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“What’s that?”
“Your voice.” He settled more comfortably into the chair, and smiled into the phone. “When we talked online, some times I imagined I could hear you, but the real thing is a million times better.”
Raine smiled. “It is. I love hearing you too.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. “This is pretty intense.”
“Something tells me it’s about to get even more intense, Nilla.”
Raine felt weird being called by her pseudonym, and almost caved to the temptation to tell him her real name, but held back. That could wait. For now, this was good. She laughed, and almost didn’t recognize the husky, sexy sound of her own voice.
“Could be.”
“Um, Nilla, not to be too cliché, but exactly what did you change into?”
She laughed. “Rider, are you actually asking me what I am wearing?”
He laughed, too, a warm, husky, sexy laugh.
“You bet I am. You can’t leave a guy hanging like that and not expect him to go half-mad with wondering. Tell me, Nilla.”
Raine looked down, and nervously smoothed her hand up and down over her thigh.
“It’s no big deal…usually when I get home from work I shower and change into my comfortable clothes.”
“Tell me about them.”
Raine smiled, and shook her head. This was crazy. She had thought calling him might add the edge of reality and stem the passion that was quickly getting out of control online.
She couldn’t have been more wrong. Voice to voice, they were spontaneously combusting. She took a breath, and spoke, feeling a little silly, but pressed on anyway, remembering that Nilla would have no problem responding to this request.
“Flannel pajama shorts and a top. Cushy socks. Not exactly Victoria’s Secret, but soft, warm, and comfortable.”
Jack chuckled, intrigued by the thought of her cuddled in flannel, the cotton sliding against warm, soft skin, clean and smelling of soap and powder. The slight edge of shyness that came through her voice made him want to break through, to make her lose control and tell him what he wanted to hear.
“I wish I could smell you. I want to slide my hands along your skin, touching you. I want to know what secrets you are keeping under that flannel.”
Raine felt rather than saw the flush work its way over her body, his voice setting off pins and needles of passion on her skin. She tried to speak normally, but her breath caught, betraying her response.
“Rider, I think we should just talk, we probably shouldn’t…”
She could almost see his naughty grin as he spoke. “That’s what makes it so much fun, Nilla. Forget the shoulds and shouldn’ts for a minute. Just relax. It’s just me—Rider. Do something for me?”
“What?”
“Touch yourself—and tell me what you feel.”
Okay, stop the bus!
She was not prepared for this! Nothing in thirty-two years prepared her for this onslaught of what she wanted to do, which was completely in conflict with what she didn’t know if she even could do.
He was asking her to share something wildly new, and for her, something incredibly daring. It had been easy online. This was different. Way different. She closed her eyes, and couldn’t think of a single way to respond. He spoke again.
“It’s all right—we’ll go at whatever pace you want. It’s just that you are driving me crazy. The sound of your voice.”
“Me? What did I do?”
“Nilla, don’t you know? You turn me inside out.” The words ground out of him and shocked her—frustration, desire, and control that came across clearly in his voice made Raine feel a bit faint. “Just hearing your voice has me close to coming, all I would have to do is touch myself. God, Nilla, tell me you want me to.”
Raine squeezed her eyes shut and almost dropped the phone, fumbling to catch it, and wished she had bought the speakerphone she had seen on sale a few weeks earlier. She was in a sexual twilight zone, nothing was real, and everything seemed to be magnified, every touch, every sound, every thought.
She pictured him as he existed in her imagination, sitting on the other end of the phone, needing her, wanting her. Fear and feminine power warred in her mind, and in her heart. She took a deep breath, and she let herself slide out of reality.
“Yes. Yes, Rider, I want you to touch yourself, to make yourself come. I want to help you, to be part of it.”
Jack slid one hand under the thick cotton of his robe, and let his head fall back on the chair as he slid his fingers over his swollen penis, rubbing his thumb over the dew that had accumulated at the head. He squeezed, sucking in a sharp breath, slowing himself down before it was all over too fast.
“Tell me, Nilla, talk to me…I’m aching for you….”
Raine turned off her light and quickly slid out of her clothes. She didn’t—wouldn’t—think about this. She just wanted to experience this moment of absolute letting go. She slipped back on her bed, not needing the covers. Her body was white hot and ready to go. She felt awkward as she spoke, but just said what she felt.
“I’m naked, Rider, I took my clothes off, and I’m on top of my covers, thinking of you and what you are doing. I wish I was touching you. I wish I could wrap my hands around you. Slide my mouth over you. I want to taste you.”
She heard no words in response, just a masculine groan of appreciation. Still a little unsure, but encouraged, she continued.
“I’m touching my knee, running my fingers over the hollows in the back. The skin there is smooth, and so amazingly sensitive…up the inside of my thigh…I’m so hot, Rider, I’m wet already…just thinking about you, what you are doing….”
“Jesus, Nilla, I want you, baby, please, I need this, don’t stop….”
“Tell me what you want, Rider, tell me where you want me to touch, where you would touch me.”
“Lick your fingers, make them wet, then run them over your stomach. Think of me kissing you there.”
She did as he said, and arched up toward the little paths of fire that danced along her skin, imagining his touch.
The small, kittenish sigh that traveled across the line made him smile, and he refocused, running his hand over himself slowly, imagining her hands, and what they were doing, what he could make them do.
“Nilla, cup your breasts, your beautiful breasts. Are they aroused?”
“Oh yes, Rider…oh, that feels so good. I want to come…come with me….”
“Hey, not so fast,” he purred into the phone, gaining control from her loss of it. “We have time…roll over on your stomach, Nilla.”
Almost drowning in swells of excitement, she mindlessly rolled over, and set the phone on the bed. She rested her head on the receiver, freeing her hands.
“There, Nilla?”
“Mmm, hmm.”
“Good…the blankets are so soft, so warm from the heat of your body. Imagine me, Nilla, behind you—I want to rub myself on you, slide my cock along where you’re melting for me. Do that, Nilla, touch yourself there, and think of me pushing inside, sliding into your heat. I’m so hard, so damned hard for you. I wish I could be inside you, Nilla.”
He was quickly losing the ability to talk at all, spurred on by her increasingly passionate sighs and moans. He heard her chanting his name into the phone, and pumped himself harder, faster, feeling the blood pool in his lower stomach, his body going taut as he neared the edge.
“Nilla, now…stay with me…I’m almost there, Nilla!”
She had never been so gloriously lost in her life, consumed by the voice on the phone, the hands on her body that barely seemed to be her own. She could only think of him, his voice, his hands, somehow at once bringing himself, and her, to pleasure, and she slid her fingers inside herself, finding the sensitive spot she knew would send her over, her cries filling the room and traveling over the line to touch him on the other side.
“Rider, yes…oooooh! Oh, God…”
Jack nearly dropped the phone as he listened to her give in to the throes, his taut body bowing as he fell sharply into his own release.
Raine smiled, listening to his guttural, animal sounds, wishing she could see his face right at the most intimate moment. She basked in hearing him lost in his own orgasm as the pulsing warmth of hers receded. Lying in the darkness, spent, her heart pounding against the softness of the cover, she murmured gentle encouragements, just sounds. His breath was still labored, then slowed; he was saying her name into the phone over and over again. Her body cooled, and she pulled the covers up over her, turning onto her back. She couldn’t stop smiling.
“Rider?”
“Mmm. Nilla. Not quite back yet, sweetheart.”
She smiled, and kicked her feet on the bed a little, feeling amazing and powerful and feminine. Her body felt wired and relaxed simultaneously, and she couldn’t believe she had just had phone sex—really, really amazing phone sex. She laughed delightedly, making him smile.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing… I just feel so incredible. That was so much fun—I have never done that before.”
“Me neither. You inspire me.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t meet, maybe we should just do this.”
“No way, Nilla—no way are you getting out of this. Not now.”
Jack lay back, eyes closed. His body was a mass of conflict, at once sated and yet begging for more—for her, for real. Three more days.
“Yeah. And if this thing works out, Nilla, as they say, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
4
RAINE WATCHED Gwen crease her forehead as she studied the tarot cards she’d laid out in front of her on the table. Gwen had arrived at the door to drag her out for lunch. Gwen’s hair was freshly colored with purple highlights and glitter eye shadow to match. Raine was just happy the Goth days were over; she preferred Gwen colorful and upbeat.
They sat in high-backed booth seats at a favorite diner overlooking Salem’s pedestrian mall, soup bowls and coffee cups pushed to the side while Gwen turned out cards. Raine looked out the partially fogged window, watching people scurrying in and out of shops, rushing to get their Christmas shopping done.
Everything was decorated and cheerful. The sun shone brightly off the snow, almost blinding her with the glare. She was meeting Rider tonight, and the brightness of the day seemed like a good omen.
Gwen insisted on doing tarot readings for her once a month. Raine never so much as read the astrology forecasts in the newspaper, but today she was grateful for the distraction. It was a day for new adventures, and Gwen had shown up with her cards, so now the two sat eating lunch and peering into Raine’s immediate future. Raine munched her tuna sandwich absently and looked on.
“So, what’s the verdict?”
“First, the Chariot—that figures—he is traveling to see you, that’s kind of obvious. But the card is about being balanced, in control. It suggests a sense of purpose and direction. It’s a strong card. Maybe a very confident man who knows what he wants, or could be you trying to control the situation, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just something to think about. And—” she pointed to the next card “—then you have the Ace of Wands—kind of a sexy card, eh?”
Raine peered at the card that showed a club, or tree branch—a very erotic-looking tree branch—standing straight up against a sky, surrounded by ivy and flowers, and nodded. Really, it did look like an erection. Or maybe she just had penises on the brain. She shook her head.
“That one’s usually about new beginnings, creativity and sexuality. Good sign for getting laid.” Gwen grinned and pointed to the next card, which depicted a castle-type building with flames flying out of it, and people being tossed out of the windows into the crashing seas below.
“Hmm, this one might be a problem.”
“Looks ominous.” Raine wiggled her eyebrows dramatically.
“Can be, but it’s more about life shaking us up, throwing us on our asses when we need it. There could be something really unexpected that will happen tonight. Could be good, or not so good. You had better just keep your radar sharp.”
“For what? A sexy guy with a big stick and a nice car who is going to surprise me somehow?” Raine smiled naughtily, and Gwen gave a hearty laugh.
“Good one. Let’s hope so. Now it gets interesting. This chick here—” she pointed to a picture of a woman standing blindfolded in the middle of a circle of swords “—the Eight of Swords, she is imprisoned by something—see how the swords do not circle her tightly? There are ways she could free herself if she wanted to. The blindfold suggests she may not be seeing things clearly.”
“Or maybe it means he is going to blindfold me.”
“I never looked at it that way. Hmm…and tie you up…”
“I was kidding, Gwen.”
“Hey, I’m not judging—everyone is into their own thing.” She ducked as Raine took a playful swat at her, and went on.
“But seriously, the cards can mean different things to different people—it’s obvious what’s on your mind.” She grinned cheekily. “Okay, then you have these last three. The Devil is what challenges you—not the devil like hellfire and brimstone, but this card can be a lot of things—obsession, darkness, or being hounded or harassed in some way. The Two of Cups follows, a card signifying what you should strive for, a meeting of the minds, coming together, emotional healing. Finally, the Four of Wands is your destination card—where you could end up—a very nice, a happy, successful card, celebrations and accomplishments. Maybe marriage. Kids, you know, the whole ten yards.”
“Bite me, Gwen.”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” She grinned, summing up. “So, the Tower and the Devil are still giving it all a pretty interesting slant, kind of intense—will be interesting to see what that is about, though sometimes it is nothing. I draw the Tower every month when I am PMSing.” She pursed her lips and looked up at Raine.
“As for the rest, looks like maybe you have some bumps in the road, a few explosions along the way—hey! I wonder if the Tower could be about orgasms? You know, lightning striking? Like getting thrown from the heights and into the waves of passion? I never thought about that—I like it! That would kinda mesh with what you see in the eight.”
“Well, it would be nice if you’re right about the orgasms.” Raine laughed and slid off the seat, thinking about her experience with Rider two nights before. She hadn’t told Gwen about that. “But I need to think about what to wear. Come help me, okay?”
Grabbing the check, she went to the counter to pay. Gwen left the tip on the table and followed her out the door into the brisk, bright air. “Okay, what to wear? Exactly how crazy do you want to make him on the first date?”
RAINE SAT on a stool at the bar feeling jittery and unsure. She swirled the little plastic stick around in her Manhattan, her hands cold even though heat from the whiskey had worked its way through her bloodstream and softly smudged her eyes and cheeks.
It was a little after six—this wasn’t a good sign. Maybe he had changed his mind, maybe he had arrived, seen her, and just left without a word—he might have considered fantasy a better deal than the reality. She made a point of turning her back to the door. She didn’t want to know when. If.
She looked down at her boots, swinging her foot. The soft black leather caressed her calf. The gray wool skirt had seemed sensible and still sexy, warm enough for the weather, exposing just a little leg between midthigh where the top of the boot met her knee. The deep green cashmere sweater was nice but not revealing, at least not in the obvious sense, though it clung to curves in all the right places and had attracted more than one admiring look when she had slipped off her jacket at the door. Gwen said the color emphasized her eyes, making them look like crystal-clear jade.
Raine took Gwen seriously, which not everyone did, at least at first. But Gwen was smart, and she had style. The two women had a deep respect for each other and that had been the basis of their friendship almost from the start. Gwen was really the first close friend Raine had ever had, and Raine thought of her almost like a sister, though she never told Gwen that. She wasn’t one for gushing her emotions all over the place. When it came to her own life, she was never quite sure where the lines were between people, what was allowed and what wasn’t. So she tried to err on the safe side.
Raising her fingers to the small pink rosebud that was clipped into her hair, she tried not to look at her watch yet again. Her nerves settled, her hopes started to fade, and she felt a little like a fool. Ten more minutes, and she would go home and forget about this for good.
JACK CURSED the weather. The drive had been much nastier than he had anticipated. The winter storm that passed by the night before had cleared out to sea, but it had left the roads slick and dangerous. Everyone was trying to get somewhere for the weekend, and he was caught in one traffic jam after another.
His feet were freezing, and as much as he was looking forward to meeting Nilla—to put it mildly—he was very focused on getting warm. If getting warm with Nilla was in the cards, even better. But for the moment, he was so cold even thinking about that didn’t warm him enough. A few miles back, a college student—driving too fast and too confidently for the conditions—had spun off the road into a snowbank, directly in front of him.
The kid was not hurt, but was not getting out of his predicament alone, so Jack climbed into snow up to his thighs to help dig the car out. He lost his beloved Red Sox cap in the wind, watching it whirl away into darkness. Jack sent the kid off again with a growling warning about driving more slowly before he killed someone else or himself.
Though he had managed to brush off most of the snow, his pants were still a little damp. He was tired, hungry, and he seriously needed a drink.
He spotted the restaurant and pulled into the first available parking space. The place was hopping, even at this early hour. He glanced at his watch. He was only fifteen minutes late, not too bad, all things considered. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, glad to shut the engine off and concentrate on why he was here.
