He started by removing her panties. He slid them down her legs, tossing them out of his way. Then he crouched down and started a trail of kisses that ran from the inside of her ankles, up her calves, to her inner thighs. He let his hot breath tease at her center. She squirmed beneath him, the anticipation of it likely building inside her.
Without warning, he let his tongue flick across her flesh. Gretchen cried out, her fingers grasping fruitlessly at the stage beside her. Julian gave her a moment to recover before he did it again. He pressed her thighs farther apart, exposing more of her to him. His fingers and tongue started moving over her in earnest now, the relentless pursuit of her release foremost in his mind.
Gretchen’s gasps and groans were an encouraging melody. As they escalated in pitch and intensity, he knew she was getting close. Her thighs were tense beside him, as though they were made of steel. He redoubled his efforts until a desperate “yes, yes!” filled the room.
Gently, he slipped one finger inside her, knowing it would put her over the edge. He felt her muscles clamp down on him and half a second later, she came undone. She gasped and cried, writhing on the hard stage even as he continued to work over her with his tongue.
It wasn’t until she collapsed back against the stage, her thighs trembling, that he pulled away. Her ragged breath was the only sound in the massive ballroom as he smoothed out her skirt and sat back on his heels.
Several minutes later, Gretchen pushed herself up to look at him. Her pale cheeks were flushed red, her eyes glassy, but she was smiling. It made his chest ache to see it. The women in his life always seemed to demand so much from him. Gretchen appreciated even the tiniest of gestures.
“Well,” she said at last. “I’m never going to look at this ballroom the same way, ever again.”
Seven
“Take me to the hotel, Julian.”
Julian’s gaze met hers, a heat in them she couldn’t ignore. And yet he hesitated, swallowing hard before he spoke. “Are you sure?”
“I am.” She’d never been so certain of anything in her whole life. She wasn’t foolish enough to think this relationship would last past the weekend, or that she would be anything more than a faint memory in Julian’s mind, but she couldn’t pass this chance up. Even if she had been with a man before, making love to a movie star was every woman’s sexual fantasy.
And yet the doubts plagued her. Of course she wanted him. But his wanting her was another matter. “Unless you don’t want to,” she added in a quiet voice.
Julian rolled his eyes and took her hand, tugging her up off the stage. “I want to. You have no idea how much I want to. I just don’t know that I should. I can’t promise you anything.”
Gretchen gazed up at him and shook her head. “All I want you to promise me is a night of hot sex and enough orgasms to last me until the next guy comes along.”
Julian smiled, making her relax into his arms. He wasn’t turning her down, thank goodness.
“That,” he said with a wicked glint in his blue eyes, “I can do.”
They left the chapel so quickly, Gretchen barely had time to grab her heels and switch off the lights. The drive to his hotel seemed to take an eternity. In the dark of the car, Gretchen bit at her lower lip and tried to stay in the moment. While her body was still pulsating from the orgasm he’d given her it was easy to propose they go further, but the reality was creeping in with every mile they came nearer to his hotel. She was about to have sex. The idea of it both thrilled and terrified her.
As they walked the length of the hotel corridor together, hand in hand, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest. On the other side of the door was what she’d been fantasizing about since she was sixteen years old.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” he asked as they stepped into his suite.
“No,” she shook her head. “I’d rather just...get to it.”
Julian frowned at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “Gretchen, this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon.”
“I know,” she replied, knowing it had come out wrong and right at the same time. She wanted it done so she could put the anxiety aside and enjoy herself.
Julian dropped his arms at his side and approached her, stopping just short of them touching. He placed his large, warm palms on her bare upper arms, rubbing them in a soothing rhythm. “Relax. Enjoy yourself. Unless you change your mind or the hotel catches fire, I guarantee it’s going to happen.”