Kate wandered the loft while Jasper set a kettle to heat. As a decorator she could sum up his whole place in one word: spartan. It was clean and modern with a fantastic view of the city, but it left her cold.
"What do you think of the place?" He asked as he brought her a cup of tea. His hand brushed hers as she took it and she fought the urge to shiver. It wasn't wise to be so attracted to her best friend's boyfriend. Whenever Shannon brought Jasper over, Kate had tried to avoid being alone with him. She wasn't sure she could trust herself, and he was always looking at her as if he knew it.
"Hmmm, well, very clean lines and muted colors," she gestured towards the wide windows, "and your view is stunning."
"You don't like it," he grinned, draining his tea. "But you're right," he said with his eyes on her, "the view from here is stunning." She nervously sipped her tea even though it tasted like dirt. Was her mouth dry?
"I never said I didn't like it," she replied, not wanting to offend him.
"You didn't have to, it's in your eyes, which I know very well by now." She was still processing that statement when he walked to the window and watched the lights twinkle on building by building. "This is my favorite time of day, twilight. A witching hour, if you will. Anything can happen. Come watch, Kate."
She joined him and tried to ignore her ever increasing heart rate. She was feeling flushed and hoped it didn't show.
He turned to her, his eyes the color of a warm brandy. "My space lacks something, which you are too polite to say," he ran the back of his hand down her arm and she inhaled sharply. It felt like he had left a trail of fire on her skin. "It lacks...what is the word...heat?" He smiled as if he knew exactly how his touch was affecting her. "Perhaps that is where you come in?"
She tried to pull herself together. "Jasper, you asked me here for a consultation," she began, about to launch into her usual spiel of making the client happy regardless of her personal taste. He didn't let her finish.
"Is that why I asked you here? Or was it a thinly veiled excuse to be alone with you?" He'd wanted her here for months, but it had taken some...convincing with Shannon. He hoped the tea would help loosen that stranglehold Kate held on her control.
"But you're with Shannon," she sputtered, her head was starting to feel as it would float right off her shoulders and she struggled to stay focused.
"Would you believe me if I told you I had her blessing to bring you here? To seduce you?"
"No." But that would be lovely right now as arousal was as real as her racing heart. What was wrong with her? "Is there something in this tea?" She stared down at the dregs in her cup as if she could read the leaves.
He laughed as he took the cup away from her. She met his eyes and noted there were flecks of gold in them she hadn't noticed before. He watched her like a cat, patiently waiting for his prey. Instead of fear she felt a twist of excitement that she was the object of the chase.
"Just a little herbal remedy I picked up on my travels. Don't worry, it won't make you do anything you don't want to do. It just helps you get what you really want," he said calmly as he brushed her hair behind her shoulder, leaving the side of her neck bare. Suddenly she was dying for him to kiss her there. She tried to remind herself that this wasn't right.
"We shouldn't be doing this," she said unconvincingly, closing her eyes as if she could shut off her feelings that way.
"That's where you are wrong, Kate." He wound her long raven hair around his fist and pulled down sharply so that her head fell back and she gasped. "We will do this, and very well. You've had too many men fall at your feet," his breath fluttered by the back of her ear and her nipples tightened almost painfully. "And not enough men that could make you beg to be fucked. Am I right?" Yes. God yes, she thought, as a low moan escaped her lips. "That ends...tonight."
His tongue plunged into her mouth and slid over hers, warm and smooth, as his hands ran firmly down her back and then back up to tangle in her hair. His touch ignited a firestorm inside her so that she was engulfed in the flames. She felt as if her legs would give out and she'd melt into the floor.
As if he sensed her being overcome with the sensations, he gentled his embrace, cradling her face in his hands as he traced her lips with his tongue. His need was grinding but he forced it down before it consumed them both. He wanted to draw this pleasure out as long as possible. The first time discovering a lover's body only came but once. His hands brushed downwards from her face to her neck and then the sides of her breasts, his thumbs circled her nipples so she arched and cried out, her sex flooding with heat.
He pushed her wrists behind her and held them with his left hand, while his right began to unbutton her blouse. Her skin glowed now, sheened with desire and glistening like the ivory silk she wore. As he exposed her inch by inch he watched her eyes go from blue to violet, seeing her start to give in to her arousal.
"Let go," he murmured as he drew her sleeves down one shoulder, then the other. With her shirt bundled around her wrists he twisted it into his left hand, handcuffing her. He pushed her against the wall. "Let me show you."
Show her what? She thought as he ran open mouthed kisses down her neck, her chest and then her abdomen. That she was powerless to stop him? She already knew. She leaned back against the wall, battered by sensations with no will to fight them. He was on his knees in front of her, unzipping her skirt. It slid to the floor and he lifted one foot out of the circle it made. Then he ran his free hand up the inner side of her leg until his hand brushed up against her moist heat.
