“So I am.” Rachel laughed softly, her fingers gripping his shoulders for balance.
His hands were moving again, up over her sides, her breasts, cupping her face so he could bring her to him and kiss her. She sucked at his tongue, feeling his cock throb in response, but when his hands moved through her hair again, she distracted him by putting them somewhere else, this time her ass.
He grabbed her behind and thrust, making her moan. She remembered her promise to be quiet and bit her lip.
“So where did our little game leave off?” he inquired, moving his hips to meet her.
“Game?” she gasped. She couldn’t think. She could barely speak.
“Hard or soft?” he asked, demonstrating, first with a few hard strokes, followed by a slower, easier pace.
“Oh god.” She dug her fingers into his shoulders. “Hard. Please.”
“Deep or short?” Another demonstration-long, deep strokes, followed by short, fast ones.
“Ohhh! Deep! Deep and hard!” Rachel begged, her thighs trembling as they clenched his.
Jake gave her just what she wanted, keeping his hands on her ass and fucking up to meet her. Rachel couldn’t take much more. Her clit was throbbing, her whole body aching for release.
“Up or down?” Jake whispered.
“Yes!” Rachel cried.
He smiled, eyes half-closed. “In or out?”
“Yes!” Rachel panted, grinding her pussy down on him. “Oh god yes, more, all of it, everything, please!”
“Oh god.” Jake’s grip tightened and she felt his thighs flex under hers. “Rachel, baby. Oh…wait…”
“I can’t,” she breathed against his ear. “I’m going to come all over your cock.”
“Yes!” He forgot all about being quiet, shoving deep and hard and fast into her pussy, driving her up toward the ceiling of the limo with his hips, groaning loudly with every thrust. She knew he was coming, could feel the heated throb of his cock deep inside, and she was just seconds away from coming too.
“Oh please,” she begged, reaching down and rubbing her clit in fast, hard circles, sending herself flying over the edge into a blissful freefall, trembling and writhing in his arms as her orgasm rolled through her. Her pussy seized his cock with such force he howled and buried his face against her breasts in an effort to muffle the sound. She milked him with her climax until he shuddered and begged her to stop, stop, please, god, I can’t take it anymore…
Rachel came to earth slowly. The sound of their breath came to her first, still harsh and panting. Then the movement of the limo-they were on the road again, going fast, probably on the highway. Then the realization that they were naked-well, she was, mostly. He had just undone his jeans.
Rachel reached for her jersey, pulling it back on over her head and then adjusting her bra underneath. Jake zipped and straightened, and soon they were both dressed again, tucking and smoothing things over.
“So much for being quiet,” Jake teased as she picked up her purse-it had fallen to the floor in the middle of things.
Rachel felt her cheeks grow hot and she glanced toward the tinted glass. “You think he heard us?”
He chuckled. “I think they probably heard us down in Texas.” The car slowed to a stop and she leaned over, looking out to see her apartment building towering above them.
“Looks like we’re here.” Rachel met his gaze for a moment but she was too overwhelmed to do it for long. “I had a great time, Jake. Thank you.” He didn’t say anything for a moment and the silence stretched. She knew he was waiting for her to ask him up-and she should have, considering. But she couldn’t do it.
Her apartment was her sanctuary, the place where she could let her hair down-quite literally-and she didn’t know if she could trust anyone there, even him.
When the limo driver knocked on the car door instead of just swinging the door wide, Rachel knew he must have heard them.
“Open up,” Jake called and she flushed at his words. The driver opened the door and waited. Jake grabbed her hand as she started to slide across the seat, stopping her. He slid close enough to kiss her softly and she melted at the touch of his lips, the draw of his tongue, but when his hand moved in her hair, she shrank away.
“Goodnight, Jake,” she murmured.
“Goodnight, Rapunzel,” he whispered. She gave him a little smile, hearing him say, “I’ll call you!”
She slipped past the driver and pushed the door open to her building and escaped, afraid to look back to see if Jake was following her with his eyes.
* * * *
“Rach, he’s on the phone again,” Josh hissed, holding his hand over the receiver.
It was a Tuesday-almost two weeks since she’d gone on a non-date with Jake and had non-sex with him in the limo-and Carly should have been answering the phone but Rachel had finally had to fire her after she’d double booked two more appointments and then failed to show up to work without calling last week.
Rachel sighed and shook her head. “Tell him I’m not here.”
“Like you’re ever not here.” He snorted, uncovering the receiver and putting on his phone voice. “I’m sorry, Mr. Malden, she’s unavailable.” Rachel cringed and continued sweeping the floor. Joshie had just finished a cut, but it was a touch-up for one of the other stylists who had gone home early. It was now the two of them now and the place was pretty much dead, which wasn’t surprising for near closing on a Tuesday night. Well, Rapunzel’s might have been empty, but she had to find something to do to keep herself busy.
“I will…” Joshie nodded against the phone, rolling his eyes. It reminded Rachel of Emma and she wondered how the girl was doing, how her friend had fared with her cancer treatments. She could have asked Jake of course, if she’d taken any of the three hundred phone calls she’d received from him since that night in the limo, but she was too ashamed to answer. Thank god for voice mail and Joshie.
“You really need to talk to that man.” Joshie put down the phone and gave her a long, steady look. Rachel shrugged, using the dust pan to sweep up wisps of hair. “So you had sex on the first date-lots of people do, you know. It doesn’t have to be the end of everything. It can be a great beginning!”
“It’s not that.” Rachel hid her blush as she dumped the hair in the bin and hung the broom and dust pan. Okay, so it was that. She was embarrassed by how she’d acted, how much she’d let happen that night, but it wasn’t just that. Life was too complicated right now. She couldn’t afford a relationship, and she certainly couldn’t do crazy things like having sex with practical strangers.
“Pul-eeeeeeeze!” Joshie rolled his eyes so far back in his head he looked like he was going to pass out. “You are so transparent. I’m gonna nickname you ‘Casper,’ girl!” She turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest. “I am not.”
“You like him.” Joshie smiled, a slow, knowing sort of smile that made Rachel want to strangle him. “You like him so much it scares you.”
“I do not.” She turned and stalked to her station, straightening, putting scissors away, the blow dryer back in its place.
Joshie came over to stand beside her. He was short and stocky and his chin was the perfect height to rest on her shoulder as he looked into the mirror.
“Look at that.” He pointed to her reflection, meeting her eyes. “You’re a beautiful woman. He was attracted to you. Believe it.”
“Without this?” She tugged on her wig, feeling the adhesive underneath starting to give. It was a strong sort of glue, but as the day wore on, it became less and less effective.
He put his arms around her waist and gave her a strong squeeze. “He’s not going to like you any less because you’re sick.”
“How do you know?” She let herself relax a little against him.
“Because he’s a good guy,” he insisted. “And if he leaves when he finds out, well then hell, we both know he wasn’t worth it.”
Rachel sighed and moved out of Joshie’s arms, sitting down in the salon chair and giving herself a long, hard look. The wig was a good one-she’d paid a mint for it-
and didn’t look too obvious. But she knew what was underneath it-the few golden-auburn wisps that were left. And what was underneath that-her insecurity, her self-pity, her fear of rejection, her self-doubt and how it had all made her question her own basic femininity.