Sexual Persuasion (19 page)

“Jack is obsessed. He doesn’t really want me. He just doesn’t like to be turned down. And he doesn’t want you to have me. It offends his male ego.”

No, he wants me, even if it’s to prove a point to you.
Alex needed Charlotte to pull off his plan, but he thought he’d wait to ask for her help until after Tom confirmed he could do what needed to be done.

“I’m making lunch. Are you hungry?”

He tried to ignore the rise and fall of her chest, the spicy fragrance of Opium, the sexy bump on her nose, and tiny mole on the tip of her lip. Her gorgeous, bountiful body. All that was beyond his control. “For you,” he said. She came close and cupped his bottom, pulling him to her. He felt her nipples harden against him.

She lifted her gaze, and a wicked smile curled her lips. “Then have me for lunch.”

“A man couldn’t get a better offer.” He unbuttoned her blouse and slid it off her shoulders, taking in the soft, creamy skin, the graceful turn of her collarbone, the translucent blue of the pulsing vein in her neck. He brushed his lips there and felt the light throbbing. “I want you, and I want you now.”

Charlotte stood with her eyes closed. “I’m remembering the silk scarf you tied around my eyes.
The sensuousness of feeling, not seeing, of allowing my other senses to capture the art of being loved.”

“Then keep them closed.” He slowly peeled off her skirt. She slipped out of her shoes and stood with nothing on except her underwear. He lowered her thong, and she stepped out of that too. Then he unsnapped her bra, and it fell to the floor. She appeared trancelike and didn’t move when he stepped back.

Alex marveled at her delectable body, all curves and softness. He caressed her breasts, eliciting a musical hum of satisfaction. They were full and heavy, too large for her figure, their firmness defying gravity. He pinched both nipples, gently pulling them.

“Every time I look at you, it’s as if for the first time.”

“And every time you touch me, it’s different and wondrous. I’m tingling all over.”

He lifted her and brought her to the bed, then quickly shed his clothes. She still kept her eyes closed. Trust, Alex thought.
Charlotte trusted him. He got on his knees, facing the footboard, and began massaging her feet. Her purrs excited him even more when he sucked her toes into his mouth and encircled each one with his tongue.

“That’s glorious,” she said. “Erotic. I have a new erogenous zone.”

He continued by licking the bottoms of her feet. Her sounds of pleasure were every bit as stimulating as if he’d touched her sexually. He kissed his way up her legs to her inner thighs, where he delicately stroked his tongue from one side to the other, skirting her labia, deliberately teasing her. Charlotte opened her legs for him, exposing her glistening, leaking wetness, and he felt his own fluids escaping. He applied soft, gentle kisses to her mound, feeling the light bristle of her manicured pubic hair against his lips.

Turning his gaze upward, he glanced at
Charlotte’s reassuring smile. He gently parted her pussy lips and gave a long, delicious lick from back to front.

“Oh, yes,” she murmured. “That place, there.
So very, very nice.”

He repeated the motion, methodically, lick after glorious lick, tenderly working her clit, heady with her scent, until her juices covered his mouth and chin. She shuddered, and he knew she was ready. Her body was slick, but he found purchase to turn her over onto her stomach. He was hard and full and knew he’d come fast. Straddling her, he lifted her middle until she was on all fours, and then he cupped her breasts, tweaking them as they hung free. Then he moved one hand to his cock, rubbing it near her pussy to mix their liquids, and he slid in easily from behind.

“Oooh, Alex,” she sighed. “You’re so far in, and it’s so good. I―ooh…”

Alex wanted to take it slow, not to change the leisurely pace of their lovemaking. But he couldn’t. He slid in, deeper and deeper.
Felt her wall tighten around him. Felt her spasms. He was climbing, higher, higher. She reached under and caressed his balls. The sensation soared through him. He held her hips and thrust one last time. She cried out as her orgasm met his, and they languished in the incredible climax. Blood coursed through his body. Never had he felt so physically aware of every sound and smell, of every sensory neuron.

Resting his head on her back, he maneuvered her onto her side, his still-throbbing cock deep inside her, his warm fluids seeping out,
mingling with hers. He held her from behind, kissing her, burying his face in her neck. When he caught his breath, he said, “At the risk of sounding cliché, was that as good for you as it was for me?” He laughed, and Charlotte broke up.

“Nothing special,” she said. She wrapped her foot around his, still chuckling. “It was fantastic.
Amazing. Wow. Can we do that again?”

“I’m going to need a few minutes.”

They both broke into uninhibited laughter.

“I’m sorry. I had to take you then.
Right then.”

“Needy fucks can’t wait,”

“It was more than a fuck,” he said, holding her close.

“This is a very different lunch hour for me.”

“For me too. I had no plans to see you until this evening, but I suspected Jack had come here. When I saw his car, I got really scared that he’d hurt you.”

“No, he says he wants me back. After what I did to him, can you believe that?”

“Actually, I can. He knows he was stupid to let you go. I’ll have to remember to thank him.”

“I do have to go back to work.”

“I have a few things to do before I pick you up tonight. Then we’ll go to my favorite Italian restaurant in the North End. They have
linguine ala vongole
to die for. Fresh clams in their shells. It’s one of my guilty pleasures. Oh, and
zabaliogne
for dessert. Plus, there’s something I want to talk to you about. I might need your help tonight.”

“Sounds intriguing.”

“You might not think so, and if you don’t want to be part of this, I’ll understand.”

“Now it sounds very intriguing.” She checked her watch.
“Lunch or shower?”

“Shower, definitely.”

“I’ll let you suds me all over.”

“The sound of that is giving me―”

“Don’t say it. I can feel movement against the back of my legs, and unless there’s a third party in bed I don’t know about, an explanation is not needed.”

“We’d better get into the bathroom, or I’ll want more, and we’ll be too exhausted to get dressed.”

He dragged her off the bed, pulled her to him, and kissed her hard on the lips. “You’re amazing, Ms. Stone.”

“And you, Mr. Andros, are as hard as a rock.
Again.”

“What can I say?”

They stepped under the spray, and he kissed her on the lips. Down the neck. Across her chest. He reached down and massaged her pussy, entering her with his finger.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” she said.

He heard her, but he was too busy teasing her nipples to answer. Her panting breath released
aahs
and
oohs
, and she gasped and arched her back. She had hold of his hair, directing his rhythm while her sounds mixed with the pelting water. When he knew she was close to peaking, he entered her, and she came again, shuddering against him as he experienced his own eruptive force.

They stood under the water a long time, holding each other, wordless, hearts finding a normal tempo, bodies coming off their amazing highs. Her kiss on his neck broke the spell. She turned off the water, and he dried her body as she dried his,
sharing soft touches. Then they dressed and reaffirmed their later date.

They kissed in the stairwell, and both took off in different directions, as if they were strangers. Maybe in some ways they still were. But in the short time since he’d known her, they’d shared so much. Soon she’d know the rest. He smiled inwardly as he walked to his car. In spite of that last barrier between them, he’d never felt closer to anyone in his life.

At Long Last

The readout on his musical cell displayed Tom Scruggs’s number. “Are we ready?” He listened while Tom filled him in. Alex grinned. “See you tonight.”

He needed to touch base with Max to tell him his plan. Even though they had practically grown up together, Max wasn’t the type to dig into people’s psyches. Smart and more than clever in his way, he really didn’t
know
Alex and would be surprised when he heard what he planned. Alex knew it wouldn’t bother his friend’s ethical sensibilities. He might even have some other ideas. Alex worried more about Branigan. The politician had already shown his vindictive side, and in spite of warning him off, Alex didn’t trust the old man from exacting revenge on Davidson and calling attention to matters best left private. Davidson would strike back the only way he knew how, by bartering a deal to keep him out of jail. If he did that, it would be a toss-up who would silence him permanently.

Scruggs said he’d found someone to do the other job Alex commissioned while Jack was otherwise occupied. It might be the most important element of his plan to neutralize him for the long term. He hated the idea of what he had to do to accomplish that, but he’d do it.

He got back to his apartment and changed into more comfortable clothes. Settling into his home study, he made a few calls, then walked to Harbor House. He and Max spent an hour together eating a late lunch and discussing what Alex intended to do. Though surprised, Max gave Alex’s plan a thumbs-up. It would be a long night.

At six, he picked up
Charlotte. He didn’t dare go up to her apartment for fear he couldn’t keep his hands off her. They drove to the North End for dinner. The clams in the pasta were fresh and sweet―his only taste of seafood in a while―and the abundance of garlic in the recipe made him glad they both ordered it.

“What were you going to ask me to do?” she said.

“I want you to contact Jack and ask him to meet you tonight.”

“What?”

“Jack wants more than anything to prove to you I’m gay.”

“I know, and I know what the rumors are. You teased me about it earlier. I know you’re not. Not the way you make love. But―”

“You want to know if there’s more to the story.”

She nodded.

“No more teasing.” He took a deep breath. “I’m going to tell you what you want to know.”

“It’s about damn time.”

“First, I don’t care if people think I’m gay, because I don’t think a person’s sexual persuasion is anyone’s business. Not parents, not the military, not anyone. Furthermore, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay or lesbian. I’ve been hit on by men more times than I can count, and I find it neither complimentary nor insulting. The rumors about me persist because of Max and because I never did anything to disavow them.”

“And Max is gay.”

“Max is―how can I say this? He’s whatever appeals to him at the moment. He may be attracted to a man or a woman, so I guess you’d say he’s bisexual. I’m not talking out of school, because Max doesn’t care who knows, and everyone does.”

“Then you aren’t…Max Carpathian’s lover?”

“No, and I never have been.”

She let out an audible breath. “Besides never disavowing the rumors, why do people assume you’re lovers?”

Alex rubbed his chin. “I guess they figured a quid pro quo existed. Maybe they thought his father bought me for his son by paying for my education. Anton was old world, but he loved his son. He knew of Max’s sexual proclivities, but he didn’t encourage it by buying me, not that he could have. As for Max’s motives, all I would have to do is say the word. He never forced the situation once he knew I wasn’t interested in that way.”

“Is he still…interested?”

“He wouldn’t turn me away.”

Charlotte’s face paled. “Then you’ve never engaged in a homosexual affair?”

Alex paused, pursed his lips. “I didn’t say that. What I said was I never had an affair with Max.”

“Then, you’ve―what you’re saying is…you’ve made love to men?”

Alex nodded. “Yes, I’ve had sex with a man. One man. In college. Gianni studied architecture at MIT while I pursued my law degree at Harvard. I was attracted to him, so I went to bed with him, more out of curiosity than anything else. What I thought would be a one-night stand turned into something…more. Much more.” He looked at Charlotte, her face a blank slate. “The relationship lasted around eight months. It was one love affair, that one man. As I said, there were others who made overtures, one in particular in law school after the affair ended, and he thought he could get me on the rebound. I wasn’t on the rebound and passed on his invitation. Maybe that one liaison puts me in the bisexual category. I don’t know. I’m sure you’ll come to your own conclusions.”

Alex hadn’t taken his eyes off her during his explanation.
Charlotte ran her tongue over her lips. She sipped her wine. He didn’t say anything, but he wished he had something stronger to drink than wine.