two of them had sat down for drinks at the pub the night she’d returned to Richter. Sasha smiled at the thought. Brigitte certainly turned out to be a lot more forthcoming than the headmistress.
Maybe looking into Linette’s personal life would shed some light on things.
Sasha made a mental note to run Linette Lodovica’s name through the paces.
She cut the water and grabbed the towel hanging off the shower door. The cool air of the room combined with her wet skin had her moving quickly to dry off.
A slight breeze coming from the bedroom along with a faint creak of a floorboard caused her skin to prickle.
Her heart rate sped up.
She dropped the towel and removed the needle-like hairpin from the top of her head. She palmed the would-be weapon and peeked out the door.
AJ stood in the open door of the balcony, his back to her.
Sasha considered retrieving the towel, then decided against it. She rested her shoulder on the threshold into the bathroom and adopted his relaxed stance.
“You’re watching me, aren’t you?” he asked without turning around.
Her answer was a long, deep breath.
He turned, slowly, and brought his gaze up last.
Shock registered on his face before he closed his eyes and turned his head. “Oh, damn. Sorry—”
How amusing. “You sneak into my room while I’m in the shower and you’re sorry?”
AJ gave his head a firm shake and opened his eyes. She had to give the man credit, he was doing his best to keep his gaze on her face.
“No. I’m not . . .” His eyes drifted lower. He licked his bottom lip.
The movement of his tongue brought her nipples to attention.
“Is there something I can do for you?” she asked, knowing damn well what he was there for. Even though she cautioned herself for provoking him, and going against her constant rule of not playing where she ate, Sasha also knew what pent up sexual tension did to her psyche. In order to concentrate, she really needed to purge the unknowns of this man from her head.
“I have you at an unfair advantage,” AJ said.
She pushed off the doorway, revealed the pin in her hand, and quickly wound her hair back on the top of her head. “Even naked, I’m not without resources.”
“Naked is your resource.”
With a smile, she took several steps closer.
AJ stopped at the edge of the bed.
“Second thoughts?” she asked.
He shook his head.
Speechless. She liked that in a man.
He reached for her waist with both hands and pulled her closer.
She let her arms dangle, curious to see what he would do next without any prompts from her.
AJ traced her hip bone with his thumbs before sliding both palms up the sides of her body. He watched his own action, lips parted. When he reached her breasts, those thumbs teased the edges of them.
“I’ve wanted to taste these ever since I sat down across from you in the pub.”
The thought of his lips on her had her chest rising and falling.
He kept his hands active, brushed just shy of her nipples and up to her collarbone, her neck. Both hands on her neck, thumbs brushing against her throat . . . yeah, anyone else and she’d have put a stop to that action. Instead she tried to control the shudder of her breathing as AJ circled the outsides of her ears and fanned his fingers into her hair. With one hand, he removed the pin and tossed it to the floor. “No weapons for you.”
“I don’t need—”
He stopped her from talking with a finger over her lips. He stepped closer and tugged gently on the hair in his hand before pressing his lips to the side of her throat.
Sasha closed her eyes, let the sensation of his tongue and teeth move up to the side of her ear. She tried to turn her head, meet his lips with hers, but he guided her head to the side with the control he had holding her hair. “Patience,” he whispered.
Not one of her strong points.
Besides, she didn’t want things slow. Hard and fast, that was the way she liked it.
Except there was something about the way he kissed the side of her jaw, skipped over her lips and moved to the other side. Something about the quiet things he whispered into her ear that she couldn’t concentrate on because he had yet to really kiss her.
Sasha finally lifted her hands to his hips and waist, ran them down his ass and pulled him closer.
“Anxious?” he asked.
“Yes.”