The Path to James (8 page)

James is frozen in place, staring at my exposed legs. My smile broadens at his captivation. His erection is growing, pushing against the zipper of his jeans. I bite my lower lip as I remember the sensation of him inside of me.

“You're disgusting,” Catherine hisses at me.

I tilt my head regarding her, I'm about to counter with something equally insulting, but James cuts me off.

“Get out!” he growls. His tone is so menacing that even I jump, though his words aren't directed toward me. Catherine thinks to protest, and James snarls, “NOW!”

Catherine squirms under his glare. “I'm not leaving without the Holtorf investment.”

“Gary will have it to you by tomorrow morning,” James crosses his arms over his bare chest. “You're not welcome back here.”

I can't help smirking at Catherine's stunned expression. It's wonderful. Her hand snatches the purse from the kitchen island and she glares at me as she swings around, headed for the front door.

I smile and wiggle my fingers in a wave at her. “Pleasure meeting you.”

James walks her out, staring at me as he leaves the room.

I sigh against the counter. I had no idea I had it in me. My legs feel like jello. I can hear muffled bickering between the two for a moment, and then the front door closes and I know the ex is gone.

James strides back into the kitchen, he looks so sexy in nothing but jeans.

“You,” all of the anger has evaporated from his voice, “You are too much for me.” He heads straight for me, and I'm reminded of the man in my dreams, stalking toward me on the beach. He still has an erection, it's grown another inch by the time he reaches me.

He isn't gentle. He forces my bottom half against the counter, his cock pushed up, biting into my hip. His hand fists into my hair and he takes my breath away with his mouth. He presses his thigh into my sex, grinding it against me while his other hand pulls his shirt off of my body. He lifts the fabric over my head and tosses it somewhere.

James ducks lower to wrap his mouth over one breast. I exhale sharply and watch as his cheeks hollow, sucking my nipple into a hardened point. His other hand teases me, trailing just within my inner thigh, but not venturing where I'd really like it to go.

“So,” I sound more breathless than I'd intended. “that was your ex-wife?”

James snorts against my skin and his eyes look up at me. He nips at my breast and I jump, pleasantly surprised by the rough sting of his bite. “Catherine is a treat, isn't she?”

He smirks as he slides down me, grabbing my thighs he lifts me onto the edge of the counter. It's cold and hard under my ass, I lean back onto my elbows. James lifts my legs onto his shoulders and I hold my breath.

He makes an appreciative sound deep in his throat, “Perfect.” I get chills as he kisses up one leg, then the other. I'm dripping for him, ready for his mouth on me. Kissing up my inner thigh his breath is hot against my skin. His stubble is rough. He blows on me and I clench. My head rolls back and I beg, “Please.”

He presses his mouth to my vee, and I gasp. The sensation is marvelous. His tongue dips into me and I moan with my head still fallen back. He grabs my hips to pull himself deeper in. My breathing quickens. His arm reaches around my leg to circle his thumb against my clit. Everything is hot, every part of me is tingling.

“James!” I moan his name.

His words are my undoing, “Come for me.”

My toes curl, my core bunches then springs loose. My juices flow over his awaiting mouth, and he laps me up, his velvet tongue savoring the taste of me.

When his mouth detaches, he wipes the sheen of my orgasm from his chin. “James,” my head is up, his finger slips inside of me then. And I whimper as my head falls back once more. He kisses my ankle still resting on his shoulder.

“James,” I try again, his finger still sliding in and out of me. “Fuck me.”

“Mmm,” he purrs, “as you wish.”

He snatches me off the table and flips me over his shoulder. I squeal as he heads to the stairs, springing up them two at a time and practically sprinting down to his bedroom. He throws me on the bed and snatches a condom from his nightstand.

I'm giggling as I hit the soft bedding. He bites and spits the torn foil from his mouth.

“Allow me,” I try to look serious as I scoot back toward him. He hands the condom over, expecting me to slip it on for him, but I toss it aside on the bed instead, going for his jeans without it. I pop the button and unzip his pants, pulling them down past his thighs. I grin, pleased with the girth and length of his cock.

“What are you up to, Miss Henton?” James gazes down at me, hopeful.

“Trouble,” and I wrap my hand around his shaft and my lips around the head of his penis. His sharp intake of air is all I need to get me to glide him the rest of the way into my mouth, taking in as much as I can fit. Forcing him in to the back of my throat.

“Alex,” his voice is reverent. His hands come to the back of my head to guide my mouth along his length. He tastes so good. He is so smooth.

One of my hands moves to rest against his thigh, the other comes up to fondle his balls. He breathes harder as my tongue strokes him, wrapping around his head and then swirling back downward.

“If you keep this up I won't get the chance to fuck you.”

When I look up from my task, his lips are parted, his eyes are closed as he enjoys my work. I want to feel him come in my mouth, I really want to taste him, but I want him inside of me even more.

I reach back for the condom without breaking contact with my tongue. He slides against me, I'm reaching, he slides out and I break contact to slip the rubber over him. I gaze up into his adoring expression as I roll it over his shaft.

His eyes flash open and he blinks down at me. He takes my chin in one hand. “What would you like, Alex?”

I bite my lower lip. “Fuck me, please.”

He grins. “I have no idea what I did to deserve you.”

He bends to lay me back onto the bed. He throws my legs over one shoulder and slides into the slick warmth between.

My eyes drift closed and I'm lost in the glorious sensation.

Chapter 12

I've never felt such post-coital anxiety before. I was more than satisfied, I made certain Alex was satisfied. But I pull her close, facing me, pulling the comforter around both of us. I feel terrified. This pixy, this imp, she does not belong to me. I found her in my woods, and I can feel her need to return to them.

Alex's head nuzzles into my chest. “Thank you,” she breathes into my skin.

I squeeze her tighter against me, pressing my lips into her hair. I want so badly for her to be mine, but I think of her last boyfriend, of the extents he must have gone to terrorize her. My expression hardens.

“Tell me about your ex,” I regret the request the moment I make it. I would do anything to hold on to this moment, and I more than likely just broke it.

Alex, my goddess, she turns onto her stomach and stretches her arms lazily above her head. All limbs, like a cat. She turns her head at me when she is finished, a slight quirk to her lips. “I have a number of exes, you will have to be more specific.”

“I'd like to hear about them all,” I run my fingers through her soft hair. “At least, the ones that retain any importance to you.” I'm fighting the urge to make love to her again instead of carrying on with the conversation.

Alex gives me a look that tells me she could stay. That I could convince her to remain here forever and says, “None retain any importance to me.”

“I see,” this warms my heart and I can't help myself as I move the comforter down, exposing her beautiful back. Her skin is pale silk that I can't seem to keep my hands off of. “I guess what I am really after is the man who attempted to
harm
you.” I think kill, I think murder, I think of the flames of a small home and my blood boils, but all I can utter in reference to Alex is 'harm,' because anything beyond that is unspeakable.

Alex frowns, and I trail my fingertips over her bare back. My touch seems to sooth her, and her eyes close a moment as she phrases her reply.

“Jaren was the type who was always the life of the party. He could be funny, but his jokes were usually crude or at someone else's expense. He liked sports and cars.” Alex rolls her eyes. I smile, that's pretty typical for a guy. “A few months ago I caught him with his pants around his ankles and his best friend on her knees in front of him.”

“That reminds me of Catherine,” I say. My fingers never stop their steady path up and down Alex's spine.

“We should set them up, I think they would be perfect for each other.”

“I'll go grab her number,” I move to leave, and Alex stops me from my feigned exit.

She clamps a hand on my wrist before I can go and I come right back to her. I love that she is assertive. I snuggle right back up against her body.

“Tell me,” my hand returns to Alex's back, where it belongs. “How did this guy progress from adulterous fellatio to arson?”

Alex stiffens again, and I wait for her to relax beneath my fingers. I don't goad her into confession, I wait for her to come to me, I wait until she is ready. After a minute of silence, she speaks.

“He kept hounding me, he was so persistent. He had to get back together with me.” She shifts away from my touch, and I let her go. “He began breaking into my home, sneaking into my room at night, following me to both of my jobs. I started sleeping at my friend's place to get away from him.”

I exhale warily. I want to reach out for her, I want to touch and comfort her, but even more so, I want to hunt this man down. My thoughts have grown dark and my mind ventures down the homicidal path I'd rather not have exist inside me.

“I was so tired of him, I was so tired of being afraid to go home, I lied to Jaren.” Alex shrugs helplessly. “I told him I had found someone new in hopes that he would finally leave me alone.”

From here I can see where her story is leading. I reach for her, against my better judgment, and she shies away from my touch.

“That night I had switched shifts at the diner, and by the time I got home that morning, my house was in flames.” Alex no longer looks at me. Her eyes have glazed over, remembering the pain and the fear that her ex had dragged her through.

I've never despised someone while feeling so eternally indebted to them in my life. If it weren't for this garbage of a man, Alex wouldn't have gone through this trauma, but if it hadn't been for him, she wouldn't have been driven to my home. To me.

“I can live without that house,” Alex fights through a strangled voice, “but the worst part is the thought of his hands on me, as though he has corrupted me—tainted me to the point that I am ruined for anyone else.”

She turns her head from me, and I've heard enough. When I reach out for her this time, I don't let her turn me away. I pull her to me and I squeeze her tight. My enchantress has been wounded, and I want only to fix her.

“I see none of him on this skin,” I lift her chin to press my lips to hers. I turn her onto her back and roll on top of her. “Where is this ex you speak of?” I lean back, my knees between her legs while she remains laying. I look down at her, my eyes trail down her chest, over her perfect breasts and flat stomach. “I see only perfection.”

My hands move from her ankles and up to her thighs. “Show me where you claim to house this corruption.” I spread her legs apart and she can't help a soft laugh. She is everything I have ever wanted. I bend down to kiss up her inner thigh. I stop just over her perfect vee. At my expression, her smile fades into something more serious.

“The only thing I can find is flawless skin over an immaculate body.”

I'm rewarded by her gasp as my tongue strokes along her vagina. Her marvelous vagina. How dare she label herself as sullied—as marred and imperfect. My tongue finds its way deeper inside of her, and she moans. Her taste alone is enough to drive me over the edge. I detach myself just long enough to suck onto her clit, teasing her with the tip of my tongue. She arches into me, panting, wanting more.

I breathe into her. “Beautiful Alexandria, perfect Alexandria, don't ever believe that you are anything less than perfect.”

Her body quivers against my mouth. I can feel her nearing the edge, and I am to sweep her over it. “Come for me.” Right as I command it, she calls out my name, she comes.

Her body tremors as my mouth is flooded with her exquisite taste. I pull her pelvis tightly into me, striving to reach as deep into her as I can possibly manage. She is divine, the way she pulses over my tongue, tightening and sucking me deeper. My cock longs for the sensation of her.

“James,” Alex summons me. I lift myself back, tearing myself away from the heaven nestled within her succulent thighs. She gazes at me longingly. I want her so badly, I can't bury myself inside of her fast enough.

“I'll do anything,” I confess. We have only just met, but she owns me. She owns every bit of me. I am hers to control. I run the back of my fingertips along her cheek. “Tell me what you want.”

“I just want you,” she whispers.