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  Well, it would have, had her fingers not freed his member and then delicately stroked the length of it, lingering and teasing around the head. Then all he could do was gasp.

  “Is this okay? Is it okay if I touch you?” she murmured, so close he could feel her soft breath on the most sensitive part of him.

  “I want you to touch yourself, too,” he ordered. Her eyes widened. He wasn’t going to let her be all the way in charge, after all. But she knew better than to argue by now, and her eyes widened again as she reached a tentative hand beneath her jean skirt. “Good girl,” he breathed, so soft he didn’t know if she heard. Probably for the best if she hadn’t.

  Then her tongue was on him, and he was past the point of caring what she heard, because he wasn’t entirely sure what he was saying. She licked him up and down, alternating the pressure between the hard flat of her tongue and the light flicking tip.

  When she finally took him in her mouth, it was almost a relief. For, like, three seconds, until he realized she wasn’t letting up. His hands twined in her short hair, slowing her down, pulling her back.

  “Why, Jaylene. Are you trying to end this before this starts?” he asked gently. She stayed wrapped around him as she replied.

  “Unh-unh.” The vibration sent shock waves through him and he quickly pulled away altogether. He was about to come already, and he hadn’t even touched her. She was a girl to be reckoned with, that was for sure. He’d gone from taken to taken aback, and back all over again. Their eyes were still locked as she licked her lips. Good girl? No. She was very, very bad. And very bad girls needed to be put in their place.

  He held out one hand to pull her up. She reached for him, but he shook his head. She drew her other hand out from under her skirt and he pulled it to his mouth. One by one, he drew her fingers between his lips. As he watched, she shivered and closed her eyes, finally breaking their contact.

  That wouldn’t do. He wanted to watch her, to see how she reacted to every little thing he did. He wanted to learn her backward and forward. A little pressure from his teeth at the base of her middle finger sent her eyes flying open again.

  “Good girl.” This time he wanted her to hear. He wanted her to hear the deepened tone he said it in; to understand, finally, that turning him on like no one ever had meant that he found her to be more of a woman and not less.

  They were still separated by almost a foot. At that moment, it felt like a football field. He stepped forward, closing the gap. With one of her hands in each of his, he pulled back, allowing her to wrap her arms around him. Then finally, he leaned down and kissed her the way he’d been longing to. The passion she responded with was unbearable, her fingers clenching into his waist before moving up to his shoulders. Even though he was only pressed against her now, instead of in her, there was still a distinct danger he’d not be able to stop himself from finishing with his thoughts and her proximity alone.

  So when she moved her hands around to his chest, he almost had to pin both of them under one of his. They were so small, and capable. He couldn’t possibly give them free rein without losing total control. Instead, he pinned both of them high above her in one of his much larger hands.

  Her intake of breath belied her delight in it. So. He could be what he wanted now, no second-guessing. If that ragged gasp hadn’t done it, the way she arched her spine to allow him better access did.

  “Good girl,” he groaned again, as he propelled her toward the couch. He was done worrying about his dull apartment what with all the color she brought in. Maybe the gray backdrop just accentuated the multicolors of their fireworks. It didn’t matter, because he wasn’t about to stop now. He nudged Jay with his knee, spread her across his overstuffed cushions as he pinned her with his left hand.

  The other ripped her camisole open. Actually ripped it, which made him smother a smile—in all his years being a dominant lover, that was a bit of a first for him. A first that made him utterly incapable of holding back any further. He reached down and found she’d wriggled the skirt off already. Uninhibited, he fisted the front of her beautiful silk panties and ripped them apart, too. Man, he was a golden god of sex! His fingers found her lacy bra next, and tugged.

  Nothing. He waited a moment and pulled harder. Nothing. One more good hard pull.

  “Ow!” she yelled. Noah immediately pretended like he’d meant to do it and shushed her. The Dawsons knew enough already, no point in alerting them to this. Knowing those girls, they’d be waiting outside the door with wine to conduct exit interviews. He smothered her protest with kisses, and removed her bra the traditional way instead.

  Then she was naked, and all he could do was stare. He’d had to let go of her wrists to take her bra off, and she took advantage of that to run her hands down his arms as he hovered over her. With a swift movement, he was inside her. She sighed in frustration as he stayed put, completely engulfed, but not moving. He stared into her eyes, waiting to see how she’d react.

  Her hips began to rock slowly as she tried to take control. He settled more firmly between her legs to still her. When she stopped resisting, and smiled at him, he started to slowly thrust in and out. His hands found hers, and their fingers interlocked atop the arm of the couch.

  Oh, God. The couch. They were still on the couch. That would not do. He snaked one arm around behind her and slowly lifted her as he moved off the couch. This was becoming his signature move. Maybe he was a golden god after all. They moved slowly toward the bedroom, still connected, still kissing.

  When he gently lowered her onto the bed, her body was still relaxed enough for him to wonder if he could push her a little further. From the nightstand he removed a tie, left over from his hated day job, and placed in the drawer optimistically. She stared at him wide-eyed when she realized what he was up to, but didn’t protest as he tied her wrists to the headboard. It melted him a little, knowing how much faith she was putting in him. It made him want to be worthy.

  Once she was secure, Noah moved down to her breasts. Drawing one taut nipple into his mouth, he rolled it with his tongue until she cried out. He moved to the other, and did the same. Slowly, he kissed his way south. Her increasingly loud moans let him know she wasn’t regretting his plan. He savored that thought almost as much as her taste, because he was already where he longed to be, painting her pleasure with long strokes of his tongue.

  He mimicked what she’d done to him, first covering all of her in one long lick, then narrowing his attention to her sweet spot with small, darting motions. She came for him, spectacularly, after only a moment.

  As she lay gasping for air, he rose up and reentered her. Her recent orgasm had made her tighter than ever, and it was all he could do not to have one himself. Did she have any idea how she affected him? He’d have to tell her. Just after this. His body began to undulate, and he moved in and out of her. At first she just breathed, but soon he could tell she was building again from the rhythm of her hips.

  The beauty of the position he had her in was that although she couldn’t touch him, she was free to express herself in an almost bigger way. When she bucked, it was hotter than a mere hand on his back. When she struggled, it told him she wanted him more than she could stand.

  It was so ridiculously hot.

  Thank God she was clearly about to come again, because he had been holding back for too long. He increased his pace, moving deep and hard inside her, adjusting to her subtle signals. Watching her breasts bounce with their motion turned him on even more. As her vocals reached new heights, he came with a shudder, triggering her as well.

  Noah’s whole body collapsed upon her. How could this have happened? How could he have become so taken with a girl he hardly knew, after so long of pushing everyone away?

  But he knew. There was no fighting fate. And this amazing, challenging woman was here for a reason. As his inner philosopher took over, she cleared her throat.

  “Um, Noah?” He moaned into her neck and nuzzled it at the same time.

  “Yeah?”
She probably wanted him to untie her. As much as he hoped to keep her there from now until next Christmas, that was fair. He reached up and started untangling the soft knots even as he asked it.

  “Who was that woman you were talking to an hour ago?” Well that was not what he was expecting. Like, at all. And it wasn’t like he had a great answer, either. That woman was in love with him. Lots of people were. It wasn’t real, it didn’t matter. But how to express that to the girl he was in distinct danger of doing just that with?

  “A chick from work. She needed my signature on something. No biggie. I work with super-cool people. You’d love them.”

  “I’d love to know a lot of things,” Jay said pointedly. So he had no other recourse but to go back down on her until she forgot everything but his name as she screamed it.

  CHAPTER 7

  With her eyes still shut, Jaylene stretched her arms above her head, pointed her toes, and yawned. Man, there were sore muscles that she didn’t recognize.

  Deliciously sore muscles that reminded her of the night before with every turn of her body.

  Thinking of the night before …

  Had she really done the things she’d done? Really let Noah dominate her as she had? And had she really loved every single freaking minute of it?

  Yes, yes, and emphatically yes.

  While there was still much to work out in her head, her body and soul responded to her lover as if he were the only man she’d ever been meant to be with. So whether it was easy or not to fit her newly discovered interests into her rigid system of beliefs, she’d have to find a way to do it. As certain as she was of women’s right to equality, she was just as certain that her own womanhood was strengthened when she was in the arms of Noah Harrison.

  And thinking of Noah … and his arms …

  She opened her eyes and looked at the empty bed next to her. He wasn’t there, which was a bit surprising, but in the rumpled sheets where he’d slept she found a folded piece of plain white typing paper. She unfolded it and read his simple block lettering:

  Jay,

  Went to scavenge for breakfast. Don’t move.

  Noah

  P.S. By don’t move, I mean, please don’t move. I wouldn’t want to get bossy when we aren’t in bed. Though you’re still in bed … so don’t move.

  He’d even drawn a smiley face at the end, which made her grin from ear to ear. But, as much as she wanted to obey, she had to pee. So don’t move was not an option.

  After she’d used the tiny bathroom and cleaned up a bit from the activities of the night before, Jay looked around for something to throw on. Noah probably expected her to be waiting naked, but that expectation alone drove her to want just the opposite. She hadn’t changed her personality entirely, after all. The act of defiance felt as familiar as a worn pair of running shoes.

  Not feeling comfortable enough to dig through his dresser drawers, she opened Noah’s bedroom closet hoping to find a robe or a shirt. She scored when she found a discarded T-shirt lying on top of a box. It even smelled like him. Perfect.

  She pulled it on over her head, taking a deep inhale as the fabric passed over her nose. It fell on her nicely, hitting the tops of her thighs. She looked sexy in it, if she said so herself. If Noah wasn’t happy with her in it, he’d simply have to remove it.

  Before she shut the door to the closet, her eye caught on the box that had been hidden under the T-shirt. It was partially open, and inside were brown-paper-covered bricks. Several of them. What the…?

  Though it was entirely in her nature to snoop further, she didn’t want to ruin her budding relationship. But brown-paper-covered bricks? That was something out of a crime novel. Like, didn’t drug dealers wrap their cocaine that way? And wasn’t there a rise in drug-related crime in their area? And Noah still hadn’t told her what he did for a living—

  Oh, God. Oh, God, oh, God.

  Was Noah a … a … she couldn’t even think the end of that sentence. Yes, she could. She had to. Drug dealer. Was Noah Harrison’s occupation so secret because it was illegal?

  She shuddered. There was no choice for it—she had to see. She carefully pulled back the flap of the box and reached her hand in. Taking a package in her palm she realized it felt less solid than she imagined a brick of cocaine would feel and more like … well, like a paperback book, maybe. Which was almost as strange. Who had a box full of brown-paper-covered paperback books in their closet?

  Or maybe she simply didn’t know what a brick of illegal substances felt like. Or what if she’d been right earlier, and it was porn? Oh, God, oh, God! What if he videotaped the girls he brought home, and she was about to go viral? Oh, God!

  There was no time to analyze it properly because right then the front door banged open in the other room. Noah was back and Jay was at risk of being caught red-handed. Red-handed with what was still the question, a question she was unwilling to leave unanswered. So, on an impulse, she closed the closet, and quickly stowed the package in her purse, which she’d left by the nightstand. She made it into the bed just as Noah walked in the room with a handful of napkins and two foil bundles.

  Were those drugs? What had she gotten herself into?

  “Hope you like breakfast burritos.” Noah settled in next to her with a wink.

  Breakfast burritos. Of course. She almost laughed out loud at her crazy presumptions. The bundles were not drugs. The packages in the closet were not bricks of cocaine. Noah was not a dealer. Nor was he an amateur pornographer. She was being ridiculous and now that she had a minute to think about it, she felt guilty for the stolen brick in her purse. Not guilty enough to say that she wouldn’t rip it open and find out what it was the minute she had a chance, but contrite nonetheless, and unfortunately for Jaylene, she’d never had a good poker face.

  Noah raised a brow. “You look guilty. And I bet I know why.”

  No, no. There was no way he could know why. Could he? Was it the hidden cameras? Drug dealers probably invested in things like that, even if he was innocent of the porn charge.

  But before she could worry further, he said, “You moved.”

  “What?”

  “You moved. I told you not to move. Didn’t you get my note?”

  Relief flooded through her. “Yes, I got your note. But I had to pee.”

  Noah unwrapped a burrito and handed it to her. “And peeing required putting on clothing?”

  She took the burrito from him, deciding it was an act of kindness rather than chivalry, and poised it before her mouth. “Maybe I was feeling a bit … rebellious.”

  “Hmm.” Noah studied her with a pleased glint in his eyes. “Guess we’ll have to follow up breakfast with a spanking.”

  The butterflies of anticipation danced in her belly. He wouldn’t see any complaints from her. Whatever he was, she was going to enjoy every last moment before she knew.

  * * *

  Lacy bounced the brick up and down in her palm then sniffed the length of it before tossing it back to Jaylene. “It’s not drugs.”

  Jay caught the brown-paper package she’d confiscated from Noah’s closet in her lap. “How can you be so sure?”

  “Because I am,” Lacy said with finality, leaning back into her armchair.

  “I don’t think it’s drugs either,” Andy piped in. “It would be heavier. And shaped different. That feels like a book.”

  Jaylene pursed her lips. She’d spent most of the day with Noah, talking and sexing. Then, when he’d politely dismissed her so that he could get some work done, she’d once again tried to ascertain exactly what that work was. As always, he was elusive. She’d left frustrated and without answers. For some crazy reason, she felt like the brick she’d stolen held a clue to Noah’s secrets. But rather than jump to conclusions—as she was often apt to do—she’d decided that she could use a little insight from some of her women friends. The Dawsons were the nearest thing to women friends she had, both in physical proximity and in the relationship sense.

  Jay hadn’t given t
hem much. She’d told them she was dating the new neighbor, that she’d found this brick in his closet, that he’d acted suspiciously whenever his job was mentioned. She’d shared her concern that Noah might secretly be a drug dealer.

  Lacy rolled her eyes at that before she’d even examined the brick. Now she said, “So since you know it’s not drugs, you can sneak it back into the box where you found it and he’ll never be the wiser.”

  Andy, who stood leaning behind Lacy’s armchair, gasped. “Without opening it? No way.”

  Lacy tilted her head over her shoulder in her sister’s direction. “This is exactly what gets you into so much trouble, Andy. You have no sense of ethics.”

  “You know what?” Andy moved to the couch as she spoke and sat next to Jay. “I’m sitting over here. Jaylene gets me. Don’t you, Jaylene?” She patted Jay’s knee.

  “Well…” After the Blake Donovan debacle, Jay wasn’t claiming to get Andy at all. She evaded that conversation by focusing on the package in her lap. “I do want to open it. I mean, if it’s not drugs, what will it hurt? And I know there’s something he’s hiding from me. If he’s not going to tell me, what choice do I have?”

  “That’s what I’m saying.” Andy shifted so she was facing Jay, watching her as attentively as a child watching another open a Christmas gift.

  “You are bad, bad women.” Lacy shook her head disapprovingly, but she also peered over with curious eyes.

  Andy winked encouragingly. “Bad is the new good. Come on; open it.”

  Even without the prodding of her friends, Jay knew she wouldn’t simply put the package back where she’d found it without finding out what it was. She knew it was wrong and she chided herself as she slipped her finger under the clear tape and unwrapped the brown paper from around the item it contained.

  As they’d guessed, the item was a book. A familiar one at that.

  “A Woman’s Education?” Andy read the title out loud.

  “It’s the book.” Jay was more puzzled than before she’d opened the package.