t involved with him, so what did it matter? In fact, she’d already made up her mind to crawl back to Monique. Why not now? While Seb was busy settling the tab, she stumbled from the restaurant. Let him flirt with the waitress.

He ran out after her. “Amy, wait. Where are you fixin’ to go?” Wow. He hadn’t stayed to flirt.

With her quick steps, they were already halfway to his apartment. Halfway before she could make a clean break and get on with her life…even if she had no idea what that meant anymore. How had so much happened in less than two days?

“Monique’s waiting,” she said tersely, even though she’d given that excuse before.

Seb accepted it. Or at the very least, he didn’t refute her claim.

Not until they stepped into his apartment. Shutting the door, he said, “Won’t you stay? We’ll pass a good time, we’ll talk. I’ll make jambalaya.”

“Jumba-what?”

He laughed. “A rice dish,
cher.
You’ll like it, I promise.”

Amy shook her head. Retreating into the bedroom, where she’d left her suitcase, she said, “Monique–”