Winning Appeal, page 8
It was what was hanging over the fireplace that made freeze in my tracks. It was one of my paintings. I had been lucky enough to get a place in a few local gallery showings. This one had been shown a couple of months ago. Like the one in my apartment, it was an abstract explosion of color, but this had words incorporated into the design “art” “music” “live” “breathe” “desire” and “experience.”
“You bought my painting,” I said spinning around and smiling with delight.
“Yeah, bold color is good.” He smiled.
“Bright color is good too,” I said smiling back and feeling my cheeks heat up. I saw him breathe in deeply, and he walked over to me and gently ran his knuckles along my jaw.
“You know, hardly anybody blushes anymore. You’re so beautiful.” He leaned down to kiss me, and my lips parted in anticipation, and then my phone rang.
“I had better see who it is,” I said puzzled at who would be calling me. I grabbed my purse and took my phone out. I didn’t recognize the number and there was no name.
“I’ll go change. I’ll be down in a minute.” He headed for the staircase.
“Hello?”
“Beth, somebody is following me!”
“Caitlin? Is that you? How did you get my number?”
“Beth! I’m serious! There’s somebody following me.”
“Go to the police.”
“I can’t. Look, I want to tell you the whole story.”
“Okay, fine. Come into the office on Monday. In the meanwhile, if you won’t go to the police, go stay with a friend.”
“I don’t have a friend,” she answered.
“What? You… really? Well, go to your place and lock the doors and don’t let anyone in. You’re probably just imagining things, but you should be safe that way. You live in a secure building don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Caitlin… if you need to…” Oh God, don’t do it Beth!
“Oh shit! Are you with Mike? I’m sorry Beth.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Hey, it will be okay. I’m almost at my place now. I’ll ask the doorman to tell me if anyone weird is hanging around.”
“Okay, come in Monday, but you had better tell me everything.” I paused. “And be careful.”
“Thanks Beth. You’re nice.” With that she hung up. Was she serious, or was she trying to play on my sympathy? Okay, Beth, Mark is upstairs getting ready to get sexy with you. Don’t stand here worrying about whether Caitlin has friends.
As if on cue, Mark came back down the stairs wearing a pair of loose fitting black lounge pants and nothing else. His muscles were hard and defined, but not bulky. He had a sprinkling of hair on his chest, a six-pack and sweet baby Jesus he had that V.
“Did I hear you say that was Caitlin calling you? What did she want?” he asked, walking over to his sound system. He bent down to look for something. My God his ass was magnificent.
“Huh? Oh, uh, she thinks someone’s following her.”
“You’re kidding. Did you tell her to go the cops?” He found his iPod and placed it on the speakers. I recognized Jace Everett’s Bad Things and I smiled. He turned and faced me.
“Yeah, I did. Uh, she said she couldn’t. Then I told her to go to a friend’s place, and she said she didn’t have any. Mark, do you think…”
“I don’t know, and I have to confess, I have other things on my mind at the moment. I’m going to be initiating foreplay now, Beth. So I’m going to need you to turn your cell phone off. You’ll be busy for quite a while.”
I nodded, not trusting my voice. I reached into my bag and shut off my phone. He came over and put his arms around my waist and pulled me against him. The moment our bodies made contact, I felt his arousal grow. And grow. And grow. Oh my. He wanted me, and he was going to have me. And I was going to have that in me. Oh my. We started to move to the music and then he leaned down and kissed my neck sending a thrill down my spine. I ran my hands over the hard muscles of his back and his hands slid lower to cup my bottom.
“Are you wearing anything under here?” he mumbled against my neck. The vibration tickled.
“No,” I answered, whispering in his ear and pausing to gently bite his lobe. His breathing got heavier and he reached lower and slid his palms up the backs of my thighs, pushing my dress higher and higher. When he got to my bare bottom he groaned, squeezed and pulled my hips against him even tighter. Our mouths found each others and our tongues twisted, rubbing together deliciously. His hands were roaming over my bare body under my dress and mine were tucked down into the back of his pants, kneading that magnificent ass. I wasn’t the only one who had gone commando incidentally.
There we were, making out, exploring each other’s bodies and still swaying to the music. It felt powerfully erotic. We made it through the rest of that song, and also I’m on Fire by Bruce Springsteen. I definitely saw a theme here. Near the end of the song he broke our kiss and sang in my ear and it did me in. I was too feverish, lightheaded and turned on to keep dancing.
“Mark,” was all I could manage.
“Beth,” he said in strained voice and pulled back to look at me. His eyes were hazy and he was breathing hard and fast. “I would love to carry you off to my bed but…” He glanced at the narrow circular stairway. “Considering our history.”
“It’s okay,” I said kicking off my heels. My voice was so heavy with desire that I barely recognized it. My skin was tingling from head to toe, and in some places, throbbing and aching. I couldn’t remember ever having been this turned on before.
“You go first in case you fall. And so I can look up your dress,” he teased. I smiled and headed for the stairs, climbing as carefully as I could. By the grace of God we both made it safely to the top. I’ll note that he quickly stepped away from the top of staircase.
The music carried upstairs through a sound system. I began to realize that Mark really loved music, which probably explained the Gibson Les Paul standing in the corner. I wasn’t surprised to see it; it fit his personality and besides, I had noticed the calluses on his fingertips. I was an artist and he was a musician. How perfect was that? I heard the opening notes to Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game and when he turned to face me I almost swooned. That song would melt me for the rest of my life.
I looked him deeply in the eyes, and then I reached down and took hold of the edge of my dress, lifting it over my head and tossing it aside. Like many women, there were things I would have changed about my body, but the way he looked at me made me feel absolutely flawless.
“So now you know,” I said throatily, and pointed to my hip.
“Picasso.” He smiled. “And your belly ring. So many fun things to discover.”
After he had taken his time to look me over, his eyes traveled back up to mine and he pushed his pants down over his hips and let them fall to the floor, stepping out of them and kicking them aside. He stood still and let me take a good long look too. I didn’t even try to be delicate or tactful; I stared openly. He was like a work of art… but better.
“What are you thinking?” he asked in a low, thick, velvety voice.
“That if you were a statue you would need a really big fig leaf,” I answered truthfully and after a beat he burst out laughing. I looked up and smiled. “You asked.”
“God, you’re… I mean you’re so… Beth is good,” he said finally.
“Mark is good too,” I answered and he went to the bedside table and took out a condom packet. Then he paused and seemed to reconsider. Reaching back into the drawer he took out the whole box. That was promising.
“Will you share my bed with me tonight Beth?” he asked walking over to me and pulling me into his arms. There are some sensations in life that are just unparalleled, a soothing hot bath at the end of a long day, a soft cozy bed on a cold winter night… Mark’s warm bare skin pressed up against mine fell into that category. In fact, it was better. It was truly heavenly.
“I’ll share your bed with you any night,” I answered wrapping my arms around him. He kissed me again and we resumed our intimate exploration, his tongue caressing mine, while his hands gently stroked my breasts. As we moved to the music, he guided me over to the edge of the bed and urged me to sit down on the edge. Then he knelt down in front of me and looking into my eyes, he began to slowly run his fingers up and down my inner thighs, mirroring how I had touched him the other night.
“Does this feel as good to you as it did to me?” he asked. His voice sounded so deep and seductive that my insides liquefied.
“It feels incredible,” I answered breathily and he smiled the naughty smile.
Gently nudging my legs apart further, he leaned in and brushed his tongue up against my nipple. I breathed in sharply and he scraped me with his teeth and then covered me with feathery little licks and kisses. The hair stood up on my arms and I got goose bumps, as my nipples, impossibly, became even more rigid. I was starting to pant when he moved to the other side and did the same thing again.
“You like that,” he mumbled against my tingling skin.
“Yes.” I gasped. I was starting to tremble.
“Lie back.”
I didn’t think twice. Although I was becoming increasingly lightheaded, I was also conscience of so many things, the soft comforter beneath me, the intoxicating music, my tummy tightening in anticipation… and him. I was so very aware of him, standing above me. He looked so big and predatory, but in a really good way, and I swear that I could almost smell the lust in the room.
He braced himself over me and went back to work on my breasts, lightly licking, biting, and gently sucking until I was moaning. Then he slowly moved down and sucked at my belly ring, sending waves of sensation throughout my body, and I moaned louder. “Do know what it does to me when you make those sounds, Beth?” he asked in a silky voice.
“Mmm.” That was the only answer I could offer at that moment. My brain was too busy processing all of the stimulation to handle things like speech.
“Your Picasso is more beautiful than the original,” he said tracing my tattoo with his tongue as I sighed with pleasure. He moved lower and the stubble on his chin brushed against my inner thighs making me tremble. “And you’re blonde everywhere.” I felt him smile against my sensitive skin just before his tongue started licking a trail to the Promised Land.
“Ahhh,” I responded, still limited to single letter sounds. Then I felt his hot tongue part me and begin stroking my pussy, and that inspired a whole word, “Yes!”
“Mmm,” he mumbled, quoting my earlier comments. I clutched onto his head, just in case he was planning to ever leave.
His tongue played, pushing up inside me, stroking and exploring. Finally, when he had reduced me to a quivering mess, he moved higher and started licking my clit like a lollipop. That was it, I was gone, out of my head, moaning, writhing around so much he had to hold me down.
I could feel every inch of my body, like a million tiny hot pinpricks, while an explosive tension was building steadily between my legs. He was unrelenting, alternating between stroking and sucking, driving me wild. I could barely think, and I was about to lose control anyway, when he slid two fingers up inside me and I immediately went plummeting over the edge into a powerful orgasm.
“Mark! Oh God!” I cried out as I felt my pussy clench and potent waves of release coursed through me. I was shivering with sensation and my inner muscles didn’t stop convulsing for several seconds. It was gut wrenching, but finally, my body relaxed. As I lay there basking in the warm pleasure of afterglow, he raised his head.
“Thank you for remembering my name,” he said as he gently trailed kisses along my belly. I laughed and it felt wonderful. He climbed up on the bed and lay down on his side. “Come here, sexy,” he said with a smile. I turned over and crawled on rubbery legs to lie beside him, looking into his beautiful smoky gray eyes, still hazy with desire. “Listening to you moan makes me crazy.” He traced my bottom lip with his thumb.
“Kiss me,” I whispered. He hesitated for a second but I gave him a reassuring look and he lowered his head and slid his tongue smoothly into my mouth, moving his lips against mine. After kissing me slowly and sensually for a while he pulled back.
“See how good you taste?” he asked, moving his lips to my neck. There really was something very erotic about tasting myself on his tongue.
“I want you,” I said in a voice thick with desire. He didn’t hesitate, but sat up immediately and reached over to the bedside table for a condom. Ripping open the packet, he rolled it on expertly while Mass Undergoe sang I Need You, and it dawned on me that Mark had been exhibiting great self-control, putting my needs first, even though he was probably as desperate as I was.
“How would you like me to take you first?” he asked and my stomach flipped over.
“However you want me,” I answered, feeling again like I might actually swoon. Just for the record, nobody had ever made me swoon before. I wasn’t even sure swooning was a real thing before now.
“I want you every way.” He smiled the naughty smile. “And I’ll have you every way eventually, but how about for the first time, we start with you on top.”
“Yes,” I said simply.
“That word sounds better every time you say it.”
He moved up and braced his back against the headboard. “Come and show me how well we fit together.” I climbed onto his lap straddling him, and he held my hips and bent his head and trailed kisses along my breasts while I positioned myself over him. I used my hand to guide his cock to my entrance, and I rested my other hand on his shoulder, he tilted his chin up so I could see his eyes and then I slowly slid home.
I loved the look of pleasure on his face as I took him inch by inch until I was fully seated on his lap with him buried deep inside me. “Oh, Mark.” I gasped.
“Beth,” was all he said and then he lifted me up slowly, and pulled me back down filling me again. I started to ride him faster while he guided my hips. “Oh baby.” I liked it when he called me baby. He sounded so turned on. I ground against him as I bounced up and down and it wasn’t long before I felt the pressure building again.
“Mmm mmm, Mark, yes. Oh God yes,” I ground out. He was so big that I could feel him stretching and completely filling me. It was bliss coupled with a quick stab of pain and it was successfully bringing me to the fastest orgasm I had ever experienced through sex alone.
“So beautiful, Beth. You’re so fucking beautiful.” He was breathing heavily through his mouth and he looked dazed. “Come on baby,” I rode him even harder and faster working for my climax. “Oh fuck. You feel so good.” I was covered in sweat and my hair was sticking to my forehead. I was moaning and then I felt it; my leg muscles locked and my abdomen tensed. “That’s it, come on baby,” he coaxed as I let go.
My body shook as my inner muscles grabbed onto him over and over again. White-hot pleasure and then breathtaking relief washed over me. Finally, I collapsed against his chest, panting. He stoked my hair and my back until my breathing slowed down. “Your turn,” I mumbled and he rolled me over onto my back and knelt between my still shaking legs.
He stared down at me lying there ready to take him again and the look on his face was almost reverent. “I may not last long. It’s been a while and I want this so much. I’m barely holding on.”
“That’s okay. I’m satisfied. Now I want to watch you come apart.” He let out a ragged breath as he grabbed my legs, rested them on his shoulders, and positioned himself. “And Mark…” He looked up at me expectantly. “You can go hard.” He smiled the naughty boy smile and thrust into me deeply. “Oh God!” I cried out and arched my back, grabbing onto the sheets.
“Too hard?” he bit out.
“No. More. Like that,” I said hoarsely and he thrust into me hard again. “Mmm yeah. It feels so good.” He began to build his rhythm as I moaned with pleasure.
“Beth.” He was thrusting steadily now, “Need this so much.”
“Yes! Give it to me just like that. I love it.”
“Oh yes.” He was thrusting hard and fast and he looked completely dazed and absolutely gorgeous. He was flushed and breathing hard, as he alternated between looking into my eyes and watching his cock slide into me over and over again. “Oh God.” He groaned. “I’m going to come.”
“Come on, baby,” I urged him on. He made a guttural sound and then his rhythm faltered and his muscles tensed. He looked up at me almost desperately.
“Oh God. I’m coming, Beth!” He let loose a loud strangled groan, went still and closed his eyes. Then he blew out a sharp breath and collapsed on top of me. I held him and felt his heart pounding, stroking his back as he lay in my arms, the sound of his breathing filling the room. I was stunned by the intensity of what had just happened. Watching him lost in ecstasy had blown my mind.
Finally, he rolled off to his side, and I immediately missed the feeling of his warm weight on me. He was facing away from me and I traced Lady Justice with my fingertip.
“Oh shit,” he said rolling back over. “I’m not, I mean… I’m planning to hold you, but I have get rid of this.” He glanced down at the condom he was still wearing.
“It’s okay. It gave me a chance to look at your tattoo,” I mumbled in a sated voice. “I still find it fascinating.” He smiled and sat up, taking the condom off carefully and dropping it in a wastebasket beside the bed. Then he lay back down and pulled me into his arms.
“Next week I won’t have to do that,” he said with a big grin. “Which means that I won’t have to wait to hold you.” I sighed and snuggled even closer.
“Next week is the mystery weekend. Braden will be there too. Is that too awkward?”
“No, he won’t be sharing a bed with us, and after waiting all week I don’t think I’ll have performance anxiety.”
