Tall, Dark & Hungry (27 page)

No more groaning, he told himself, nearly sobbing with relief as she bent to take him into her mouth again. Her mouth was sweet, warm and moist. She had the sexiest damn lips—full and plump. And her tongue…

"Ahhhh," he cried, as she did something with her tongue that made his whole body shudder. Damn, she was—stopping again?

"You're sure I'm not hurting you?" Terri asked with concern, then explained, "You sounded like you were in pain."

Had he groaned? Bastien wondered. No. No, he was sure he hadn't groaned. But he had cried out. Apparently, that had distracted her too. No more crying out then either, he ordered himself firmly. He'd bite his own tongue off if that's what it took, but no more groaning or crying out. Better yet, he'd stick a pillow in his mouth—then he couldn't make any sound at all.

Realizing Terri was waiting for an answer, but unable to remember the question, Bastien briefly debated whether to ask her to repeat it, or to simply guess and answer yes or no. Deciding it would be faster just to guess, and that the chances were fifty-fifty either way, he blurted, "No."

"No?" She tipped her head to the side quizzically. "No, you're not sure I'm not hurting you? Or no, you aren't in pain?"

"Yes." He nodded firmly. Thinking was really quite beyond him at that point. All Bastien could think about was that he wanted Terri to wrap those sweet, luscious red lips around his—

"I'm really not doing this right, am I?" she said on a sigh. "And you're just too sweet and polite to tell me I suck at this."

"No, I'm not," he said in a panic. "I'd tell you if you sucked. Well, you are—I mean, you're doing a wonderful job. Just wonderful. Just… wonderful," he repeated helplessly.

"Really?" Terri perked up perceptibly, a smile tipping her lips as she stared at him, apparently eager for praise. "What am I doing right? Tell me, and I'll do more of it."

Bastien stared at her helplessly. Why was she doing this to him? Was it some sort of torture? Punishment, perhaps? Had he not pleasured her enough when he'd woken her earlier? Had he snored and kept her awake?

Realizing he was losing it, Bastien gave his head a shake. This was Terri—sweet, fun, adorable Terri. He didn't think she had a mean bone in her body, and she certainly wouldn't set out to torment him deliberately. Which meant that, despite the fact that she had his legs shaking, and his heart racing, and his body ready to explode with pleasure, she didn't have a clue what she was doing. She was just following her instincts.

The woman had damned fine instincts.

"All of it," Bastien said at last. "All of it is perfect." Except for the stopping part, he thought, but didn't say it. She was only stopping out of concern for his well-being and pleasure. And her consideration and caring were sweet. Really. And he was sure he'd appreciate it. Later. Right now, he just wanted her to—

"Ahhhh." He sighed as she took him into her mouth again. Then he held his breath, terrified the sound would make her stop once more. Fortunately, it didn't. She continued to slide her lips the length of his erection, her tongue swishing across him like a cat's tail. Bastien decided not to take chances, however. He snatched up a pillow from the bed and slammed it over his mouth.

He would not make a sound now, Bastien assured himself as he sank his teeth into the pillow. He might smother to death, but he would do so silently and with a smile on his face.

Maybe. Bastien tore the pillow aside and lifted his head to peer at her with exasperation. She had stopped again and was sitting up, her head turned toward the door.

"Did you hear that?" she asked with a frown.

"No." He didn't mention he'd had the pillow over his head, making hearing as difficult as speaking.

"I thought I heard someone call out," she explained, turning back to him.

"There's no one here but us," Bastien reminded her, with what he considered the patience of a saint.

His gaze dropped to his erection. It was standing straight and tall and proud, hoping for her attention. It was also red and maybe a little angry that he wasn't getting it, at least not without constant starts and stops. Perhaps this was Terri's technique, he thought: Bring him to the brink, then stop; do it again, then stop. If so, it was brilliant. She was driving him
crazy.

"Terri?" he said almost pleadingly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She smiled at him and lowered her head again. Bastien saw her red lips part as her mouth opened, then… Terri froze again, her jaws snapped closed inches above his erection and she sat up. "Surely you heard
that?"

He had, of course. Someone was calling his name. A woman. And as there were very few people with keys to this penthouse, Bastien knew who it must be. He would kill her.

"It's probably my mother," he said, dropping his head back on the bed with disgust.

"Your mother?" There was no mistaking the horror in Terri's voice.

Bastien raised his head to see her scrambling off the bed. He watched with regret as she climbed into her jeans, noting with interest that, in her hurry, she wasn't bothering with panties. Hmmm, he thought, then his pants slammed into his face. Terri had tossed them at him.

"Get dressed, Bastien," she hissed. "We can't let her find us like this."

Sighing, he gave up any hope of Terri finishing what she'd started and sat up on the bed. But he didn't start getting dressed right away. Instead, he watched as she fumbled with her bra. Her breasts were jiggling as she worked with the lacy material. He liked watching her jiggle.

"Terri?"

They both stilled. The voice was drawing nearer. It was also plain it wasn't his mother. Perhaps that was a good thing, Bastien thought idly; it would be a shame to kill a woman who had survived some seven-hundred-plus years.

"It's Kate!" Terri cried, but didn't seem much relieved. But then, Bastien supposed it wouldn't matter who was coming toward the bedroom, Terri would panic anyway. Being caught in such a compromising position might not be the scandalous thing it was in his youth, but it could still be terribly embarrassing.

"I thought you said we had the place to ourselves!" she hissed accusingly. "Why didn't you tell me they were returning?"

"It completely slipped my mind in all the chaos of the last couple of days," Bastien admitted, shifting wearily to get out of the bed. His erection had done a quick disappearing act.

"Bastien?" Kate's voice was clear as a bell now; she was nearly to the room.
They
were nearly to the room, he corrected as Lucern could be heard saying, "They've probably gone out for the day."

Bastien stilled, his mind working. Maybe if they hid in the closet or something, Kate and Lucern would think they weren't here and go away. Then he and Terri could get back to… His gaze found Terri as she finished with her bra. She pulled her shirt on and hurried across the room to the door leading into the guest bathroom. No. Not a chance. He couldn't see her agreeing to hiding. She'd flown all this way to help Kate with the wedding, and she wouldn't hide just to make love with him. It was one of the things he liked about her, he admitted as she slipped out of the room. Her loyalty and sense of what was right were some of the things that made her so special.

Damn shame though, Bastien thought sadly as he glanced down at himself. His erection had started to perk back up at the possibility of continuing after all. It died a quick death, however, as the door to the bedroom opened and Kate walked into the room.

"I can't believe you forgot we were coming home today," Kate said again.

It was later that night.

Bastien sighed and shrugged. He couldn't believe it, either. But he had been rather busy of late, dealing with the various crises that had popped up around the other couple's wedding. Not to mention the added crises surrounding Kate's friend Chris. Poor bastard. The guy hadn't looked any better today when they'd gone to see him. That had been at Kate's insistence. The minute she'd heard the calamities that plagued the man, she'd insisted they all head to the hospital. Bastien had tried to get himself and Terri out of the visit, hoping to get the chance to finish what she had started, but hadn't managed. In the end, they'd all traipsed up to the hospital. C.K. was still not feeling well.

"I'm so sorry that you've had to handle so many problems while we were gone," Kate said. They'd ended up telling her everything, even about the
catering. It had been hard not to, what with the apartment littered with catering trolleys. She'd taken the news pretty well, only panicking a little, and had relaxed once she heard how they had handled it. It was nice to know she trusted their taste.

"There's no reason to apologize. That's why I came early, to help with the wedding," Terri said, squeezing her cousin's hand affectionately.

Bastien noticed that the two women hugged and touched and patted a lot. It was nice in one way, warm and affectionate, but he also felt a pinch of jealousy, wishing he was the recipient of some of those hugs, pats and touches. But Terri had been keeping her distance since Kate and Lucern had arrived. She'd even been avoiding eye contact, and that troubled him. He wanted to put his arm around her and claim her as his own. She didn't seem to feel the same.

"What?"

Terri's startled exclamation drew Bastien's attention back to the conversation. Obviously, he'd missed something important. She was looking alarmed, her gaze meeting his for one of very few times since the other couple had shown up.

"Well, I want our wedding night to be special, and it won't be if we spend every night beforehand together. So, I thought staying apart for this week would be a good idea. And Lucern agreed. He'll be staying here at the penthouse until the wedding."

Bastien's lips curved with amusement as he glanced at his brother. Lucern might have agreed, but he didn't look happy about it. In fact, his brother looked pretty miserable. Bastien's amusement died at Kate's next words, however.

"So, you can stay at the apartment with me and we can have girl time. It'll be fun."

Bastien now understood Terri's expression. This must be what he'd missed; Kate announcing that Terri was to move into her little apartment for the week. He didn't like the idea at all. In fact, panic swamped him at the possibility of Terri sleeping so far away from him. He'd just moved the relationship up to the physical level, and he was damned if he was going to lose it now.

"Lucern looked pretty miserable," Terri commented.

"He did, didn't he?" Kate laughed. She moved back to the couch with a fresh bowl of popcorn arid set it between them. "He wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea when I brought it up in California, but he agreed to please me."

Terri nodded and tossed another tissue-paper flower in the usable box. They had brought the Kleenex and string with them to Kate's place. It was a good project to keep them busy, and it did have to be done. Kate had claimed that she didn't trust the men to finish the job without being there to ride herd.

"Bastien wasn't looking too happy himself at dinner," Kate commented, and Terri glanced at her sharply.

They had headed out for a meal right after Kate's announcement about the new living arrangements. Once seated in the little French bistro Kate had suggested, Bastien had launched into an attempt to argue that Terri should stay at the penthouse. First he'd pointed out that she was all settled in the guest room. Then he'd said the penthouse was larger and more comfortable. He'd tried countless other excuses, too—even suggesting that Kate should move in and leave Lucern in her apartment instead—but none of his arguments had gotten him anywhere.

Terri had finally pointed out that this was the reason she'd flown from England, to stay with Kate and help with the wedding. The moment she'd said that, he'd ceased trying to prevent the unstoppable and had sat quiet and grim through the rest of the meal. Terri had never seen him so silent. She missed his smiles and the talk they usually shared.

"Didn't he?" Kate prodded, drawing Terri from her thoughts.

"Did he?" she countered mildly. "Perhaps he has a touch of food poisoning, too. We all tried that casserole."

"Hmm." Kate's lips twisted with sardonic amusement. "I gather that means you aren't going to tell me how things are going between the two of you."

Terri was silent for a moment. She fanned out the petals of yet another flower, then glanced up. "He's a very nice man."

"Yes, he is," Kate agreed.

"Handsome."

"Definitely handsome. All the Argeneau men are. Of course, Lucern is the cream of the crop, but Bastien is good-looking too."

Terri had a different opinion, but she let it go. "He's so…" She glanced toward the ceiling, searching her mind for the word. "Special. The way he opens doors, and the way he orders for me—and he's so funny, Kate. And smart. He's definitely smart. And charming, and when he kisses me—" She stopped abruptly and blinked. "Well, he's just a lovely man."

"You love him!" Kate crowed. "I knew it! I knew you two would get along like a house on fire. Oh, this is wonderful, Terri! We can be sisters-in-law as well as cousins and best friends and—"

"Slow down," Terri gasped, cutting her off. "Jeez. I only met him a week ago."

"So?" Kate asked staunchly. "I didn't know Lucern very long before I knew he was the one. Of course, we had some things to work out before it all came together, but when you meet the right one, you know it. And you-two are right together, Terri."

"Hmm," she murmured, concentrating on the flower in her hands. She wanted to believe her cousin was right, but was afraid to get her hopes up. Having to pack her things and move to Kate's had been a horrendous blow. Terri had wanted to sit down on the side of the bed and cry at the very thought. She wanted to spend time with her cousin, but she didn't want to lose out on time spent with Bastien too. Or the chance to kiss him, to make love to him, or to be held in his arms. It was as if she'd been offered a taste of heaven then had it snatched away. When she'd worried about pursuing this relationship, Terri had known it would end, but she'd thought she had the full two weeks. She hadn't been prepared for today being the end, and the wrenching of her heart was horrible.