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  “That’s it baby, come for me.”

  She’d never done that before. Never had an orgasm in front of a man. But the roller coaster was heading downhill now and she could do nothing to stop it. His fingers coaxed a response she couldn’t have denied if she tried. When he slipped two fingers inside her and grazed her clit with his thumb, she exploded, screaming as her climax raged through her like an out of control train.

  She clung tight to Mark’s arms as he continued his carnal assault. He didn’t let up until she relaxed her hips and fought for breath.

  Then he pulled her against his chest, his hard-on rigid against her thigh.

  It had never been like that. She’d never seen stars when she came, she’d never told a man what she wanted, despite all her research.

  Wow.

  Not much of a vocabulary for a Ph.D., but it was the best she could come up with right now.

  Chapter Five

  Mark fought for restraint, his body coiled tight with the need for release. A release he was desperate to spill inside Lara.

  He was right. Lara was a wildcat in disguise. Verbal and exciting and so goddamn sexual she nearly had him coming in his pants, something he hadn’t done since puberty. Her whimpers and moans and the way she told him exactly how she wanted him to touch her was more stimulating, more arousing, than any woman he’d ever been with before.

  The way she came apart in his arms made him crazy with the desire to rip off that flimsy little silk thing she wore and plunge deep and hard inside her.

  And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

  Only a knock sounded at the door before he could. Lara’s eyes flew open and she clenched his arms.

  “You expecting someone?” he asked.

  “Uh, no. It’s late. I don’t get visitors.”

  “What about Bob?” The guy Mark wanted to conveniently forget about, but obviously hadn’t. Then again, Lara sure had.

  She frowned. “Bob?” Then her eyes widened. “Oh, Bob! No, it wouldn’t be him.”

  The pounding at the door continued. Lara stood and brushed the wrinkles from her dress, her face coloring. “I’d better see who it is.”

  “You do that.” In the meantime, he’d do some math calculations…anything to make his throbbing erection subside.

  And while he was at it, he should exit Lara’s bedroom, just in case it was Bob at the door.

  He stepped out in time to see Lara trying to shoo her friend Nancy out the door. The attractive brunette peered over Lara’s shoulder and grinned, then waved.

  “Hey there, Mark. How’s it goin’?”

  It was going fine until you showed up. “Great. How are you?”

  “Sorry to interrupt, but I left my bag here earlier and I’ve got to have it for work.” She brushed past Lara, winked at Mark and said, “I am so sorry for interrupting.”

  “No problem.” Actually it was a huge problem. The huge part he was attempting to cover up right now. He jammed his fingers through his hair and blew out a sigh loaded with frustration.

  Lara stood at the doorway, her lower lip firmly in the grasp of her teeth. She looked first to Mark, then to Nancy, and said, “Nance, wanna stay for some coffee or something?”

  Bag in hand, Nancy shook her head as she headed for the door. “Are you insane? You two obviously want to be alone. I’m outta here.”

  Lara grabbed her arm. “You don’t have to leave so soon. We were just—”

  “I know what you were just doing and I feel awful for barging in. Now get back to doing it and forget I was even here.” She hugged Lara and ran out, giggling with yet another mumbled apology.

  By the time Lara closed the door and turned to Mark, he pretty much figured that ignoring Nancy’s interruption wasn’t going to happen. Whatever heat they’d exchanged had now cooled considerably.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, looking more at the furniture than she was at him.

  “No big deal. It’s late and I have a family thing to do tomorrow anyway.” He stepped to the door.

  “But you…that is, I did but you didn’t and I…”

  He laughed at her discomfort. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll take care of that next time.”

  “Next time?”

  “Yeah. I’m busy tomorrow, but how about Monday? I could come over, we could share a pizza, just talk a little. Or maybe you’d like to go out somewhere.”

  “Um, you want to go out with me again?”

  Mark wondered who’d knocked the hell out of Lara’s self-esteem. “Of course I do. That is, if you want to.”

  “I guess. I mean, sure, I’d like that.”

  “Great. Call you Monday.” Before she could stutter out another sentence, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, long, hard and so deeply that his cock sprang to life again. He’d better get the hell out of there before he did have his turn at release. This was all happening too fast. He had to be more subtle.

  Logic warred with his brain, and since his brain currently resided in his aching dick, it was a helluva battle. But he finally pulled away. “Night, Lara.”

  “Night, Mark.”

  She closed the door and he slipped into his SUV. Sexual tension still clung to every part of his body.

  Lara had surprised the hell out of him tonight. First, she looked nothing like she usually did. Not that there was anything wrong with her before, but he’d found that harried and frazzled look indicative of her scatterbrained personality. And actually kind of sexy.

  Yet listening to her talk at the club tonight, so confident in her assessment of sexual mores and body language, impressed him. Maybe he’d have to sit in on one of her lectures, learn a little bit more about Dr. Lara McKenzie.

  Only to play the game better, of course. Once she agreed to do the article with him, their relationship would be strictly business.

  His main goal was his career. Success was just around the corner, he just had to play his cards right.

  Lara’s innocence and naiveté should make that part easy.

  And if he kept telling himself that, maybe he’d start to believe it.

  * * * * *

  Lara refused to watch the clock. She had work to do. Only a teenager would pace the house waiting for a boyfriend to show up. First off, she was way past the teenage years, and second, Mark wasn’t her boyfriend.

  Nevertheless, he’d been due to arrive a half hour ago and still hadn’t appeared.

  “Quit doubting yourself, Lara. He’s going to show up.”

  She was going to have to stop talking to herself. But old insecurities had reared their ugly heads, making her doubt her abilities to attract a man. It had been a long time since she’d been involved with anyone, and certainly no man had ever given her the shattering orgasm that Mark had.

  Nancy had been right, much to her chagrin. He had slipped his hand up her dress and given her an ear-splitting orgasm that night. Her body heated at the thought of what she’d allowed him to do, how easy it had been to take her over the edge.

  And then he’d left without satisfaction. Unless he hadn’t been as turned on as she had.

  No, he had been. She’d felt it. Boy, had she felt it. Quite impressive too. Bob would be jealous.

  A giggle escaped and she wound her arms around herself, feeling stupid for standing there dressed up at six o’clock on a Monday night.

  She should be working. Okay, she’d tried to work all day. But work led to sexual thoughts, and sexual thoughts had led to images of her and Mark and the things they could do together.

  How long had it been? Too damn long to remember. Not since that disastrous relationship in grad school. Larry Unger. Tall, blond, good-looking. Sports star, too. Track or football or something like that.

  He’d clung to her for an entire semester. They’d seen each other every day. He’d been so sweet to her, hugging her, kissing her, taking her places.

  The lovemaking hadn’t been spectacular, but that had been as much her fault as his. Still, she’d thoroughly enjoyed h
aving a guy like Larry pay attention to her. They’d grown so close they even did homework together. She’d helped him with all his papers.

  He’d graduated with honors.

  And then she’d never heard from him again.

  Lara vowed to never get involved with a man again after that disaster. And she’d held herself to that vow. Until she met Mark.

  But Mark was different. She’d already given him the interview. He’d been the one to ask to see her socially. He had no ulterior motives other than interest in her as a person.

  What a refreshing change. She’d like to be able to trust a guy. She’d been so dumb back then, so blindly trusting.

  Nice not to have to worry about that happening again.

  Lara jumped at the sound of the doorbell, her heart thumping against her chest. Really, this heart-pounding, sweat-inducing panic attack was ridiculous. A man coming over shouldn’t thrill her this much.

  But it did. She opened the door and sighed. A guy shouldn’t be able to look so good dressed in a simple pair of blue jeans and a sleeveless shirt. Yet, Mark did. “Hey there.”

  “Hey yourself. You look gorgeous.”

  She looked down at her plain yellow sundress and wondered what he saw that she didn’t. He was the one who looked good enough to eat.

  And didn’t that thought just gel in her mind and conjure up all kinds of wicked images? “Thanks. You look pretty darned good yourself.”

  Mark stepped in and pulled his hand from behind his back, producing a dozen coral roses. She stopped breathing.

  “Thought you might like these.”

  Like them? No one had given her flowers before. Ever. With hands that had begun to shake, she took the flowers. “Thank you. They’re lovely. I’ll just go put them in a vase. Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable.”

  She rolled her eyes as she walked into the kitchen. She’d just sounded like a fifties sitcom wife. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable? She wondered if there were any books on how to carry on a social conversation without sounding like a moron.

  “Would you like a drink?” she hollered, arranging the roses in a vase of water.

  “Not right now.”

  Lara shrieked as Mark slipped his arms around her waist.

  “You scared me!” She started to turn, but he held her tight.

  “Don’t move. I want to smell you.”

  When he pressed his lips against her neck and inhaled, she shivered and nearly dropped the vase. Setting it carefully on the countertop, she braced her hands on the sink, fighting back the desire that washed over her. His body pressed full-length against her back, denim jeans brushing her legs and setting her afire.

  He moved his hands over her waist, down her hips, squeezing the flesh there until her legs shook.

  “I didn’t mean to start anything,” he whispered, his voice husky and aroused. His erection nestled against her buttocks, creating a wet arousal between her legs.

  “Yes, you did.”

  “Okay, maybe I did. Maybe I couldn’t wait to get my hands on you. Want me to step away? We could sit down in the living room and talk about books and stuff.”

  Books and stuff? Was he insane? His body tucked against hers had her thinking myriad thoughts, none of which centered around sitting in the living room and talking about books.

  Emboldened by his desire for her, she leaned back and cupped his neck. “I don’t want to talk about books and stuff. In fact, I don’t want to talk about anything at all.”

  “Good answer.” He spun her around and pulled her against him. His erection brushed the sensitive spot between her legs and she nearly died from the sensations arcing through her.

  When his mouth came down over hers, she grabbed for his hair and held him close, searching out his tongue with her own.

  She was starving. Literally starving for this kind of intimacy. It had been so long…correction, it had never been like this. She’d never felt this way about a man before, and she welcomed every sensation, both deliriously sexual and profoundly emotional.

  Her desire for Mark had become an all-consuming passion that threatened to swallow her up and leave nothing behind.

  And she loved it. Wanted it. Needed this more than she needed to breathe.

  He dragged his mouth away from her lips and kissed her neck, licking at her earlobe. He whispered, “Tell me to stop if you don’t want this.”

  All the while his hands flipped open the buttons on her sundress, one by one. His knuckles brushed her breasts—how could that be so incredibly arousing?

  With two fingers he deftly popped open the front clasp of her bra. When he cupped the globes in his hands, she gasped. “No. Don’t stop.”

  His half-hooded eyes were nearly black. “Make sure this is what you want.”

  She stilled, wondering what he meant. Was he as insecure as she? No, it wasn’t possible. And yet, he’d sounded that way. “This is exactly what I want. Now will you shut up and make love to me?”

  A low growl escaped his throat and he kissed her hard, rocking against her sex. He bent down and slowly slipped his hands under her dress, raising goose bumps against her thighs. Her legs trembled when he reached her panties. She nearly fell to the floor when he slipped his fingers under the strings at her hips and pulled them down her legs.

  “Wow. When I give a command you sure obey quickly.”

  His grin was lethal. Wicked and filled with sexual promise. She gulped back the nervous jitters and concentrated only on watching him pull his jeans and shirt off.

  He hadn’t worn underwear. Holy hell, that was sexy!

  His body was magnificent. Tanned, muscular in all the right places, but not overly so. She wanted that body covering hers, wanted to feel his weight against her, inside her.

  “We’re in the kitchen, Mark.”

  “So? You can only do it in the bedroom?”

  It was the only location she’d had sex so far. “I guess not.”

  “Ever done it on the kitchen table?”

  She looked at the wobbly-legged, chrome and laminate table and envisioned a disaster. “Not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “Fine. I have another idea.” He scooped her into his arms and sat her on the countertop.

  “My butt is freezing up here.” She wriggled to get down, but he laid his hands on her thighs, his fingers tucked just inside the hem of her sundress.

  “Not for long.” He pushed her back and pulled her legs down over the edge, then kneeled.

  “Oh God.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  He started at her knees, touching and placing light kisses against her skin until she wanted to scream at him to get up and fuck her. Then again, there was nothing more thrilling than seeing this dark-haired devil’s face between her legs.

  As he moved upward, he lifted her dress. Inch by agonizing inch. When he licked her inner thighs, she arched her back and let out a low moan.

  “Talk to me, Lara,” he murmured against her thigh. “I like it when you make noises.”

  Good thing. She wasn’t quiet. Especially when he put his mouth over her sex. Then she wasn’t quiet at all. She moaned, long and loud.

  He chuckled, then placed his mouth on her clit and sucked. She nearly toppled off the counter. Gripping the edge with her fingers, she held on, her body tense with the need for release.

  His mouth was warm, wet. His tongue was so magically talented that she wondered if he’d written the book on oral sex.

  “Yes, Mark. Lick me like that.” She gave instructions, letting him know exactly where to put his mouth, his tongue, his hands. He followed every one to the letter, taking her to the brink and then moving away.

  “Dammit, I’m so close.”

  He stopped and she lifted her head to look at him. “Good. Now watch me.”

  She did, unable to tear her gaze away from the sight of him. His eyes stayed focused on hers as he moved his mouth over her sweet spot, then licked her like she was an ice-cream cone.

 
The visual coupled with the sensation was more than she could bear. She tensed, then toppled, screaming as she catapulted into a climax.

  The orgasm rocked her. Quick and intense, she hadn’t expected it to be like that. And yet one touch of his hot mouth against her sex and she went off like a firecracker.

  “My, my, my, somebody sure needed that.” He rose and stepped between her legs, a satisfied smirk on his face.

  Lara fought for breath. She sat up and kissed him, the lingering taste of her still on his lips. Need built within her again. “I know someone else who needs a little release.”

  “Damn straight woman. Get to releasing me.” He winked and pulled her down off the counter.

  His tone was light and teasing, but Lara felt the tightly coiled tension through his arms and body. His erection was steely hard against her belly. He’d already made her come twice without getting off.

  That was going to change, and right now.

  “Come with me.” She picked up his discarded clothes, grabbed his hand and led him out of the kitchen.

  Chapter Six

  Did the woman not know how sexy she was? Her hips swayed gently from side to side as she led him into her bedroom. Her yellow sundress with the big red flowers was half unbuttoned, and damned near transparent. The outline of her naked ass was clearly visible in the light shining from the lamp.

  He still tasted her on his lips, sweet and musky and driving him crazy. His cock twitched, aching and filled with the need for release. Even getting himself off the other night after they’d been interrupted hadn’t relieved his desire to plunge hard and deep inside Lara’s wet heat.

  She stopped at the edge of the bed and turned around. God, she took his breath away. Her lips were swollen from his kisses, her hair mussed up and the whole package was sexy as hell.

  She sat and beckoned him toward her. He moved forward, his erection nearly touching her lips.

  Glancing at his cock, she grinned, then looked up at him. “I missed tasting you the other night. I don’t want to miss it now.”

  Oh, God. If she sucked him, he might not be able to hold on for long. That’s all he’d thought about the other night. Her mouth on his cock, teasing him, taking all of him into that gorgeous mouth of hers until he went off.