StrangersonaTrain (6 page)

While his tongue slashed back and forth across her
electrified nub, she found his belt and worked frantically to undo it. She
grunted with frustration and impatience because the fabric refused to obey fast
enough.

When the zipper finally came down and she hooked both hands
into the denim waistband, he let her nipple pop out of his mouth the way she
liked. Caught in the pleasure, Charlotte lost track of what she was doing. With
a move as fluid as if time were under his control, he stood up and slid his
jeans the rest of the way down. His freed erection pointed straight toward her.
Moisture increased between her legs. She’d begun to doubt that a man could get
her aroused enough for her pussy to get this wet.

He lifted a knee to the bed and climbed up between her legs.
Charlotte managed to drag her eyes off his penis and find his gaze traveling
down her body, top to bottom. Her chest rose and fell as eagerly as his. A kind
of sweet heaviness filled her body and shifted the point of gravity to her
cunt. She was ready for him the way she hadn’t been ready in a long time. And she
was ready for something else.

He was right about the things he’d told her last night. She
had to surrender completely. She had to let her need for control take a
vacation so that she could let this man plunge his amazing dick all the way
into her pussy and fuck her as deep and as hard as he’d promised.

An image formed in her mind and she knew it was the only way
to go. She flipped onto her belly then lifted up on all fours and moved
backward until she bumped his cock. He adjusted it to reach between her legs,
right across her slit. His hard rod slid between her labia, lubricating her
with her own cream. The tear of a condom wrapper followed his momentary
withdrawal and then his cock head wedged inside her opening.

Charlotte lowered her head, letting it hang between her arms
while she panted in anticipation of his plunge. Like a brand, his hands
imprinted her hips. With a single yank, he pulled her back and drove into her
all the way. She fell down on her elbows when he began to pound her. Every
penetration and retreat reached deeper and triggered a swell in her G-spot.

She heard herself moaning. She felt the bed sheets brush
against her nipples while her breasts flopped back and forth from the force of
his thrusts. For as long as necessary, she would let him fuck her. Even as she
imagined doing this longer than she thought possible, the orgasm slammed
through her. She’d never come so fast before. And so hard that the pleasure
shot straight into her brain and made it foggy.

The stranger kept fucking her. His hard cock hardly missed a
beat. In fact he sped up. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh in a
frenzied rhythm made her forget who she was and where she was.

“Yes!” she broke off. “Fuck me… Hard… God, I love you… I
love you…” she uttered as heat spilled over the edge again and another climax
hit her. Its force brought tears to her eyes.

Before the fog of pleasure could dissipate, he withdrew and
flipped her on her back.

“I want you to look me in the eyes when I make you come this
time,” he commanded. He guided her legs up over his shoulders and rubbed his
cock against her slit. “I love getting your juices all over me, love.”

And then he was all the way inside her again. “Together this
time. Come with me.”

He moved languidly, sliding in and out of her as if to
prepare her. All the while, those blue eyes of his held hers and what she saw
in them awoke feelings she’d come here to unlock. The dream was almost in her
grasp. Devotion, surrender, intensity. And more than anything, destiny.

His speed increased until their fucking became the
uninhibited sharing of mutual lust that both wanted to push past the limits. In
this position, she felt more vulnerable and sensitive and she knew that this
time, it would be even more intense. When the rhythm of his thrusts reached the
pinnacle and his face began to contort, she knew they were almost there and
grasped his arms. Her eyes began to drift shut.

“No! Stay with me, darling. Keep your eyes open,” he shouted
with a shredded voice.

Her pussy was so full. With every piercing plunge, he
stabbed the electrified bundle of nerves that sent ever greater waves of
aliveness through her flesh. Charlotte had to fight to keep her eyes focused on
his because she couldn’t stand the escalating thrill.

“I’m coming!”

“Wait!” he yelled and slammed into her so hard that she
cried out. He remained buried inside her for a moment then pulled almost all
the way out before slamming into her again.

Her grip on his arms tightened and her knuckles hurt.

“Now!” he issued and began to pump against her in their
familiar hard pace. “Together… Now!!!”

Her eyes frozen on his, they flew over the precipice. One
body, one endless brilliance, together. The sensation seemed so simple that she
could have mistaken its power. For once, she let go in every way, allowing
pleasure to carry her so far that she began to question if any of this was
actually happening. She would stay with it for as long as it lasted. She would
embrace it and hold it and treasure it. This was what she’d dreamed of and he’d
given it to her. Hours might have passed before his head slumped and her hands
finally released their death-like grip on his forearms.

His cock still inside her pussy, he fell on top of her, his
head on her chest. Their hard breathing began to slow while she ran her hands
through his hair. It was drenched with sweat as were their entire bodies. This
time, when the sweetness of slumber began to drop its veil, Charlotte wanted to
hold it back.

“Don’t let me go to sleep,” she prayed.

His head lifted long enough for him to place a kiss on her
lips. “I’m not going anywhere. I’ll hold you while you sleep.”

Digging her fingers into his waist, she shook her head even
as she kept herself from speaking the truth aloud. It wasn’t enough time. By
this time tomorrow, they would already be on their separate ways and this
interlude would become a warm memory she could pull out from time to time, like
a blanket on rainy weekend afternoons.

“Hey,” he called, bringing her back to reality. “It will be
all right,” he promised.

“Will you make love to me again?”

Damn it, did she have to sound like a lovestruck teenager?

His all-knowing smile burrowed into her heart. Even though
she refused to admit it, it was already too late to pretend she could walk away
from him as if he were some guy she’d only meant yesterday. If only she could
laugh at the irony.

“Of course I will make love to you again,” he said and
touched his lips to hers before he laid his head back on her chest and relaxed.

She had to savor the satisfaction that brought peace to her
heart as much as pleasure to her body. She embraced him and every ounce of the
glorious male strength that covered her. Having him on top, possessing as much
as protecting her, secured the proof that she’d satisfied him as he’d fulfilled
her.

Chapter Six

When she opened her eyes, she was alone. The sheet reached
up to her neck and she couldn’t move a limb. Nor did she want to. The pleasure
still pulsed under every inch of her skin. Her pussy, although empty and
already yearning to be filled again, held a distinct sensation of satisfaction.
Her stranger had pleased her immensely, just as he had promised, just as she
had promised she would allow herself to be pleasured.

Closing her eyes again, she drifted in the sweet aftermath
as memories of the encounter replayed in her mind. She must have fallen asleep
again because the next time she came to, it was to the sound of knocking.

“We’re pulling into Chicago, ma’am,” the porter’s voice
reached through the door.

Charlotte jerked up on her elbow, her heart racing, her eyes
darting over the empty compartment as panic began to create the familiar blunt
emptiness in her gut.

“Wait! Porter!”

Grabbing onto the sheet, she scrambled out of bed. She had
no time to throw her clothes on. She had to get the porter back before he went
too far. Holding the sheet around her, she cracked the door open and stuck her
head into the isle.

“Porter!” she called after the man who’d already progressed
almost to the end of the car.

“Yes, ma’am?” he said before he had time to turn. When he faced
her, he must have seen the desperation on her face because he hurried toward
her in long strides.

“The man who’d brought lunch, have you seen him? Do you know
where he is right now?”

He hesitated, looked away then back at her. His eyes
contained a strange expression that caused the blunt emptiness in her gut to
sink lower. She couldn’t turn back now.

“Please, tell me.”

The man nodded. “He was in the dining car five minutes ago.”

“Thank you.”

“Good luck, madam.”

His tone betrayed the honesty of his words. He sounded as if
she needed luck but Charlotte didn’t care. She leapt to throw her clothes on.
While scrambling in the small space, she noticed the black gift box on the bed.
She’d totally forgotten about it and whatever was in there, she’d rather wait to
open it until she’d completed the one last thing she had to do. Once dressed,
she grabbed the box and took it with her.

By taking a stranger to her bed, she’d risked rejection and
she’d prepared for it by making it perfectly clear, to him and to herself, that
she would be stepping off this train alone, free to say no to that awkward hope
that a man would ask to see her again. She never let herself be the type of
woman who waited for the phone to ring.

None of that mattered one damn bit when she swung the door
open and ran toward the dining car. She’d gotten it all wrong. All these years
of building herself into a tough career woman had earned her the position to
make the ultimate decisions. She said yes or no. She issued rejections with as
much cool control as she gave approval. For a long, long time, she’d held onto
control so tightly that she’d forgotten why she’d wanted it in the first place.

She had to tell him. It was her only chance. Almost giddy
with excitement, Charlotte burst into the dining car. Several people gave her a
bemused glance. No doubt she looked as crazed as she felt. The kind of clarity
that would make her do what she was about to do might actually be considered
insanity.

She spotted him. And her heart froze over. His back was to
her and his arm was draped over a woman’s shoulder. Panting for breath,
Charlotte pressed a hand to her chest and shut her eyes against her clouding
vision.

This wasn’t a big deal. She had expected that a man who
jumped so quickly into her bed probably didn’t wait long to jump into someone
else’s. She’d told him there were no strings attached, that she’d wanted him
only between the sheets. No, it most definitely wasn’t about him sleeping
around so much as it was about Charlotte not being able to tell him the truth
she’d finally realized when she’d found her bed empty in the morning.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Charlotte pushed back
her shoulders and opened her eyes. The bluest, most expressive eyes were
staring at her. Her knees knocked and she swayed. When he grasped her shoulders
to steady her, his strength reminded her of what they’d shared.

A new emotion swarmed her as it slowly sank in that her
lover had not been the man with the other woman. He stood right in front of
her, his disarming attention so fully directed at her that she had to admit
what she felt.

Terror. Sheer, undiluted terror.

“Hi.”

Her voice vibrated with fear. Her whole body shook with
adrenaline.

“Hi,” he said, squeezing her shoulders in reassurance.

Damn, he must have felt her trembling. Thank god he made no
notice of it. Not that she should care now. After all, she’d come to confess
the truth that being with him had helped her find. All of her life she’d fought
so hard to stay in charge. Last night, he’d shown her what it meant to let go.
It took more courage to surrender than to control, to receive than to give. She
wanted to affirm her sensuality and she thought that fucking a stranger would
do the trick. She got what she’d bargain for all right and now she had to own
up to the consequences.

She took a breath and opened her mouth to speak but he
crossed a finger over her lips and shook his head. “You don’t have to say it
now.”

Taking hold of his hand, she kissed his fingertips. “Tell me
your name first.”

He smiled. “Mark. Mark Brannaman.”

Flush with the energy of her realization, Charlotte was
finally ready to take the plunge. She’d been wrong for so many years.
Fulfillment didn’t come from control. It was easy to win by pushing herself to
be smarter, better and tougher. True fulfillment required the ultimate courage.
Only those who dared to face rejection stood a chance at the final prize. Only
if she was truly ready to hear a “no” could she hope to receive what this man
had to give.

She swallowed.

“Mark…”

He shook her shoulders slightly. “Hey, you really don’t have
to do this.”

She absolutely did. More than she had to do anything else.

“Mark, will you be with me?”

There. She’d said it even though she had no idea what being
together would even mean. The answer could be “no” as easily as it could be
“yes”. And although she’d hoped with all her heart that he would accept her,
allowing herself to hear “no” meant that she accepted him.

His smile reflected in his eyes long before it began the
stretch the corners of his delicious mouth.

“And who might you be?”

She laughed. “Charlotte Jaffey.”

He reached for her hand and lifted it to his lips. He
feathered a kiss on her knuckles. The look she read in his eyes sent a shiver
through her spine.

“Open the box, Charlotte.”

“Oh.” Even though she held it in her hand, she’d forgotten
about it again.

Once more, she seemed to be in suspended animation. The hand
that lifted the box and the other that pulled on the bow didn’t seem to belong
to her. Shouldn’t she be excited, her heart abuzz with anticipation. Or maybe,
she should wonder where he might have gotten such an elegant gift because he
certainly hadn’t bought it on the train.

She met his eyes and they reflected a truth she’d longed to
see. Destiny. Even more powerful than when she’d sensed it before because this
time she knew what it took to fully embrace it.

She opened the lid of the box but before she looked inside,
she met and held Mark’s gaze. Yes. This powerful, confident man really stood
before her, making her envision things she’d never before thought possible.
Possibilities that created warm fuzzies in her belly. Partnership, respect,
care, the kind of intimacy that allowed them to stand face-to-face without
saying a word and have ultimate trust in each other. For the first time in her
life, Charlotte understood what love felt like.

She looked down at the contents of the box. Resting on a bed
of crumpled pink tissue was a cheap souvenir bracelet. The kind you could buy
in most tourist shops during a train’s scheduled stop.

Charlotte couldn’t hold back the ear-to-ear grin when she
lifted the bracelet. It spelled the words “
Be Mine
”.