Chapter SEVEN
"What are you doing here?!" Sami scowled at him in annoyance.
"Whew, deja vu!" laughed EJ, "Haven't we done this already today darling?"
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she complained.
"I was worried about you," he told her taking a couple of steps into the room and thinking how cute she looked when she pouted.
"I'm fine," she growled, "I keep telling you - I don't want or need your concern."
"Hmm," said EJ seeming to consider her words, "So what is it exactly is it that you do want… or need then sweetheart?"
"Peace and quiet!" she snapped at him, not liking how he was looking at her and feeling her body betray her already with a sudden dampness between her legs which had nothing to do with their steamy surrounds.
What was wrong with her - how could one raised eyebrow from him get her this worked up, it was madness!
"I just wanted to check that you are over your… cramp from earlier?" he mused, "How is that… cramp going by the way? Feeling better… no after affects from that… cramp at all?"
Sami closed her eyes in a kind of resigned horror. The way he was pausing so deliberately and using the word 'cramp' over and over again let her know that he knew exactly what had happened to her on that treadmill which she supposed was the point of him bringing it up.
"Are you done?" she asked him opening her eyes and pressing her lips together in annoyance.
"Are you?" he turned the question back on her, wriggling his eyebrows at her suggestively.
"EJ," she began warningly.
"If it makes you feel any better I had a rather similar experience in my office earlier today," he told her, his grin widening.
"You did?" she asked startled.
"Mm," he said, "It could have gotten a bit awkward between Nicole and I there for awhile."
EJ knew he was waving a red flag at a bull so to speak and he wasn't to be disappointed.
"Nicole!" raged Sami, "What exactly were you doing with that bony witch in your office?!"
"So which part exactly of last nights Olympic tryouts were you remembering when you… cramped on the treadmill?" he asked her with great interest, ignoring her question altogether.
"Who says I was thinking about you at all?!" she baited him with a goading look.
"You weren't?" said EJ, taken aback.
Such a thought had never occurred to him because from the first moment he'd met Samantha she was the only woman in his fantasies, the only woman that occupied his thoughts every waking moment and his dreams every sleeping one. The thought that she might have actually been thinking about someone other than him on that treadmill to cause her that kind of pleasure was like a physical pain. Some primal male instinct surged to the surface and he couldn't help himself. He stalked over to her, grabbing her arms tightly, not enough to bruise but enough to let Sami know he wasn't playing anymore. Sami's eyes widened at his sudden change of mood.
"Well if not me then who was in your thoughts sweetheart?" his tone was suddenly hard as he pulled her close to him, forcing her to crane her head back to look him in the eye as he loomed over her.
Sami sucked in a startled breath at the raw jealousy she saw in his face never having believed for one moment that he would take her seriously about anyone other than him occupying her thoughts lately. What must he think of her to so readily accept her words at face value? Then she remembered the time after they'd first been married, her and Lucas sneaking off together. He'd known, of course he'd known but things had been different then, he was different and she was certainly different.
"EJ… I…" she stumbled to find the words to make this right again but he didn't seem interested in what she had to say.
"Maybe I just need to remind you what it is I can make your body do," he growled in her ear, interrupting her halting words, "What it was that you were begging me for more of last night."
At this point Sami seriously didn't need any kind of reminder, especially with him this close to her. His body felt like a coiled spring, tight and angry from her careless words. The steam from the sauna had condensed on his tanned skin, droplets of water clinging to the light smattering of chest hair before they dribbled down the many sharp angles and planes of his leanly muscled body. His normally chocolate coloured eyes were so dark that they were almost black now, evidence of his anger and growing arousal that she could feel pressing against her stomach. Sami shook her head weakly at him, regretting having caused him pain even though that had been her intention.
"No?" he questioned her, his voice low, misunderstanding the shake of her head, thinking she was denying their mutual attraction and determined to prove her wrong.
He began to move forward, forcing her to walk backwards with him until she felt her back hit up against the hard wall of the sauna. He held her there with the force of his presence, one hand beside her head as he leant over her, the other going to the front of her towel. He held her gaze and then very deliberately pulled on the material, tugging it free from where Sami had tucked it back on to itself to secure it in place. The now damp material dropped to the ground with a squelching sound that neither of them even noticed. His eyes raked her body hungrily and it seemed to Sami that she could actually feel him touching her with his avid gaze.
"Now mine," he whispered the order into her ear as he leant closer to her but still not touching her, holding his body just away from hers.
Sami didn't even question her willingness to comply, she needed to see him, all of him and knew she was going to do whatever it was he told her to do. There was something darkly arousing in letting him take such total control of her like this, it was unfamiliar and incredibly sexy somehow. Her hand went to his towel, tucked around his long waist and she pulled on it with shaking hands. It joined it's mate on the floor in a damp heap. Samantha bit her lip at seeing him fully exposed, his obvious arousal matching her own more discretely hidden one. EJ watched the play of emotions on her face as she admired his body and felt himself harden even more.
"Touch me," he told her, his tone brooking no argument, "Touch my body Samantha."
She reached out with both hands, resting her palms on his muscled chest. It was hot and slick under her hands, a combination of steam and sweat coating his body. Sami could feel his heart hammering away erratically under her right palm belying his outwardly calm looking exterior.
"Lower," he instructed her, his eyelids drooping a little now as she obeyed.
Down her hands drifted, across his rib cage, down his sharply defined stomach muscles, feeling them clench tighter under her hand, making them rock hard.
"Lower," he repeated but this time his voice was rougher, his breath more uneven and she felt her core tighten in response to the sound.
She wrapped both hands around the hard length of his arousal and he could no longer maintain the façade of casualness, hissing noisily at the sensation of being touched so intimately by her, his neck muscles straining as he fought to remain still under her ministrations.
"Harder?" she whispered the question to him, her first word since they started.
EJ closed his eyes tightly and mutely nodded his head, gritting his teeth as she tightened her grip on his member and began to pump slowly up and down. Now it was her turn to watch him, seeing as well as hearing the little gasps and grunts he made as she worked on his body.
"Stop," he ordered her after a minute or two and Sami found herself reluctant to but he made her, encircling her wrists and stretching her arms up above her head, trapping them there.
She could feel how tensely he was holding his body and she wanted all of that hardness pressed up against her, fitting her softness perfectly and providing her with the friction she was beginning to need more than her next breath itself. EJ watched as she writhed uncomfortably against the wall, knew what she was craving because he was craving the same thing.
"Tell me what you want Samantha."
"You," she gasped, he hadn't even touched her yet but she wanted him, needed him desperately to relieve the agony of want he'd created in her body.
"Who am I?" he coached her, his voice rasping the question to her.
"EJ," she moaned, finding the waiting for his touch becoming unbearable.
"EJ who?" he pushed her.
"DiMera," she gasped, writhing against the wall, trying to find some kind of relief from his torture of her, "EJ DiMera!"
"Tell me what you want Samantha," again he asked the question of her, unrelenting in his insistence.
"EJ please!" she groaned desperately, unable to take much more of this.
"Tell me Samantha!" he ordered her, his voice harsh from the control it was taking to hold her so determinedly in place, wanting his answer despite the way his body was screaming at him to finish this, "What do you want!"
"EJ DiMera!" she cried out hopelessly, shaking her head from side to side in anguish, "I want EJ DiMera! Oh god please! I want EJ DiMera!!"
Hearing his full name on her lips like that, shouting out her need for him broke the last of EJ's control and he instantly let go of her wrists and catching her as she slid down the walls, her legs no longer seemingly capable of holding her up anymore. EJ captured her backside in both hands and lifted her feet off the ground and she immediately wrapped her legs around his waist which enable him to push into her dripping tight heat in one swift motion.
"Samantha!"
"EJ!"
They both cried out together, the sense of completion at his penetration catching them both off guard. She'd barely adjust to his hardness before he began thrusting up into her with such a fierce rhythm that she whimpered her gratitude at his eagerness. Sami felt one of his hands leave her waist which he was currently securing her against the wall with so she could take the almost ferocious penetrations she was enjoying from his relentless stiffness. EJ cupped her breast, stimulating her nipple with his thumb and she gasped at the sensation.
"Mine!" he grunted, marking his territory, "Your mine, no one else's! Say it!"
"I'm yours!" she groaned loudly, unable to do anything but considering the sensations he was wrenching from her body, "I'm EJ DiMera's!"
Her proclamation ended it for him and with a final couple of frantic thrusts she felt him begin to empty himself into her, shuddering helplessly against her as he moaned her name continuously. She held onto him tightly, arms around his neck until he was finally done, kissing his face and mouth as he came back down to earth. He blinked blearily a couple of times, trying to focus on her face after such a powerful release.
"Did you come?" he asked her softly with a little frown, his voice so rough now to be unrecognisable.
He'd been so consumed by her that for once he hadn't been sure if she'd found her own end along with his.
"It doesn't matter," she said dreamily, still tingling head to toe from what he'd done to her, so much so that she honestly didn't care if she orgasmed or not.
"It always matters," he told her throatily with a little wicked smile which she found just enough energy to laugh at.
EJ let her slid down the wall until her feet were on the ground again and reluctantly withdrew from her, they both grimaced at the feeling of loss his leaving her body caused them. When he was sure she could stand up by herself EJ crouched in front of her and looked up at her with such a bad boy smile that she bit her lip, trembling in anticipation. She loved when he did this for her and by the look on his face so did he.
He picked up one of her legs and moved it so it was over his shoulder, exposing her up to his rapt attention. Then she actually saw him lick his lips before grabbing her butt cheeks in both hands and burying his face between her thighs, instantly seeking out her throbbing centre. Sami went up on tip toes, covering her mouth with one hand to stifle her moans and grabbing a hook above her head with the other, needing something to grab onto all of a sudden as his skilful tongue went to work.
This was not going to take very long at all!
Hours later at the mansion Sami sat folding laundry in the parlour and stewing away silently to herself. Her mother and John had gone out to dinner, the twins were fast asleep and Rolf was wherever Rolf went when he wasn't needed. EJ sat across from her on the sofa, surrounded by papers, working away quietly. Sami studied him through her lashes unobserved. He just seemed so… calm, so normal sitting there reading papers and writing notes.
Just how the hell was he doing that again?!
She knew his look of absorption wasn't just an act for her benefit because he kept making those stupid clicking noises in the back of his throat which meant he really was thinking hard about what Sami could only assume was Nicole's divorce case seeing as he didn't have any other clients yet. She on the other hand had just realised that she'd folded the same set of clothing twice now, just moving it from one side of her to the other without even noticing! She was going crazy and this just had to stop, Sami honestly couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get this thing back on an even keel.
"EJ?"
"Mmm," he answered her distractedly, not looking up.
"Do you have a minute?" asked Sami, her hands twitching nervously.
"For you?" said EJ, looking up then and peering at her over the top of his glasses and smiling, "Always."
"We have to talk," said Sami, determinedly ignoring the fluttering in her stomach that one of his smiles caused her nowadays.
"And what would you like to talk about eh Samantha?" said EJ easily, "World politics, global warming, why airplane food is always so difficult to get into?"
"Us," said Sami flatly, seeing he was in a playful mood and realising that this was going to be even harder than she thought, "I want to talk about us EJ."
"Excellent," said EJ happily, "Let's do that then. What do you want to say about 'us' sweetheart?"
EJ watched Sami draw herself up, back straightening, shoulders back, obviously ready for a fight. He'd known this was coming and wasn't concerned - he had a strategy and this was just another step closer to his ultimate goal - her.
"I know things have been…" Sami searched for the right word, "… confusing lately and I just wanted to make sure we both we're on the same page about the… events… of last night and… ah… earlier today."
"Right," said EJ slowly, "And what might that page be darling?"
Sami began to fidget fretfully, starting a halting explanation of how she saw things.
"It's been an emotional time lately and that whole thing with Mr Burke and that interview… well feelings were running high and…"
EJ listened to her nervous ramblings as she tried desperately to explain away the events of the last 24 hours. An anxious blush had started to pinken her skin and EJ realised to his chagrin that he never did find out exactly how far that delightful flush extended. Next time he promised himself although if he listened to Sami's disjointed statements there wasn't going to be a next time but at this point he was happy enough for her to think that. His eyes fluttered down to her more than ample bust line well displayed in a tight fitting V-necked sweater and some very satisfying memories came to him of what he'd had the pleasure of doing to those hidden treasures in recent times.
He'd always enjoyed Samantha's breast long before he'd been given him such free reign with them. One of the great things about being so tall was that he had a very good birds eye view so to speak of that particular part of her anatomy which he used shamelessly to his advantage. He'd always seen a great deal more than he suspected Sami ever intended thanks to his height advantage. It more than made up for the difficulty he had in finding pants that could fit his long legs - a small price to pay really.
"… and then things start to get confusing and all of a sudden…"
She was still going but EJ didn't mind. Sami obviously needed to get all of this off her rather enchanting chest and he was fine with that. Besides, there were plenty of other things he could think about - like how responsive she was to his every touch, how she seemed to know exactly what it was he needed her to do to drive him into paroxysms of delight. And her sex drive, oh god don't get him started! He'd never been with anyone with such a hair trigger in that department and it was beyond exciting. EJ had suspected as much from that very first kiss they'd shared on the eve of her almost wedding to Austin when she'd woken up raring to go as it was. But the reality far exceeded even his wildest dreams - and his dreams had been pretty wild - and to think it was all so near to being his…
"EJ! Are you even listening to me?!"
EJ blinked rapidly a couple of times and then answered her without missing a beat. He'd perfected the art of ogling her and thinking evil thoughts whilst still being able to maintain a conversation with her long ago. He'd had to - it was a matter of survival!
"Of course sweetheart," he said smoothly, "You just said that this changes nothing and we should go back to the way things have always been between us."
"That's right," she said in surprise because she really didn't think he'd been listening to her, "So…"
"So?" EJ repeated the question back to her with a tilt of his head.
"So do you have anything to add, anything you want to say at all?" she asked him in frustration.
"Only that I agree whole heartedly," he said simply.
"You… you do?" she asked in amazement.
"Absolutely," he agreed calmly.
"You agree that we should forget about the last day or so and just get back to normal?" she quizzed him sceptically.
"Of course," he said calmly, "Just because we had sex several times last night and rather memorably in the gym today doesn't mean that we're not as fake married as we ever were."
"That's right," she said weakly.
Why was he making this so easy for her?
"It will never happen again," he said breezily, "I understand that. It was fun while it lasted but now it's over and we should just move on - no harm done."
"What are you doing?" she asked warily.
"I'm agreeing with you," he told her happily.
"Why?" she pushed, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"Because you made some very good points earlier," he told her seeming very genuine.
"You weren't even listening to me before!" she refuted his claim.
"Darling I listen to every word that drops from those luscious lips of yours," said EJ with a grin.
"There!" exclaimed Sami, "Right there! That's my point - you can't be flirting with me like that! That's what I'm saying!"
"Sweetheart that isn't flirting," he dismissed her protest easily, "I'm merely stating fact. Now if I was flirting I might say something along the lines of how beautiful you look tonight or how enjoyable it is to watch you walk around in those jeans you're wearing, how they turn your leaving a room into quite the event…"
Sami flushed bright red and opened her mouth to protest but he forestalled her.
"But of course I won't mention any of those things," he continued on smoothly before she could interrupt, "Because we've just agreed to keep this thing strictly platonic… isn't that right?"
"Yes," said Sami, completely off balance now.
He was agreeing with her, she was getting her own way so why was it then that Sami felt like he'd won that round somehow?
"So we're of one accord then," said EJ calmly, "We've both blown off a little steam, no pun intended, but we're both grown ups so I'm certain we can be adult enough to put this little deviation from the norm behind us and move on. That's what you want isn't it Samantha?"
"That is exactly what I want," she said and hoped that came out not as uncertain as she was suddenly feeling.
"Great," said EJ happily, "Good talk!"
He then promptly returned to reading his paperwork, seeming to be summarily dismissing her. Sami opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, feeling like she should be adding something but they'd said it all right, what else was there to say? She'd gotten what she wanted but if that was the case why was she feeling so deflated. After his possessiveness at the gym she'd expected him to be harder to convince then this. It was almost like that EJ had disappeared into the mists of the steam room and she was left with this extremely accommodating man who seemed to have no problem with completely stopping the burgeoning physical aspect of their relationship. And she hated admitting it but her female pride was wounded by how easily he seemed to be able to turn his attraction to her off and on.
"I'm going to check on the twins!" she huffed and he looked up at her with slight surprise at her sudden shortness of manner.
"Alright," he told her, "I'll be up soon to steal some kisses."
She gave him her best warning look despite the way her heart skipped at beat at the thought of more of his truly awe inspiring kisses.
"From the twins Samantha," he finished mockingly, seeing her expression and guessing correctly that she'd jumped to the wrong conclusion and so readily, "I'll be up to kiss the twins goodnight when I'm done here."
"I know," she said defensively, trying to bluff her way out of her embarrassing slip up, "Just don't be too long!"
"I won't be," he said mildly, watching her flounce from the room and very definitely enjoying the view as she left.
As soon as she was gone he let the giant smile that he'd been hiding from her split his face. He bit his lip and shook his head, delighted at how well this was going. The look on her face when he talked about the kisses - priceless!
He was so back in this game it wasn't funny!
"Tick tock my darling," he murmured to himself smugly, "You're running out of places to hide from the truth… it's only a matter of time now."