‘And?’ I prompted. Something had to happen. I couldn’t sit here feeling this tense without completely losing my mind.
‘And –’ His smile grew impossibly broad. ‘– and I’m sorry I missed the opportunity to see you –’
‘– to see me?’
‘Come,’ he said.
Heat rushed through me like I’d been hit by a geyser. I was stunned by his words and simultaneously aflame. My body gave one pulse after another, while between my thighs I was suddenly sodden. I’d never had such a strong reaction to a single word before. I didn’t actually come, but I came insanely close.
‘Maybe you could touch yourself?’
OK, I thought I’d been forward for stealing kisses, but he was demanding far more.
‘Where exactly?’ As if the direction of his gaze didn’t make it obvious. ‘You can’t expect me to do that here?’
‘Why’s it any different to what you were doing earlier?’ When he put it like that, he sort of had a point. I’d still be getting off in public with an audience. It’s just that doing myself seemed far naughtier than doing it with another person, and I at least knew Sam and David, whereas I knew nothing about him. Of course, that hadn’t stopped me trying to jump his bones a minute ago. Nor was I particularly shy about this sort of thing. I wasn’t the kind of girl who never touched herself. I often used my fingers to help things along. Plus, there was every possibility that if I did this, he’d be all over me as hard as I could possibly wish.
I sat back and, knees bent, opened my legs a fraction, just enough so that he could see up my dress. Tentatively, I put one hand on my thighs, and raised it along with the hem of my dress.
Victor’s gaze became fully focussed on the ascent of my fingertips. He crept forward, first perching on the sofa edge, then kneeling on the floor to watch as I brushed through the tufts of dark curling hair framing my sex. Considering how aroused I already was, I kept the touches light, and well away from anything sensitive.
‘I bet you’re really good with your hands, being a sculptor.’
The prompt failed to draw him. If he’d just move one of his hands slightly so that it lay upon my thigh.
‘Potter,’ he corrected. ‘Sculptors carve. They chip away at things. I mould things to my will.’
I could believe that, although, presently I was more interested in getting my hands on his body and exploring all of his curious male angles and ridges, than letting him top me. Instinct told me he possessed the sort of washboard abs you could climb down, and I had high hopes for other bits too, given the bulge he was sporting.
‘Why don’t you touch properly?’ he asked, reasonably.
‘Because I’m wound too tight.’ I’d come too fast and too hard, when I wanted to draw this out. ‘Surely you know how that feels.’ An erection as fierce as the one he had caged had to hurt. ‘Maybe you should … as well.’
Our gazes met. Raw lust crackled between us. I read his need. How he longed to bury himself deep, pound into me until there were no boundaries left between us, and we burned with pure lust. I saw too that he wouldn’t do it. Victor Alexander had no intention of doing me, even if that meant he had to ride home with a hard-on you could bang nails with. He wouldn’t give in. Not tonight, and as far as I could read, not any time soon either.
For some mad reason, he’d decided not to touch me or himself.
‘Do you usually just get off by watching?’
‘Not as a rule.
‘Touch yourself there,’ he demanded.
My fingers were trembling, my agility shot to pieces. It was like a battle of wills. Both of us staring. I’m not sure who gasped the loudest when I finally did as he asked. My little bud stood so far to attention that one press there was like hitting the ignition on an explosive device. And once done, there was no going back. I couldn’t stop. I couldn’t unwind the act.
Victor remained unearthly still. He didn’t rub himself. He didn’t even twist to generate friction. He just let his yearning fill up his expression, until it became too raw to look at, too mesmerising and terrifying. I didn’t understand it, but I felt its lure.
My eyelids fluttered closed. The darkness only increased my awareness of him; his thick earthy scent, the whisper of his breath against my hot skin. He moved. Blew. My body convulsed. He blew again and orgasm gripped me tight. Without touching me, Victor tipped me over. I came so hard the muscles in my thighs were still twitching minutes afterwards.
I opened my eyes to find him still there, still watching me with those silver-grey eyes, while his breath continued to whisper across my sex, now soothing instead of teasing. ‘Beautiful,’ he muttered.
He offered me a hand up, which I accepted, thinking that now surely I’d be rewarded with a kiss.
Apparently not.
‘Why?’ I had to ask.
He had to know he could do whatever he wanted to me at that moment. Instead, he stood away from me, tense and horny, when really there was no need. I could make him feel good.
‘I’ve probably kept you too long.’ He shoved his hands into his pockets, which had the effect of raising his shoulders.
‘That’s fine. You know I don’t normally –’
‘You don’t have to explain.’
But I did. I didn’t want him to think I routinely picked up guys in this way. Yes, I enjoyed a somewhat unconventional sex life, but I only really played with guys I knew. I’m not saying I hadn’t enjoyed the odd one-night stand in the past, but it wasn’t my normal mode of operation.
‘We’d better go down now, in case there’s another taxi waiting.’
A curious combination of embarrassment and relief flickered across Sam’s face when she saw us together. I was betting she’d anticipated me having left along with Nathan. ‘I was just coming to find you,’ she said to Victor. ‘The taxi just pulled up.’ We headed straight outside.
‘Are you OK sharing?’ I asked.
‘It’s yours. My lift’s finally arrived.’ He glanced across the car park to a point some distance away. ‘It was nice meeting you.’
‘Likewise.’
He lingered, rather than hurrying away. ‘Why aren’t you an item?’ he asked, referring back to my remarks about Nathan.
‘I’m not sure I could ever be content with only one man.’ I was being flippant. The hour was late and I still didn’t know how to interpret him. The truth was that I was still carrying around too much baggage from my last relationship to consider confining myself to another man anytime soon. Craig and I had split after he accused me of infidelity. All I’d actually done was ogle a few guys. Not touched them or kissed them, just turned my head to look when they walked by. In Craig’s eyes that was enough.
At least my present arrangement allowed me to do whatever I wanted with whoever I chose. It kept things simple.
‘What about you?’ I asked, as he held open the taxi door so I could climb inside.
An enigmatic grin spread across his face. ‘One man is plenty.’
We weren’t really supposed to carry personal phones at work, but I’d accidentally left mine in my pocket earlier, so when it bleeped as I worked on tidying up the jewellery stand, I took it out and answered.
‘Hello.’
‘Lyssa?’