Page 73 of Not the Plan

“Fuck!” he shouted. Her heat and tightness from that angle was almost too much. She sat up, licking her open lips. He wasprey to be devoured. The thought made him even harder. She reached for his hands to support herself and began to move.

“Karim!” she cried out, rocking her hips, finding her rhythm.

The dark brown eyes boring into him had gone black. Her lips, her skin, the depth of color suffused with pink as another orgasm approached. He wanted to hold on, to watch her explode again. She swiveled her hips and he cried out, his back arching, teeth clenched hard, his nostrils flaring and filling with her scent. The scent that was on his lips, that she’d let him taste.

How…does she…want me?A growl burned the back of his throat.

She pushed his arms down, pinning them above his head and leaned over to pant into his ear.

“Come, Karim. Let me feel you.”

Two hard thrusts meeting hers and he was done, her almond-shaped eyes the last thing he saw as he shattered.

He came back to himself in another fantasy: Isadora lying on top of him, wrapped in his arms, the heat of their lovemaking a halo around them. Her head resting on his chest, her breathing returning to normal. He stroked his chin across the top of her head, the way he’d wanted to on the way back from San Diego. This time, there was no hesitation.

Hesitation…it had been in her eyes on the couch. A flash of timidity, of fear. He squeezed her tighter. She sighed and snuggled in deeper. The last thing he wanted was for her to fear him. She was so fearless at work, but with him, she’d been afraid. Even said so in her office.

Is it just work? Julian and Daniel? What people might think of her if they find out? No…it’s more than that…. Maybe she’ll tell me one day.

She shifted, and he softened his grip in case she wanted to move.

“You okay, beautiful?” he whispered.

The sexy moan he got in reply could cause some trouble. It made him lick his lips, savoring her taste that was still there.

“I am much better than okay, gorgeous,” she sighed.

“ ‘Gorgeous’? Careful, I could get used to that.”

“You should,” she said, the post-sex satisfaction in her voice doing wonders for his ego. “It’s the truth.”

He ran a hand over her head, smoothing her hair into place. “I’ll let you be the judge,” he said.

She sighed, rolled off him, and then snuggled close, her head on his shoulder. “Do you mind?” If her voice sounded like that all the time, he’d never be able to leave the house.

“God, no,” he said. “Been hoping for this from the first time I set foot in your office.”

“Really?” She giggled. He caught her shiver as he snatched a tissue off his nightstand and got rid of the condom. He reached for the sheets, covering them both. He smoothed her hair some more, while she slid soft fingertips across his chest.

Yep. I’m definitely dead. I did at least one really great thing in my life that I can’t remember, and this is my reward. Or…He made the conscious choice to ignore the past. He was in bed with a goddess who’d wanted him, taken him, and given him so much pleasure he’d thought he was going to die from it. He was going to stay in the present. Until the goddess decided otherwise.

“If you don’t want to talk about this, please say so,” she said. She continued stroking his chest, playing with his hair.

He gulped. “Okay. What is it?”

“You know sometimes, when we talk, you seem surprised.”

“Surprised?”

“Yeah. Or confused that I’m interested in you. At first I chalked it up to our bosses, you worrying about people finding out. But I have a feeling it’s deeper than that. Once you even said, ‘Why me, Isadora?’ I didn’t get to ask why because Julian called and interrupted.” She lifted her head, her eye contact direct but gentle. “Whynotyou, Karim? What’s so wrong with you?”

His instinct was to turn away, to hide. But he didnotwant to hide from her. He drew in a long breath.

Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry.” She put her head back on his chest. “I shouldn’t have—”

He grazed his free hand along her cheek, down to her chin, to tilt her face toward his. “No, Isadora,” he said, warming his tone,to make sure she understood that he was telling her the truth. “Don’t apologize. I told you that it helps that you have questions about me, that you want to understand who I am.” He caught a flash of shyness in her eyes. And her resolve when she looked back at him. “I had to work through a lot of negative feelings when my ex left. Alot.And the hardest ones to shake are the ones about myself. She cast me aside. Threw me away, like a piece of trash. That sticks. Even when you try to put yourself a thousand miles away from it.” He stroked her cheek again and traced her eyebrow. “So, when someone else comes along and shows…an interest in that piece of trash, is curious about it, it’s a little confusing.” He grazed his thumb over her lips. Her face remained neutral. He wasn’t sure he’d managed to explain well.Maybe I read things wrong, maybe—

“I can’t do anything about what goes on in your head.” Her face had gotten tight and her voice sharp. “But you will never refer to yourself as a piece of trash in my presence again, Karim Sarda. Are we clear?”

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