“I don’t think I’m being rude,” she said in a jagged voice, hips moving rhythmically over him.
“Not rude. Just not polite. You’re being demanding, taking what you want, and that is so amazingly hot.”
Regan stopped pumping on him, and he could feel the tenseness of her interior muscles. She was on the edge of an orgasm but had stopped herself. “Then get on the bed and f**k me.”
Felix couldn’t prevent a groan from slipping out. That was the first time she had ever said something like that, thrown his own raw, base words back at him, and it was so sexy.
“Yes, ma’am.” Felix shifted away and waited until she climbed on the bed, then he moved over top of her.
“Do you want me to lick you or do you want to me inside you?”
“Inside me,” she said, her eyes glazed over with desire, lips shiny and moist, legs already spread.
Felix trailed his finger over her clitoris, then farther down over her, teasing lightly, before moving in close to her, his erection resting against her.
“Now,” she said, her hips lifting to force the issue.
“Now,” he agreed, and he pushed inside her, joining their bodies.
As he thrust harder, Regan looked up at him, joining their souls.
He laced his fingers through hers, joining their lives.
“I love you,” he told her.
Regan exploded in a powerful orgasm, her back arching, her body squeezing him, as she murmured, “I love you, too.”
And for the first time ever, Felix believed in the power of love.
Chapter Sixteen
Regan rushed around her dining room, checking on the placement of the food as the caterers deposited heaping trays of seafood gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, king cakes, and pralines on the massive table she had bought the week before. The band was setting up on the second-floor landing, the flowers were being arranged on various surfaces, and Jen was running around with a clipboard in her hand looking frantic.
Jumping when someone touched her back as she leaned over, Regan paused in the act of shifting the candlesticks in the center of the table to see who it was.“Everything looks beautiful,” Felix said. “You’ve done an amazing job.”
She smiled at him over her shoulder. “Thank you.” What was amazing to her was that when Felix gave her a compliment, she believed him. There was no hidden agenda, or flattery that was covering a criticism. He just meant it. Likewise, when he was angry or upset or uncomfortable, he told her. That was so new to her she had to constantly remind herself not to seek out the hidden meanings with him.
Everything was what it was.
Despite the fact that she was still sleepwalking, and anxiety about her house, the dreams, the visions, still plagued her, the past few days had been calm. Being around Felix was comfortable, easy, and the irony of that made her laugh. When she had met him she could have never imagined that he would be anything but a mystery to her, but once she had learned more about him, it was very, very easy to be together.
Turning, she let Felix pull her into his arms. One quick kiss, one short hug, then she had to get back to work. But it was so nice to just be close to him, to know that this was their house, their home.
The short kiss lengthened, and Regan felt the familiar tug of desire yanking at her.
“You look beautiful,” he told her. “The proper hostess, yet so sexy.”
That was another thing she believed. When he said she was sexy, she felt sexy. She was sexy. As his tongue flicked over her bottom lip in teasing, Regan felt a sly defiance creep over her. This was her house, her man.
“I’m wearing a skirt,” she said, her fingers stroking down the front of his jeans, where he had the beginnings of an erection. A few pumps with her hand on his bare flesh and she knew it would be a full, hard cock, and she could have it inside her, right here, against the table.
Felix pulled back slightly and gave her a quizzical look. “Regan, we’re in the dining room with caterers all over the place.”
“You can just pull my panties down and no one will know.” She spread her legs a little, hitching her skirt up an inch or two to show him what she was offering.
His eyes darkened, but he pulled a little back from her, as if he needed distance to resist the temptation. “I would love to, but it’s not a good idea...”
“Don’t you want me?” she said, the words shocking her a little as they came out. She had never been one to pout, yet she was, her lip jutting forward, her hands still stroking him, as if they were acting independently from her brain.
From her.
“Of course I want you,” he murmured. “I always want you.” His mouth turned up in that small smile she had been so attracted to from the beginning. “But you have a party to host.”
Regan let go of the fabric of her skirt she’d been bunching, so that it fell back down over her thighs to her knees. “I know. Of course I do.” Suddenly embarrassed, she glanced around the room to see if any of the hired staff was making note of them. “I wasn’t serious.”
She hadn’t been.
Or had she?
She wasn’t sure what exactly had just happened. It wasn’t like her to flirt with voyeurism, and especially not here, not tonight, of all nights, at the party she had worked so hard planning.
But now she couldn’t quite focus on the thought process, what had run through her head, how she had been feeling, just two minutes ago. “Anyway, I guess neither one of us should be standing around. We have work to do.”
Felix stared at her for a second, but he didn’t comment further. He just kissed her cheek and said, “Okay, I’m taking my station to wow and amaze your guests.”
Regan smiled, her heart pounding a little too fast. Trying to restore her equilibrium, she reached out and squeezed his hand. “Hey, do I get a discount on your party fee now that we’re living together? Especially since it will just end up in a pile on my coffee table.”
She was joking, just teasing him and trying to shake the unease she suddenly felt, but he frowned. “My money is not my own, Regan. I have a debt to pay.”
Confused, she frowned. What the hell did that mean? “Felix . . .”
But he was already walking away.
She tried to ignore the anxiety that was suddenly crawling all over her, and went to find Jen to see if everything was ready.
An hour later the party was in full swing, over a hundred people mingling in the house. Mounds of food were being devoured on the first floor, the zydeco was ringing cheerfully on the second, and Felix was doing readings for a long line of curious women in the sitting room. Regan was thrilled that the crowd was enjoying themselves, that the house looked fantastic, that the energy of the event was high and festive. It was like the house itself was embracing the soiree, like it was telling Regan this was what it had been designed for, for the joy and excitement of entertaining.