The Game (12 page)

She pulled back first and looked up at me with a dazed expression. "Wow," she said.

I felt the same way. That kiss was unlike any I'd ever experienced before. Even the few times we'd had to put on a show for the public couldn't match up. This felt real.

A honking horn snapped my attention back to the road and we continued the drive in silence. I felt pulled toward Emilia in a way I'd never felt before. It was both scary and thrilling. By the time I pulled into the parking garage under her building, the tension between us had become unbearable. I knew something had to happen.

"Do you want to come up to my place?" she asked.

I nodded before I could talk myself out of it. What was one night anyway? We'd both been feeling the sexual intensity build up for months now. It would only get stronger and more distracting unless we did something about it. At least that's what I tried to convince myself.

We walked toward the elevators and she punched in her secret pin for her floor before the doors slid shut. Once inside, she pushed me against the back of the cold metal doors and pressed her body up against mine. "There aren't any cameras in here," she whispered against my lips.

I pulled her tight against me, letting her feel my erection pushing against her hip, before I bent down and crushed my lips to hers. The feel of her in my arms, kissing me without abandon as she rubbed herself against me, nearly drove me insane. The bing of the elevators brought me back to my senses. I was able to straighten us out before the doors opened, and we spilled out onto the floor.

Once inside, she led me past her kitchen, to her bedroom. She pushed the door shut behind her and tugged me toward the center of the room. I liked this aggressive side to her. It was a nice change of pace to not have to do all the work in the bedroom.

Emilia bent down on her knees in front of me and undid the buckle on my belt before pulling down my zipper. I sucked in a gasp as I felt her fingers wrap around me, and just about died when I felt her warm wet lips close around the tip of my shaft. She swirled her tongue under the head while she slowly stroked me up and down. I threw my head back and sighed in bliss.

Emilia was very good at this.
Too good
. I was almost embarrassed at how fast it took for me to get so close. I needed to stop before I came in her mouth. I stilled her movements with my hands and looked down at her. She was magnificent and I couldn't believe this beautiful woman was real. She looked up at me with her head tilted to the side in question.

"We need to stop before I come," I said, my voice sounding strained.

She smiled a satisfied little smirk at me before she stood up. I kicked off my socks and shoes along with my pants and pushed her forward, toward her large bed. We both fell on top of the down comforter in a heap. She scooted back to the center of the bed on her elbows.

"That was elegant," she laughed.

"Come back here. I'm not finished with you yet," I said, tugging her ankles back toward me.

She let out a loud peal of laughter but didn't fight it. I pulled off her shoes and then worked on her jeans. She wore the tiniest pair of red panties I'd ever seen, and I regretted having to take them off, but wouldn't be deterred from my goal. I hooked my thumb underneath the flimsy elastic and pulled them down.

I placed myself between her legs and bent them at the knees. "Now it's your turn," I said looking up at her as I licked my lips. I felt her body tense as I rubbed my fingers against her sensitive little nub. I heard her moan as I guided her lips apart and rubbed my finger against her wetness before finally pushing it in.

She arched her back and cried out my name as I slowly eased in and out while still rubbing her clit with my thumb. God, she was so wet! I loved watching how she reacted to my touch. Her face was so expressive. When she finally opened her eyes, I was arrested by the look of pure desire I saw reflected in them. It almost took my breath away. "Please," she said, softly.

I knew exactly what she wanted me to do, and without looking away from her face, I lowered myself as my mouth descended on her. She tasted like ambrosia--salty and earthy and all her. I flicked my tongue against her clit and heard her moan. She writhed beneath me as I continued to devour her with my mouth, circling my tongue in slow undulating circles. When she began bucking against me, I knew she was close. I pinned her to the bed with my mouth as I quickened my pace, at times sucking, nibbling and probing her with my tongue.

"Oh God," she moaned as she tightened her thighs around my neck. Her body writhed and bucked beneath me, but I held her down until she screamed out my name.

Her body stilled and her legs fell away from my head. I looked up at her, lying down on the bed, her breathing coming in short pants. I kissed my way up her body and she opened her eyes as I reached her lips.

"That was beautiful," I said in wonder. She blushed at me shyly before running her fingers through my hair at the nape of my neck. I lowered my head for a kiss and she opened up to taste herself on my lips and tongue.

"Do you have a condom?" I asked.

She looked up at me blankly before nodding her head. "Top drawer, side table."

I reached over grabbed a foil packet, tearing it open, and slipping the condom on. I pulled off my shirt and climbed up on top of her. She had already managed to take off her top so our bodies were touching skin to skin.

"I want you," she said wrapping her legs around my waist.

I pressed the swollen tip of my cock into her and felt like I had slipped into heaven. She felt so good. Had it really been months since the last time I'd done this? Somehow, I knew that nothing could compare to this feeling--this whole experience with her.

I pulled out slowly, and thrust back in keeping my eyes on her face. Her eyes were closed as she bit her bottom lip, and her dark hair was fanned out against the white comforter.

"Open your eyes," I ordered hoarsely.

She did as told, and I could see her eyes were dilated until they looked almost black. We stared into each other's eyes, as I moved in and out of her. Soon she arched her hips and ground into me, moving in time to my rhythm. Emilia cried out each time our bodies met, driving me closer and closer to the edge. Our breathing intensified and I was soon lost to everything but the friction of our flesh meeting, and the sound of blood rushing in my ear.

"Come for me!" I demanded, feeling myself on the brink of my own orgasm.

I wanted her to come first. At my command, she let loose and clenched her muscles around me and shouted out my name. I felt her body tense before she shuddered against me.

Watching her come spurred my own need for release. That was enough to send me over the edge and my fingers gripped her hips tightly as I buried myself inside her. I couldn't help the growl that was torn from my lips as came. I continued to thrust as we both rode out our climax. I felt completely drained and collapsed on top of her before rolling to my side.

My breathing was ragged and unsteady, and I could still feel the pounding in my chest as my heart thudded against my ribs. I'd never experienced a more intense orgasm before. I didn't know if it was because I'd gone without sex for so long, or if Emilia had something to do with it. We lay like that, both spent and silent, but in complete and total satisfaction for--I don't even know how long. Eventually our breathing went back to normal and my heart beat at a slow and steady rhythm.

Now that my mind wasn't so clouded by uncontrolled lust, and I was starting to get a sense of my surroundings, I felt the first twinge of regret start to creep in.
What did we just do? This was a mistake
. The thought ate me up and I felt the sudden urge to leave. I couldn't think straight with Emilia lying so close to me, naked no less. I needed to get out while I still could. I bolted up from the bed and started gathering my clothes, throwing them on haphazardly. Emilia lifted herself off the bed to look at me in confusion.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I've got to go," I said.

"Is something wrong?"

"No...Nothing's wrong. I just think it's best if I go now," I said.

She blew out a frustrated breath. "Don't think you can just walk out here like this and expect me to chase after you like some lovesick fool. I'm nobody's fool, Rob," she said.

I looked at her one last time before striding to the door and opening it. I wanted to say something else, to explain my feelings to her, but I didn't even know what my feelings were. I couldn't even explain it to myself.

Instead I kept walking until I was out of her apartment. I used the front entrance this time, and didn't look back. By the time I reached the outside of her building, I was out of breath. Not from the excursion, but from all the agitation I was feeling. I waved off the doorman who offered to call a taxi for me. A nice walk was exactly what I needed. I needed time to think and calm myself down. I'd worry about my car later.

What just happened between Emilia and me was extraordinary--amazing really. I couldn't recall a time when I'd felt so alive or connected to another person. And that scared the hell out of me. In my adult life, no one had made me feel the way Emilia had, and I wondered if I'd gotten in over my head.

Chapter 14: Emilia

I picked up the nearest thing to me and threw it against the wall as Rob stormed out of my apartment. It shattered into dozens of tiny broken pieces. I yelled out loud in frustration, and threw my head back on the pillow. That was my favorite Swarovski vase and now it was smashed to bits.

Damn Rob
! How dare he walk out on me like that, as if I were just some cheap whore? We had barely just finished, and he was already getting dressed and scurrying around like the devil was on his heels. I'd never been treated like that before. Guys usually worshipped the ground I walked on, and it was me who had to cut the after sex cuddle short and kick them out. Now I just felt used and humiliated.

I closed my eyes and tried to temper my anger as I counted to ten in my head. It was a technique I'd learned in anger management after I had got into a fight with another model when I was 17. It had always worked for me before, but right now, nothing could block the picture in my mind of Rob's look of horror right before he walked out of my room.

I had only myself to blame, though. I knew what kind of man he was long before we ever got together. He'd admitted to me outright that he wasn't into relationships, and definitely didn't see a future for us together. If I'd only remembered that fact, I could have avoided this brutal rejection and saved my bruised ego. I should have stuck to the original agreement and never even invited him up to my apartment. What the hell was I thinking?

He had been so good with my family and so understanding. I thought there might have been something there. And then when he kissed me, I could barely think for the high I felt. But it was all a lie. He'd never change and I'd been a fool to think he would. In the end, I only played myself.

Now I'd not only complicated our relationship, but threw our whole agreement into jeopardy. How were we to move on from this? Could we just go back to how things were, and act like nothing ever happened?

I knew if we had any chance of getting over this little obstacle, I had to shove all my feelings aside and pretend like none of it mattered. It was just sex. Neither of us were virgins, certainly not Rob. I was sure he'd had more than enough experience in this department to handle it like an adult.

Even as I thought it, I knew I was deluding myself. I was only supposed to pretend like I'd fallen in love with Rob, and the crazy thing was, I might have just done it for real. I rolled over on my side and groaned. Of all the dumb things to do, this one took the cake.

I'd always had a thing for unattainable men before, but none of them held a candle to Rob Benedict. The best thing to do for the both of us was to just call the whole thing off--the engagement, the fake relationship. I was halfway done dialing Charlotte's phone number to tell her of my change of heart when I stopped.

There were only a few months left and the Golden Globes was coming up. I didn't want the news of our break up to overshadow the positive press I was sure to get. And Rob still had the anniversary party for his mother. The least I could do was live up to my end of the bargain since that was really the only thing he had asked me to do.

I decided to stick this thing out until after awards season and the anniversary party. We could behave like adults in the meantime, and we hardly needed to see each other much. With the decision made, I just had to hide the fact that I'd fallen in love with Rob Benedict to the only person I wanted to know.

***

Rob didn't call for five days. If I were waiting for his call, which I wasn't, that would have pissed me off again. He had a habit of ditching me after some major turning point in our "relationship". The night he proposed, he jetted off to New York. And the night that we'd finally slept together, he disappeared again to God knows where. This seemed to be a pattern with him and I laughed bitterly. "
You really know how to pick 'em, Emilia
," I said to myself ruthlessly.

I had flown back to Los Angeles by then. Before he left, I told him I wouldn't chase him like a lovesick fool, and I intended to prove it to him. My social calendar went into overdrive and I spent those days out on the town, at parties, and mingling with friends, acquaintances and other industry people.

It helped to take my mind off of Rob, but every night when I went home, I'd check my messages for any sign of him. I'd be damned if I was going to be the first one to call him. It didn't escape me that his parent's anniversary party was coming up fast. Next weekend to be exact. I wondered if Rob still wanted me to go with him, or if our night together had truly scared him, and he decided to scrap the whole idea. It would have been nice for him to call to let me know.

As if I'd conjured it up by magic, my phone began to buzz in my pocket, and I leaned back and fished it out of my jeans. I felt a mixture of relief, anger, and oddly, hope when I saw Rob's name on the caller ID.