Arousal Read online

  When we finally pulled away, he looked like he was the one in a trance. “Thank you for the dance, Ms. Monroe.” His voice was softer. “Now, let me get you home.”

  “Nicolai, that was beautiful, so beautiful, really, but all this attention is conspiring to make me forget that this is not a good idea.”

  “Hmmm, it felt like a good idea to me.” He touched my cheek warmly.

  “No, not really. Sheila is really on my case. I could lose my job.”

  “You won’t, and if you do, you won’t care. You have to trust this. Or at least consider everything will unfold as it is meant to be.”

  He didn’t understand that it was my father’s company, and Sheila took it out from under me. My job was all I had left of my dad.

  “It’s those kinds of statements that have brought down mightier women than me. I think I need to be alone.” I stepped away. “This has all been a little overwhelming.”

  “I think you need to be with me.” The voice of insistence had returned and he sounded too controlling for my taste.

  “I want to go home, take a warm bath or a cold shower.” And get on Google and research all the weird things he talked to me about. “I’m going to grab a cab.”

  “I have a car waiting outside,” he said, stepping a few paces closer to me. “And I would like you to let me drop you off. I don’t think it is good for you to be separated from me, either.”

  Jeez speak for yourself, mister. How the hell does he know what’s good for me or not?

  “We’ve only known each other for four hours. I think you may be overstating or exaggerating what is really going on between us.”

  “Really?” He swept me into his arms like a rag doll and kissed me. His mouth came down and his tongue slid in and pressed deep—so deep—it took my breath away. It was more than a kiss. It was a possession. And in that moment I wanted to be possessed, despite my attempts to steer off this road. He pulled away as I was sinking into his kiss, completely lost to him. I was still out of breath when he spoke again.

  “Am I, Ms. Monroe?” he said, setting me back down on Earth, still gripping my shoulders. “Am I overstating what exists between us? Or are you trying to deny what you feel?”

  “This is very sudden and...”

  “And scary, and different, and I’m your client,” he said, curling a strand of my hair in his finger. “I understand.”

  He pulled me to him again, and this time kissed me gently on the lips. I melted into him. I inhaled him. He was getting to me, and I was stirred up all over. I felt it in every part of my body, including the wetness between my legs.

  “You said you wanted kissing and dancing.” He grinned. “I would also like to provide door to door service. Please. Mine for the night, remember? I am taking you home now.”

  I sighed. Deeply. It was a sigh of surrender. Surrender to his wishes—and to my own desire to be near him.

  “Take me home.” I was excited. I was nervous. I wondered what would happen next.

  Chapter Seven

  The elevator ride down from our evening at the top of the world to the streets of New York City was sobering. This is where it had begun, and here we were again. Now we were leaving the oddly safe haven where all this romancing began and venturing out into the real world.

  We stood across from each other, staring, like we did the first time we were together in this elevator. However, we’d had what felt like hours of intense foreplay. And it wasn’t over yet. Soon enough, our deeply penetrating eye-fucking was captured in the multiple mirrors.

  But could this thing, this possibility that had opened between us, survive the streets, the traffic, and the noise below? Would it leave the elevator with us, or would it dissipate like the flame of a candle blown out by the wind? I didn’t want it to be over, yet a part of me was scared to death it would continue.

  The evening seemed too surreal. A gorgeous man had come out of the blue and insisted I was his meant-to-be. He’d kissed me without warning in an elevator, penetrated my defenses with seductive words, suggestions, and scents. And now he had me leaving the building with him. From seventy-seven floors above the city, so much closer to the heavens, looking out on the magic of Manhattan with our kisses witnessed by the moon, it began to seem plausible. I just wasn’t sure whatever this was would still be there when we reached the ground floor. I could always still grab a cab.

  “That beautiful mind is always thinking, thinking, thinking, Ms. Monroe, trying to sort out that which is only meant to be felt and experienced,” he said, with an amused look. “Am I right?”

  “You have to admit this has all happened very quickly. Maybe not by Transylvania standards, of course.”

  “True, but it wouldn’t be the first time, in the history of New York City, that sparks flew between two people at a cocktail party and they left together.” He grinned as widely as a Cheshire cat.

  When we stepped onto the curb, there was a limo and driver waiting.

  “A stretch limo?” I had to chuckle. “That’s so 1990s.”

  “I like to travel this way. It’s more comfortable for my needs.”

  The driver stood to let us in, but Nicolai motioned to him to get back in the car and got the door handle himself. He offered his hand and helped me into the plush and roomy back seat. It was built like a classic limo, with two leather couches facing each other, not like the newer versions with seats on the side. It was extremely roomy with lots of space on the blue carpeted floor between the seats. He slid in beside me and gave the driver my address. Then he pushed the button to close the privacy window.

  “How do you know my address?” Somehow I was not completely surprised but I feigned a touch of indignation.

  “Your company is employed by my company, remember?” he said. “I have access to all your records. We investigated every person working on our account before we gave the firm our business.”

  “Again, that’s creepy.” I pulled my purse into my lap and folded my arms. I was planning to stay like that for the entire three-mile ride.

  “It’s just business. However, I didn’t access employee records to get your address. I Googled you from my phone when we were upstairs.” I should have been annoyed by his action, but he was the one who seemed more irritated. “Your address is out there for all to see, and there is also a photo of your building. It’s a roadmap right to your door. That kind of access has to be changed.”

  I wasn’t quite sure what he’d meant and was more concerned about what he had in mind for the rest of the evening.

  “I suppose you think you are coming home with me?” I sneered at him playfully.

  “I would never presume that, Ms. Monroe.” He took his suit jacket off, expertly folded it in half, and tossed it onto the opposite seat.

  “Why not? You presume a lot of other things.” I anticipated that he would at least attempt to get me into bed and that I would have to conjure all my common sense back to turn him away.

  “It’s not our time.” He turned to face me more directly. “And besides, I am quite sure you’d never consider having sex with someone you just met under ordinary circumstances. Then again, these are extraordinary circumstances, no?”

  “I guess so, but…”

  “Don’t fret, as attracted as I am to you, I’m not taking you to bed tonight. I can’t, however, guarantee you won’t want me to after this ride home.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  He sounded like such a pompous ass yet there was something appealing about a man who was so self-assured. We stared each other down for a while.

  “But you will need more than sex from me,” he said, swinging my legs over his lap, and slipping off my heels. I did not see that coming.

  “Perhaps.” Feet in lap seemed so personal, like something people usually do not do on a first date. I wondered where this was going.

  “I’m well aware you need me to prove myself to you,” he continued, resting his hands on my ankles. Damn, why did his touc
h feel so good? “And then, I will have to prove myself some more. You need to know I’m for real and even then, you will have to figure out if I’m worth the sacrifices you think you would have to make, no?”

  He looked at me with raised eyebrows, as if he had me all figured out.

  “You seem to have given a lot of thought to this in the course of one evening,” I said, instinctively pulling my feet closer together while trying not to brush against anything on his body that could get erect.

  He smiled and turned his attention to my lower extremities.

  “In my country, we show affection through foot rubs,” he said, taking my right foot in hand. “It’s non-sexual and yet intimate. The skin-to-skin contact allows you to feel the touch without obligation to touch back. It’s a way of developing trust. As mine, for the night, can you trust me to pay homage to you through your feet?”

  My feet were happy to be released from my high heels, but sitting there with my legs in his lap was peculiar. Was this the part where he declares he has a foot fetish? Jeez.

  “I guess my trust depends on how well you do with the foot rub.” I smirked at my own humor. Then he began to massage my foot in earnest, kneading out the knots and tension, and caressing it with both hands. His touch was heavenly.

  “I can see you’re not the kind of woman to say ‘yes’ just because an offer for a relationship is on the table,” he continued. His hands were now gently working my ankle and calf. “Despite your protests about the possibility of making love tonight, I would have a much better shot of getting you in bed, I think, then getting you to suspend your disbelief in destiny, no?”

  I was suddenly silent. He’d hit a nerve.

  In my professional life, I worked hard to develop rapport with people I did business with and kept my panties on at all time. But in my private life, I eschewed attachments. I would rather have hot sex than fall in love. Being in this back seat of my client’s car—with my naked legs at the mercy of his touch—blurred the lines between my two, very separate worlds. Maybe he did have some insights about me. It was unsettling to think he may know my secret.

  “Am I right?” He took my left foot in hand, and gently massaged it. From the tips of my toes to my ankles, he was rubbing and touching pressure points as his hands roamed my flesh. I was surprised at how much pleasure radiated from that part of my body. I was almost too distracted to answer his question.

  “Maybe,” I laughed. “Jeez, is that information in my work profile? Or on the Internet?”

  “No, this is just what I know to be true about you.”

  “How, Nicolai? How do you know all these things about me—and about my destiny? Is it your special Transylvanian super powers?”

  “Because I know things,” he said, working his way up my left leg. My flesh had grown fond of his touch. I wanted him to go higher, to my inner thigh and beyond. “You will too, in due time. And you will come to trust me. You may even come to love me. But we will not have sex. Not until the sixth date because when we do penetrate each other in that way it will be life-changing.”

  “You’re confident, aren’t you.” I spoke it as a joke, but his confidence was a turn on. So was his massage. He lifted my foot and sensually rubbed my toes against his smooth beard. Then he kissed it, the way he kissed my hand. I wondered if I would make it out of the limo without jumping him.

  “Yes,” he said, pulling my legs off of his lap and dropping them back on the seat. “I am confident about things I believe are true. In my heart, you are already mine, and I know this is meant to be. I understand that this is not your thinking right now, that you are allowing me a temporary pass, but I cannot pretend otherwise.”

  He punctuated the sentence by taking hold of my face. His kiss was rough and erotic, and when he slid his tongue into my mouth I wanted more. Desire took hold of my body. He was right. I wanted to have sex with him, despite all the reasons I should not.

  We hadn’t even left the curb yet.

  As the limo finally drove off, and the kiss deepened, my hesitations lifted as a raw sexual energy filled the space between us. Brusquely, Nicolai pulled me onto his lap so I straddled him. Under my black skirt, I wore only tiny panties. He found this out soon enough when he hiked up my skirt and grabbed hold of my ass.

  “There is very little covering you,” he whispered. “Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

  “I did not expect to be sitting on anyone in the back seat of a car tonight.”

  “Amazing how things can change, and so quickly.” With that, he pulled me closer, landing me right on top of his erection. Holy shit. He was so hard. And my hips couldn’t help from pressing against him. I lifted my skirt more so I could move freely. He got an even firmer grip on my bottom, which made the contact between our lower parts even more intense. I was beginning to think that, under these extraordinary circumstances, I would like to fuck him. Right here and now.

  “Just remember,” he said as he angled me even closer to his cock, “I cannot put this in you until date six.”

  Torture. I didn’t know if I should smack him or try to jump him. Arousal was causing me to lose all inhibitions and I attempted to get him to satisfy me. His cock was jutting up from his suit pants and I rubbed myself against it, holding on tight to his neck to anchor the rest of my body. Crazed with lust, I was furiously pressing against him, surprised he gave free rein to do this. I wondered if he was smirking at me for doing exactly what he predicted, but I didn’t care. I wanted him so badly.

  “What about the no sex rule?” I panted. “What do you call this?” I pressed down on him harder.

  “It still stands. This is simply frottage, playing. It’s not real sex until my cock is buried inside you.” He lifted his hips up, maneuvered closer to me, and pulled me in tighter.

  “Nicolai, what are you doing to me?” I was losing it to this forbidden passion with a stranger who also happened to be a client. This was so, so bad.

  “I am holding you in my arms, on my lap, in my car, as I take you to your home.” Even though he was clearly aroused, he was still running the show.

  “You know that is not what I mean. I think you’ve put a spell on me. You’re making me want things.” I let my head fall onto his shoulder as we grinded against each other.

  “Do you really think I have the power to put a spell on a woman like you who knows her own mind and body?” He kissed my ear and then circled it with his tongue. His breath was hot and sensual.

  “It’s all so,” I was losing my breath from trying to angle myself close enough to come, “sudden.”

  “It’s not so sudden.” He kissed my neck and retraced my hickey with his upper lip. “This has been building up all night. But what if it has been building up all our lives? This is what it’s like when you find the one who is meant for you. The attraction is strong, undeniable. It draws you in like a magnet.”

  “You’re seducing me with your words,” I said, rocking back and forth on him, too deep into the moment to protest. “I feel so vulnerable.”

  “I’m not the only one in this car,” he said, his voice low and breathy. “You’re generating this too. Hop off of me at any time.”

  As if! I pressed harder against his cock, and gyrated on top of him with the goal of rubbing myself off. If I could reduce the tension and have a release, I reasoned, I would get myself out of his grip. I was gliding up and down his body, my breath loud and fast, so close to coming.

  “Have I aroused you, my love?” He was whispering, teasing me with his voice. “Have I increased your interest in me?”

  “You know you have,” I breathed. “I need you to touch me.”

  “Yes, I see you do. And I could … so easily … rip your panties off and take you.” He gently caressed the exposed flesh of my hip and my ass. “But this is not the time.”

  “I can’t stand being so out of control.”

  “On the contrary, I think you need this. You need to feel out of control to give yourself permission to surrender, to stop figh
ting this. It is the only way you can open to me.”

  “Don’t you need it too?” I sighed, or whined, or panted, as I tried to press closer to him, wanting to feel him inside me.

  “Oh yes, I need it too,” he said, grabbing my head and pulling my face to his. His tongue drove into my mouth, filling me, making me gasp for breath at first. He held my head close as he slowly moved his tongue in and out until it felt like our mouths were fucking. It lulled me into a hypnotic state and relaxed me so much that with each thrust inward he was deeper. His breathing was ragged when he finally pulled away. My mouth felt raw. “Yes, I would like to take you, all of you, right here and now. But I will hold my arousal and wait for you. This is not just about sex for us. But I think you can tell my desire for you is strong.”

  His cock was even harder, and it was so close I almost felt I could get it inside me through his pants and through my panties. It was difficult for me to believe he would allow me so much access, allow me to feel him so closely, and not plan to fuck me right there in the car. My whole being was humming with erotic tension and desire in that moment, but he, on the other hand, had amazing restraint.

  I sighed and pressed my head to his shoulder. I felt like we should be rolling over and smoking a cigarette from what we had done with our mouths. And that we should follow up with his penis in my vagina.

  “Right now you are just aroused, my love,” he said, kissing my head. “Desire is coursing through you, and anyone could satisfy this need. But I want you to truly want me. When I make love to you, it will be because you chose me with your heart. And because you know who I am.”

  “Holy fuck.”

  “Yes, it will be, when we finally do.”