Cherry Blossom Girl Ch. 04

And then she found out.

She grabbed a pillow and poured every remaining sound she had into it.

Certain he'd wrung every drop of pleasure out of her, Noah withdrew his fingers from her snug sheath. Sascha was so far gone now, she'd let him do whatever he wanted. And he wanted nothing more than to feel her flesh clasp his cock the way she'd done with his fingers. He tugged the pillow from her but she held on. The gesture stirred something between amusement and tenderness inside him.

"Are you going to hide under there forever?"

She peeked at him, mumbled, "Uh-hmm" and pulled the pillow over her head again. Too cute. But he had to see her face when he slid into her.

He grabbed it from her and tossed it aside once he got up. Her eyes were heavy lidded as she slowly rose up on her elbows and scooted back to the middle of the bed, releasing him from his promise. She knew he was about to fuck her and she accepted it. He reached for the zipper but what he read on her face wasn't enough.

He knew exactly what he wanted. That wouldn't change come daybreak. But was Sascha coasting along, caught up in the heat of their attraction just like the last time? Would she be wary of him tomorrow too?

She drew in her lower lip, the gesture brief and unconscious. Hell, she looked wary right now. Willing but wary. That wasn't good enough. Besides, he'd given her his word. She might not know it yet but that counted for something. As much as he ached to feel her under him, his pleasure wouldn't come at the expense of her trust. He was nothing like her ex.

That's what he told himself as he tried to coax away the demands of his hard-on and the disappointment of not taking what he wanted. He imagined he'd be cursing himself tomorrow for passing this up. Ah, fuck. He already was.

"Don't you want...what about you?" she asked as he fished out a pair of shorts from the dresser. No way could he chance sleeping naked with her. As if he'd sleep a wink. What had he been thinking when he invited her to spend the night?

Their eyes met in the mirror.

"Come here," she said, sounding bossy and shy at once. He met her at the side of the bed where she knelt.

"I promised you I wouldn't—" The feel of her hand stroking, the soft abrasion of his trousers against his cock banished all thought. Urges wracked his body but doubt met up with the last of his willpower. He caught her wrist. "You don't have to do this."

"But you want me to."

He couldn't deny it but he didn't want her doing this for the sake of a fair trade. "That's not—"

"And I want to. Isn't that the point?" she asked, her eyes full of mischief as she slowly unzipped him. His heart beat drummed louder with each parting of those metal teeth. She looked up at him with a vixen smile. "Relax. I promise I won't compromise your virtue."

"Just like high school, huh?"

"My high school years were very uneventful. My dad was the principal so none of the boys would dare look at me."

"Really? Getting into trouble with the principal's daughter sounds kind of hot."

She chuckled. "I think the threat of expulsion took care of that."

"I have a feeling—" he inhaled when his trousers fell in a pool around his ankles, shackling him "—you were worth it."

The principal's daughter proved him right as her hesitant fingers closed around his shaft.

"This would've definitely been worth getting expelled for."

***

There was no place like the Balthazar Luxe's Meeting Services offices on a Wednesday afternoon. Around two o'clock, with lunch over and deadlines looming, the energy always turned frenetic. A symphony of ringing phones rang and buzzing voices filled the air, questions and answers and footsteps crowded the hallways. Hands were never without paper.

Sascha handed Helena a conference itinerary to fax out for a client's confirmation just as Liya stomped past them.

She peeked in Liya's office in time to see her slam the file drawer with enough force that an inquisitive hush fell over the department. The frenzy resumed a heartbeat later.

"What's up?"

"Oh, take a guess." Balty.

"Your friend Isabel and her fiancé came in for the tasting," Liya began, surprising Sascha with the information. Strange that Isabel hadn't called as she'd said. "Anyway we're in the middle of the walk-through before Gary gets there and she asks me about the possibility of switching back to ballroom two because there might be additions to the guest list."

"Okay?"

"I had the schedule with me, so I knew right off that if we moved her to two, there'd only be an hour to turn the room over. So I explained to her that it might not be feasible because of the meeting booked in the same room. Before I could tell her I'd look into it and see what could be done, the Ogre walks in and pulls me outside."

"Sascha, he completely went off on me, saying how I was discouraging an up-sale, that I had no business sense and that I didn't know how to deal with clients."

Sascha winced.

"Oh, that's not even the worst part," Liya said with a wave of her hand. "Gary came down just as this was happening and heard every word. I've never been more humiliated."

"I'm so sorry."

Liya paced behind her desk with her palm to her forehead. The weight of her frustration carried in her voice as she said, "I don't know how much longer I can take this. I work my ass off everyday—everyday! I might as well not bother at all."

"You're doing great, everybody sees it and I know next quarter he'll tell you so himself."

Liya's body language wilted in defeat as she folded her arms. "I don't think I'll be here that long. I'm tired of walking around all day with my stomach in knots." This wasn't the first time she'd talked about quitting, but she'd never sounded this resigned or resolute.

"C'mon, you can't mean that!"

A knock on the opened door startled them. The look on Liya's face announced their visitor well before Sascha turned and saw Gavin Balthazar in the doorway, tall and imposing, his dark eyes calculating.

"We need to talk."

Every molecule in the small office changed after he said the dreaded words.

"Is Isabel still here?" Sascha asked Liya before she turned to leave.

"She should be."

"Shut the door on the way out," Balty said without sparing a glance Sascha's way. He wouldn't have lasted a week in Guest Services with those people skills. She sent Liya a sympathetic look and pursed her lips at her boss' back before she headed downstairs.

Isabel and her fiancé Nate Walkenshaw were sampling a lobster dish when Sascha walked into the ballroom.

"How's everything going?" she asked after greeting them and Gary, who worked in catering.

"Everything else about this wedding should be as easy as this," Nate told her. It was one of the rare occasions when he spoke about anything wedding related or that Isabel let him.

"I would've come down sooner if I'd known you were here," she said in a casual tone that didn't jive with her sense that something was off.

"It's been such a crazy day," Isabel complained, her hands all aflutter but a chilliness remained. "It wasn't until after we got here that I remembered I didn't call you. I'm sorry thought Liya would tell you." Nate's cherubic face remained curiously neutral.

After a few minutes of polite conversation, Sascha explained she had phone calls to make and excused herself. She'd neared the elevator when Isabel called after her.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about if you have time."

"Is something wrong?" Sascha asked as they walked to the alcove near the guest phones. Tabloid reports had surfaced about the details of Isabel's lavish wedding. With the trial date looming, the Montgomery PR machine had obviously gone on the offensive by cloaking the Cortazar name in greed.

Isabel squeezed her nape as if the pressures of media criticism and orchestrating a fairytale wedding now resided beneath her ponytail. "No, ah...not really," she said, her throaty accent more pronounced. "I hope you're not bringing anyone to the wedding. You know it wouldn't be appropriate."

Completely broadsided by the declaration, Sascha blinked then blinked again. So the frosty reception had been about the fact that she'd gone home with Noah. No doubt Sydney and Taryn would've filled in Isabel on the details of what had happened once she'd left with Rafi. That they all assumed she'd slept with a stranger, embarrassed Sascha. Sure she expected a little flak but never this kind of reaction, especially from Isabel. Not when she'd teased Sascha about him.

"If you're talking about a date, no I wasn't planning on bringing one," she replied in a clipped tone.

"I don't want things to be awkward for Alex, I hope you understand," Isabel backpedaled, sensing she'd crossed the line. "We already have so many problems already, I don't want to have to worry about the two of you on my wedding day."

Sascha took a breath, resenting the guilt tactics and having to cow to the it's-my-wedding-day rule. "Alex and I broke up six months ago, okay? And it wasn't all my idea, so if I decide I want to bring a date to your wedding, that's my prerogative."

Isabel opened her mouth.

With a hand raised in warning, Sascha cut her off. "But I'm not going to because your wedding should be about you and Nate, and I respect that."

"I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean to offend you but Alex still loves you and I know he'll be thinking that it should be the two of you." Isabel touched her arm and added gently, "Don't tell me you won't be thinking the same thing."

Sascha couldn't hear this right now, couldn't take Isabel exhuming old dreams. It hurt too much to picture the day she'd be standing across the aisle from Alex. Just not the way she'd envisioned.

"If he really wanted us to be together then we would be." The truth stung even after all these months.

"That doesn't mean he doesn't love you. He still does. Don't give up. Look at Nate and me."

She swallowed the coppery taste of loss and disappointment. "It doesn't work out that way for everybody. Believe me, we tried." No, I tried. That was the part that still needled at her. The wondering what the outcome would've been if Alex had met her halfway instead of giving up as though they weren't worth fighting for. As if she wasn't worth fighting for. "I'll always care about him but it's time to let go and move on," she said, hoping Isabel would take the hint and drop the topic. For good.

"Don't throw away a chance to get back together over a random hook-up. It's not worth it just because you're feeling lonely."

Oh, no she didn't! Sascha prayed and counted, counted then prayed for an extra dose of patience but the patronizing snipe reverberated in her head. "I didn't throw away anything! And it wasn't a random hook-up. It wasn't the first time and it won't be the last."

Isabel's eyes went wide but Sascha's little victory fell short. Judging by Isabel's hard expression she'd just lost her good-girl halo.

"I hope you know what you're doing." Did she?

"My boss knows I'm down here, I better go."

Isabel turned, seeming just as eager to part ways. "Sascha?" She hesitated then said, "Be careful."

It took the rest of the afternoon to recover from the conversation. She did her best to keep the shifting storm of emotions at bay but her mind zeroed in on the fact that another Cortazar had cast her aside, judging her as if the years of friendship suddenly stood for nothing. And it stung. Why was she evil for not waiting for Alex to come around?

By the time she left the office, a feeling of injustice had given birth to a new resolve. If she was going to suffer the penalty she might as well commit the transgression. No more dancing within the lines of propriety and wondering if she'd ever taste the passion everybody else gorged on every day. No more hesitating about Noah.

He was just what she needed right now. Love and a new boyfriend would come... eventually. But what a relief to not have to unearth a magical ratio of smarts, sex appeal and humor to prove she was worthy of his attention. He'd made it clear he wanted her but wouldn't make a move until she invited him to. Tonight she would.

A spirit of adventure carried her home and propelled her to leave him a mysterious phone message, one that made him call back right away. She darted around with a six-pack of cleaning products, music on while she cleaned an already pristine apartment. She set out candles then removed them—he might find a candlelit bedroom too heavy handed. Then it hit her. She was taking a lover. The more she thought about it the more her excitement grew. Look out world. Sascha Davis was making her comeback!

***

This had to be the most amazing Aussie kiss ever. Slow and wet and lots of swirling tongue. "Ah, yes," Noah breathed while he fisted Sascha's hair and guided her head. "Take it deeper." His body arched into a bow, offering her more of his shaft. The pleasure was almost too good to bear.

She released him from her mouth with a wet, naughty pop. "Did you bring condoms?"

His cock lurched.

Sascha kissed the tip and laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

Before his feverish brain formed its next thought, she eased back to the middle of the bed and spread her legs in blatant invitation. He swallowed at the sight. No, their high school sex wouldn't be enough tonight. The need to be closer burned too hot. But he had to go slow with her. He was determined to stamp out every touch that came before his.

The first time with someone always felt like a dive into the unknown—that was part of the excitement; the feeling of discovery, learning how to fit with and pleasure an unfamiliar body. But not since he'd fumbled around with his first girlfriend had Noah felt this nervous. He wanted to make this a night she'd long to have again. The look on her face told him she believed he would.

He felt her gaze on him while he fished a pair of condoms out of his pants pocket. He'd put them there, hoping her invitation would lead to this. Her brows knitted together when he tucked a packet under the pillow behind her.

"Have to make sure you're ready," he said as he knelt between her legs. The words hit her like an aphrodisiac, making her hungry for the moment when he joined her at last.

"I am." She gasped when his palm covered her sex. His touch felt possessive.

"Almost." One then two fingers slid inside her. She bit her lip. Her body was responding as if she hadn't climaxed on those very digits earlier. "See?" he rasped while his other fingers circled her clit. "You're getting wetter."

Pleasure unfurled in long, lazy ribbons. She sagged onto her elbows then finally onto the pillow. Her knees fell open and she surrendered to the inevitable.

"Now that I've got your attention, we should go over some ground rules."

Sascha blinked, "You want to talk now?" To her surprise he nodded as his fingers curled back and forth within her. "Wha-what are ...the rules?" She'd agree to anything just to get more of that delicious friction.

"They're simple. One: If you like something, you let me know. If you don't like something, you let me know."

She squirmed against his hand. "Oh-kay," she said on a rushed breath as he gave her what she craved. "Two..." His green eyes bored into hers. "No faking. Ever." That one hit close to home. "Good sex is more than you coming with me inside you." Coming with me inside you. Her mind latched onto the images his words conjured. She felt restless and hot and tingly. She needed to feel his skin rubbing against hers, needed to feel him moving within her.

"Do we understand each other?" It sounded more like a command than a question.

"Yes. I have a rule too." She reached for the packet beneath the pillow and grinned. "Enough with the talking!"

He pressed his smile to hers, laughter rumbling in his throat before he declared, "Whatever the lady wants."

"The lady wants this," she said as she helped him roll the latex sheath over his shaft.

"Does she now?" He had her on her back and was nestled between her thighs before she answered. She resorted to a quick nod as he settled over her, his elbows near her head. Remembering their last time, Sascha reached down and rubbed the tip of his cock near her entrance.

She cried out his name and shuddered at the feel of his shaft sliding over her slick heat. Like pieces of a puzzle eager to join, they fell into alignment once, twice, three times. By the third time Noah anchored her hip to the mattress, keeping her in place. The head nudged forward then slipped inside her. At last.

She took a sharp breath and waited for his first thrust. He rocked over her in small, steady motions instead. With every withdrawal, her fingers clutched his back, a silent plea for the return that would bring him a little deeper inside her.

"Breathe," he whispered as her body slowly yielded to his penetration. Until he said it, she hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath. Her mind had succumbed to the sensory overload of being pressed into the mattress, his stomach brushing hers, and those green eyes holding hers. He pushed deep then deeper still, stretching her as they joined. The fit was so close she gasped.

"Easy. Try to relax."

He forced himself to stay calm as he settled within her. She jerked but didn't look away. Suddenly he understood. Sascha was working withhim. Sweat beaded his skin. He felt her writhing beneath him, trying to get all of him inside her.

"Rock your hips up—yes!"

He fisted the pillow and mentally recited the skeletal system as her softness slid along his shaft. She felt so good around him. Too good.

Intent on giving her time to accept him, he turned his attention to her right breast. Truth was he needed the distraction while he adjusted to the feel her. The gentle rake of her nails across his scalp, neck and shoulders were a sweet torment.

His tongue flicked her nipple before he suckled her. He barely heard her call his name. "Hmm?"

"Do something!"

He released the tempting little peak from his mouth and smiled down at her.

"I am doing something." He lowered his head to her left breast and drew her into his mouth. She took a sharp inhale and twisted under him.

"See?"

"I can't believe you're teasing me now." Seeing her flustered like this was sort of cute. And hot.

"Not teasing—pleasing." He kissed the valley between her breasts. "There's a difference."

"I need—"

"A little more friction?" She blushed.

"You're bad!"

His lips curled. "Oh, you have no idea."

Sascha felt like captured prey. And no other woman craved her entrapment more. He swiveled his hips, setting off ripples of sensation as his cock stirred within her. "Does it feel like I'm teasing you?"

"Yes...no," she breathed as he moved in a series of quick, shallow strokes followed by a long drive. He seemed to follow a deliberate rhythm, with those deep thrusts gradually replacing the shorter ones. Her head thrashed about the pillow. Each little pump left her eager to have him deep again. Every relentless stroke sent him sliding across deliciously sensitive nerves.

"Noah... good...so—oh!"

She was caught in a maelstrom of building sensation. Her eyes fluttered shut.

"No, look at me."

Sascha found him studying her as if he had to understand everything about her in one gaze. She'd been stripped bare and thrown in the path of a force much greater than she'd ever known. But if she held his gaze, somehow she could match it.

The determination she read in his face was daunting. But something flickered beneath the surface, something that made her brave. Vulnerability. He wanted her to enjoy being with him, enjoy what they were doing together but he wasn't sure she would. Eager to reassure him, Sascha pressed her lips to his neck, tasted the salt on his jaw then kissed the corner of his mouth. He rose up on his arms. That was the moment she let herself fall into the fire.