A Princess Next Door (Rothman Royals Book 1) Page 5

  I gave a little sob of pleasure and rode his hand instinctively, bracing myself with my hands on his broad shoulders.

  His fingers dipped under the fabric so that he could stroke me. “Fuck, you feel good. You’re so wet.”

  If possible, I reddened even more. But I worked through the embarrassment to say, “I told you I was dying here. What did you think I meant?”

  He didn’t bother to answer my question, and I didn’t care when he murmured, “Come here.” He gestured with his free hand and then pulled my face back down to kiss me.

  My self-consciousness forgotten, I responded to his deep kiss, still tasting the tang of the wine we’d had earlier in his mouth. One of my hands moved up to his face, and I rubbed his bristly jaw, unable to feel enough of the rough texture beneath my palm.

  We’d established a sensual rhythm between our bodies, Jack giving gentle thrusts up as I pushed my pelvis down toward his upward pressure. I was so into it that my pleasure built up in urgency until I was just on the edge of coming.

  When I started whimpering and huffing against his mouth and my body began to shake, Jack tore his mouth away with a jerk. “Okay. We better move along. One or both of us is going to lose it pretty soon.”

  With a shaking laugh, I fumbled at the top button of his jeans, my hand brushing against the tight bulge of his arousal as I worked. “I could lose it without too much trouble. But I’d be rather disappointed if you lost it.”

  “Yeah.” Jack’s voice was dry despite the sexy tension on his face. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

  I was starting to unzip him when he put a hand on mine. “Wait. Do you have condoms here?”

  “No.” My excitement dropped uncomfortably. “I don’t. Do you have any at your place?”

  “Yeah. Hop off a minute, and I’ll get them.”

  “Them?” Despite our mutual frustration, I couldn’t help but tease him a little as I swung my leg over his lap. It was totally new—this desire to tease in the midst of foreplay. “Kind of ambitious, aren’t you?”

  “Princess,” he drawled with a half-smile. “You have no idea.”

  Before I could get over the shiver from that, he’d heaved himself up off the couch.

  He was a rumpled mess—tousled hair, half-open pants, wrinkled shirt, obvious erection. But the sight of him sent jolts of pleasure through my body, along with a silly kind of pride that I was the one who’d made him look that way.

  “Aren’t you going?” I demanded, more aroused than ever and tempted to sneak my hand between my legs to take care of myself right away.

  “Hold on.” He’d taken a couple of steps but then stopped, bracing himself with one hand on the wall. He took a few deep breaths, obviously trying to get himself under control enough to make the trek to his apartment.

  I giggled at him, which earned me a narrow-eyed glare that made me giggle even harder.

  He relented enough to smile in response and then went to get the condoms.

  “Change your mind?” Jack asked when he returned just a minute later.

  “No.” Frowning, I reached up to pull him back down to his former sitting position on the couch. “Why would I have changed my mind?”

  He shook his head and unfastened his pants. “I thought maybe after you had a minute to think, you’d decide this wasn’t what you wanted.”

  Scowling at him, I slid off my panties and straddled his lap again. “You were very wrong.”

  “Good.” His hands slid around the back of my thighs until he could feel between my legs. “I’m glad.”

  He was already unzipped, so all I had to do was pull out his erection. I stared down at his hard flesh in my hands, my fingers pale and small against him.

  He sucked in a sharp breath as I gently stroked him with my fingertips. The sound sent a tug of pleasure down to my arousal. I brushed my palm against the head, mostly to hear him make another sound like that.

  “Damn!” he gasped, stiffening his spine and clamping his fingers down on my bare bottom.

  I looked up with an expression of pleased surprise. “That good?”

  “Oh, princess, keep it up, and that will be as good as it gets.”

  I chuckled, and apparently my soft amusement prompted him to smile too. So we were both half-laughing when he rolled on a condom and when I raised myself up on my thighs above him.

  He held himself in place as I lowered myself over him.

  I sucked in a breath and arched my back, my mouth falling open as I tried to adjust to the penetration. Either because of his size or the position, he felt incredibly big inside me, my inner walls stretching around him tightly.

  “That doesn’t look like a good face.” Jack’s voice broke into my consciousness. He was tense beneath me, and his hands were still tight on my ass. But his mouth was relaxed and his voice almost natural.

  Catching my breath, I felt myself adjusting around him. The slight discomfort eased to a deliciously snug, clingy feeling. And I smiled down at his sharp scrutiny. “Oh no. It’s definitely good.”

  He released a long breath that sounded like relief. “That’s good. Because it seems pretty good to me too.” He gave a little thrust up—causing a jolt of pleasure to shoot through me.

  His honest warmth and dry humor made me feel oddly relaxed and comfortable—given that I was half-naked and on top of him. I gave a breathy laugh and leaned down to capture his mouth in another kiss.

  Jack returned my kiss with skill and leisurely attention—stroking my lips, my tongue, and the inside of my mouth with his tongue. With my arms twined around his neck, I couldn’t suppress the silly whimpers and groans in the back of my throat. It felt good, and my guard was down. My vocal responses were inevitable.

  Jack’s hands tightened on the flesh of my ass, and his grip began to urge me into motion. He guided my hips in a steady rhythm, which I sustained by levering up and down with my thighs.

  The motion caused him to slide deliciously inside me, the stimulation exactly what I needed.

  Jack was breathing harshly through his nose as he kissed me, and as my motion intensified he began to make soft, guttural grunts that sounded both primitive and sexy as hell. His response encouraged me to accelerate my bouncing over him—wanting to hear more of those grunts.

  My motion forced my mouth away from Jack’s, but I kept my face near his. I was panting now too, and the mingled texture of our fast breathing formed a connection, a sharing that made me feel even closer to him. As I leaned toward him, my cheek rubbed against his—his scratchy skin grating against my hot cheek. The sensation startled me in its sudden harshness, making me gasp and jerk away.

  Jack was still in control, but he was sweating, and his eyes devoured my face and jiggling breasts. At my abrupt move, he gave a strangled rasp, his fingers digging into my bottom almost painfully. “Okay?”

  I had to inhale twice before I had breath to reply. “Yeah. Your whiskers scared the crap out of me.”

  I didn’t usually use expressions like that, although I’d heard them often enough. My words must have surprised him. He made a choking sound that I soon realized was a hoarse laugh. When I resumed my urgent motion, one of his hands released my bottom, my skin clinging to his fingers as he pulled them away. He moved the hand up to curve around the back of my head, his fingers sliding through my loose hair.

  For some reason, I loved the way his strong hand felt in my hair, against my head. Then he pressed my face toward him, so forcefully I couldn’t resist.

  I thought he was bringing me into another kiss, but he didn’t align his lips with mine. Instead, he guided my face down toward his so he could rub his cheek against mine.

  The grating texture against my already sensitive skin made me squeal. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was sharp stimulation when I was already intensely stimulated elsewhere.

  He chuckled again—strangled and breathless—at my reaction. He was trying to match my motion with little thrusts of his hips, but he was still coordinated enough to rub my
cheek against his again.

  I was expecting it this time, so the feeling was more pleasurable than surprising. But I choked out on a half-laugh, “You’re going to rub off my skin!”

  I playfully resisted, while he playfully tried to move me back.

  My cheek ended up getting rubbed so raw it burned with a pleasant sensitivity. And our scuffle caused both of us to laugh so much we momentarily lost the momentum of our lovemaking.

  I was gasping and giggling against his neck, both of my arms wrapped around him tightly, when I felt him let go of my head at last.

  I’d never laughed during sex before. I’d never even known it was possible.

  “Did I ruin the mood?” Jack asked, sounding surprisingly dry.

  His body was big and solid and strong against mine, and I could sense the growing tension in his muscles.

  “Oh, no.” I squirmed above him, feeling him—hard and substantial—move inside me. “God, you feel good.”

  I meant all of him—his body and his warm soul.

  Jack let out a lingering groan as I began to ride him again—this time hard and fast. His hands had been spanning my ribcage, but now they moved up slightly until he could stroke my nipples with his thumbs. My breasts were bouncing up and down, and that combined with his caress to intensify my building orgasm. “You feel incredible,” Jack murmured as his eyes devoured my shaking form. “Damn, baby, you’re so hot.”

  The words sent me spiraling faster toward climax.

  The compulsion was becoming urgent now so I braced myself more securely with my hands on his shoulders.

  I came on a broken cry, my head falling back and my mouth falling open. My body shook and shuddered from the pleasure.

  He came too, just a few seconds after me. He swallowed over a few incoherent words as his body froze with coiled tension before it all released in clumsy jerks and hoarse groans.

  I fell against him as the climax started to fade, and I could feel every tiny move he made inside me. Resting my head on his shoulder, I gasped against his shirt, comforted as his arms went around me all the way, holding me against him.

  Jack panted into my hair as he stroked my back and hips. His body felt more relaxed now—his muscles softening in a way that gave me a secret thrill. I loved that I was the one who’d caused the transformation of his body.

  “That was…good,” I said at last.

  “Yeah. That was definitely good.” There was a smile in his voice.

  It made me smile too, and I pulled back up to grin at him.

  We shared the look for a moment, until Jack shifted beneath me and said, “I’d better take care of the condom.”

  I couldn’t hold back a sigh of disappointment. I knew we needed to pull apart—I could feel him starting to soften—but I liked how I felt at the moment and wasn’t in a hurry to move.

  But I swung my leg over his lap, sliding off him as he held the condom in place. With one last fond stroke of my hair, Jack got up and walked to the bathroom to clean up.

  I curled in a ball and hugged my knees to my chest. I felt empty and overly sensitive, but also very good. I squeezed my thighs, feeling kind of silly and giddy.

  I didn’t even notice Jack had returned until he spoke. “You regretting it?”’

  I gasped and jerked my head toward him. “What? Why would I regret it?”

  “I don’t know.” He’d fastened his pants, and it looked like he’d washed his face. His hairline was slightly damp. “You’re curled up in the fetal position.”

  Realizing that I probably looked silly—especially since I still wasn’t wearing my pants or panties—I uncurled my legs and gave him a sheepish look. “No. Not regretting it.”

  Jack smiled, relaxed again, and lowered himself onto the sofa with a groan. As I reached down for my clothes, he said companionably, “Your face is all red.”

  I frowned at him, sliding my panties up my legs. “It always gets red when I exert myse—Oh. You mean from your whiskers.” With a chuckle, I rubbed my hand over the warmest part of my cheek. “That was awfully mean of you. Next time, you’re going to shave first.”

  I said it mostly to tease him. I actually had no plans to insist on such a thing. I liked the bristles despite the slight discomfort.

  Jack arched an eyebrow at me.

  “What’s that look for?” I demanded.

  “Nothing.”

  He was obviously hiding something. He looked smug and extraordinarily pleased with himself.

  I stuck out my chin as I pulled up my pants. “I thought we were going to be honest and up-front. What are you looking so superior about?”

  “Not superior,” he replied, reaching an arm out to pull me against his side. “I was just surprised you’d mentioned there being a next time.”

  “Oh.” I hadn’t even realized I’d done so. “Oh.”

  “It’s no big deal. You’re not committed to a random remark,” he said gently. “It’s totally up to you.”

  “I don’t know. I hadn’t expected this at all. And I only have a few more weeks here, so it would be foolish for us to get into anything serious.”

  He gave an amused huff. “I have no delusions of your falling into mad, soulful love with me. But I’d be more than happy to continue this if you’d like.”

  I licked my lips, relaxing against him and enjoying the feel of his warm body against my own, almost as much as I had before. “I’m not actually sure what I’d like.”

  “No hurry. If you feel like it again, just jump me.”

  I giggled. Then blushed a little bit as I realized that was exactly what I’d done tonight.

  I’d never jumped anyone before.

  Until tonight.

  Four

  The following evening, I was sitting on the patio of a downtown café with Jack, drinking coffee and eating a cupcake.

  Jack had already finished his, but he was watching my progress with interest. In truth, I wasn’t entirely sure whether he was lusting after me or my cupcake, but he was definitely lusting after something as he gazed at me.

  He’d invited me out an hour ago, and I knew he’d done so to prove that we could still be friends, even though we’d had sex the evening before.

  I appreciated it. I wanted to be friends with him.

  I wanted even more—but I was scared it would hurt too much when I had to leave.

  “Was she mad about you leaving home?” Jack asked, after a moment in which I licked cream cheese icing off my lips.

  I’d been telling him about how Victoria seemed to be angry with me for no reason I could understand.

  “I don’t think so. She was upset, but she seemed to understand why it was important for me to go to university. We talked nearly every day when I first moved here. She can’t be holding a grudge about that.”

  “When did things start to change between you?”

  I gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe after this last Christmas. I went to visit for the holiday, and everything seemed all right. But after I came back here…”

  “Did anything happen there with her?”

  “Not that I know of. I just don’t understand.” I sighed and slumped back in my chair. “I miss her. I hate that she’s avoiding me like this.”

  “So talk to her.”

  “She won’t take my call.”

  “Then write her an email, or corner her when you go home for that ball thing in a couple of weeks. Make her talk to her.”

  “No one has ever been able to make Victoria do anything.”

  “Well, give her a chance to tell you, at least. Tell her what you think, how you feel, and then let her make her own choice. That’s all you can do.”

  “As simple as that?”

  “Why wouldn’t it be?” The heated interest in his gaze had sobered, and I knew he was taking this conversation seriously—which I appreciated. “You know me. I believe in two things. Being honest. And letting other people make up their own minds. There’s no sense in applying pressure or brooding endl
essly or manipulating other people to get them to do what you want them to do. Just be honest, and let Victoria make up her own mind about how to respond.”

  I thought about his words for a long time. They sounded like him. Exactly like him. It was one of the things I loved best about Jack. There were no tangled threads of angst or deceit or dark complexity in his soul. He said what he meant. He didn’t manipulate or pressure me in all the ways I was used to from home.

  He let me be who I wanted to be, just as he was always himself.

  It was freeing. It was comforting.

  It was incredibly sexy.

  “What?” he asked, cocking his head as he studied my face.

  “Nothing. I was just…it’s nothing. I just like how you handle things, is all. Is everyone like that in your hometown?”

  “Nah. Not everyone. It’s a jumble of all kinds of people, just like everywhere else in the world. But my parents were like that—my mom still is.” He chuckled, a fondness on his face I especially liked. “Every time I call her, she tells me she really thinks it’s time for me to settle down and start a family, but I’m a grown-up and I can come to that decision for myself. She’s just reminding me—not pressuring.”

  I giggled. “I like the distinction.”

  “But she means it. She’s…really great.”

  “I’d like to meet her.” I couldn’t believe I’d actually said that, and my breath caught in my throat when I heard the words.

  “You can,” Jack murmured, his eyes soft on my face. “Any time you want.”

  I cleared my throat. Meeting his mother would definitely be dangerous. Far too dangerous for me to consider. “Well, thanks for the cupcakes.”

  “I’ll buy you another one. Any time you want.”

  We stayed and chatted for another half-hour and then walked back to our building together. Jack had reached over to take my hand on the walk home, and I just wasn’t firm enough to stop him.

  I wanted him to hold my hand.

  When we got to my door, he lingered, his gaze transforming to that soft, hot, irresistible one again. “Are you going to invite me in?”

  I was flushed with heat and could barely take a breath. “I…I don’t know.”