And, he deserved to know that Sarah was no longer working for Eduardo and Manuel. She would tell him but after his outpouring, now wasn’t a good time. It wouldn’t be right to turn their conversation to her problems when hers were nothing in comparison to what he’d been through.
Nick shifted a little so he was propped up higher against the pillows. ‘I’ve got to admit that I’m really happy for Jocelyn and all my friends, but every time I witness the love in their marriages it’s also a stark reminder of all I’ve lost—a reminder of all the plans and dreams Mandy and I shared initially that we never had time to turn into reality. I was too busy accumulating wealth and then once I achieved my initial goals, she was too …’ He shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve already explained it to you.’
‘How has Katie coped with Mandy’s death?’
‘It was really hard on her as you’d expect. The coronial inquest made it worse. There was conjecture in the newspapers that got twisted around by some of the kids at school and left her with the impression that Mandy had deliberately killed herself, which wasn’t the case.’
‘Your daughter certainly seems like a very well-adjusted young lady.’
There was unmistakable pride in Nick’s eyes. ‘She’s a great kid. Mum, Dad and Jocelyn have been a fantastic influence. Mandy’s mum and dad have also kept in close contact and, since Crystal has sorted her life out, she also makes sure she sees Katie regularly.’
‘She’s fortunate to have such a loving family but most of all, she’s fortunate to have you.’ Sarah wasn’t going to let him give the credit for Katie’s upbringing to everyone else. ‘I love seeing the bond between you.’
Nick’s eyes widened as he looked up beyond her to the sky. ‘Look at the shooting star!’
Sarah flipped over on her back and was just in time to see it. ‘Wow, that was low, wasn’t it?’
‘I don’t know. I can’t say I make a habit of stargazing but I think I might have to start.’
She sensed his need to abandon the seriousness of the talks they were having and it reaffirmed that now was not a good time to embark on the serious topic of her loss of contracts. She trailed her index finger down the front of his shirt and over each bump of his buttons. ‘Did you wish on it?’
‘I didn’t.’ He leaned over her and took her chin between his thumb and forefinger. ‘I’m a firm believer in making something happen when I want it badly enough. I’d never trust in wishes.’
She looked up at him from under her lashes and flirted shamelessly. ‘Is there anything right now you can think of that you want badly?’
The lazy smile he gave her was so damned sexy she felt coils of aching need tightening down low in her pelvis.
‘No point in thinking about wanting something. Like I said, I make things happen.’
He was so self-assured it was impossible to imagine there’d be anything he couldn’t achieve.
Her heart thumped wildly at her breastbone when Nick leaned over her. He was a mere breath away and the air between them hummed with an urgent sexual charge that demanded an outlet.
The warmth of his breath caressed her lips and they parted on a silent invitation.
She could smell the hint of the champagne they’d both enjoyed but now she wanted to taste it from his tongue.
Kiss me, Nick.
He took his time as his thumb caressed the sensitive hollow at the base of her throat, eliciting small quivers that racked through her frame.
He threaded his fingers through her hair then started twisting a strand around his fingers. ‘I told Katie I was taking you out for dinner tonight.’
‘What did she say?’
‘She asked me if it was work or whether it might be a date.’
‘What did you tell her?’ She hung on his answer.
‘I asked her what she’d like it to be and when she said—without any hesitation—that she hoped it was a date, I told her it was definitely a date.’ He grinned. ‘She was very excited and told me to make sure you have a great time so that you want to date me again.’
‘I would love to date you again.’
‘Phew! You can’t imagine my relief,’ he said with great exaggeration. ‘I hate to think what Katie would’ve said had I screwed up.’
‘You’ll screw up if you don’t kiss me again. Right now.’
She moved to get closer to him and became acutely aware of the steel hardness of his aroused flesh pressing against the softness of her stomach. He was ready. She was more than ready—her entire body ached for his possession.
Finally he lowered his head to close the distance between them and his lips touched hers. It was a barely-there kiss that tantalised and teased with a gentleness that was so sensual her lungs felt starved of oxygen. His lips coaxed as his mouth covered hers. His teeth grazed over then pulled lightly on her lower lip. The gesture was so erotic hot arrows of need shot straight to her groin.
It was Sarah who deepened the kiss to communicate her desperate desire, but Nick responded immediately with an unfettered hunger that matched her own. His hands traced over her body on an intimate voyage of discovery before one splayed over her hip, anchoring her lower half to him and bringing her into firmer contact with his erection.
Unable to control the tremors that worked through every muscle group she owned, Sarah gave herself over to his mastery and lost herself in pure sensation.
His voice was thick with unfulfilled desire as he murmured against her ear, ‘I know I promised we’d sit on the beach and watch the sunrise and we can.’ His tongue swirled around the sensitive flesh of her neck just below her ear and she moaned in longing. ‘It’s still hours until dawn.’
She felt like a wild, wanton temptress. A saucy smile played around her mouth. ‘I might know how we can spend those hours.’
His mouth rained kisses up over the column of her throat then he traced the skin directly under her jaw with the tip of his tongue. ‘Mm?’
‘Make love to me, Nick.’
His lips found their way back to hers and this time he didn’t hold back. This time his kiss was a possessive claim—hot and intense, firm and demanding. ‘One day I’ll take you to a private beach where we can make love under the stars on the wet sand as the waves rush over us.’ The picture he painted made her inner muscles contract in a spasm of need. ‘For now, out of view of any prying eyes or cameras would be better.’
‘Your suite or my room?’
‘Your room—it’s closer.’
Chapter 15
As Sarah made her way back to the resort hotel with Nick, her breaths were short and shallow.
Knowing they were about to become lovers, she’d never been more aware of him as a man. All their physical male-female differences were uppermost in her mind. The strength of his hand as it held hers protectively and possessively. The hard brush of his hip against hers.
Anticipation had the deep muscles in her calves quivering. Her nerves stretched taut and her stomach fluttered with a mixture of excitement, a little fear of the unknown and the urgency of the carnal hunger that held her in its grip.
There’s nothing to be afraid of.
She retrieved her room card from her pocket and prepared to slide it through the sensor of the elevator.
Of course there was nothing to fear. Nick knew he was about to be her first lover and she knew instinctively he’d ease her into the delights of lovemaking with a great deal of care and finesse.
He’s seen my scars. They may shock him all over again but he won’t be repulsed by them.
His earlier arousal bore testimony to that. The sensation of his erection pressing against her had reassured her that he really did desire her.
Nick pulled her against his broad chest as soon as the doors of the elevator closed. Wrapped in his arms, she lifted her face and their kisses took her breath away.
Ping.
They broke apart as they reached her floor.
‘You okay?’ He lifted her hair with one hand and nuzzled the erogenous zone at t
he base of her neck as she swiped the key card to open her room.
‘Better than okay,’ she replied breathlessly.
‘No second thoughts?’
In answer she pushed the door open, grabbed his hand and tugged him into the room. ‘You don’t get out of it that easily.’ Hands scrabbling at the base of his polo shirt she wasted no time in reefing it up over his head. ‘Thank God I didn’t have to contend with a button-up shirt.’
Nick laughed.
Sarah stilled and took a step back from him.
Wow.
He was a living, sculpted masterpiece.
Giving in to the compulsion to touch him, she stepped forward again, lifted her hands and smoothed them over the well-defined pectoral muscles of his chest.
Nick dragged an audible breath in as she honed in on the small masculine nipples and circled around them.
Oh. So much to explore and enjoy.
She loved the feel of the crisp smattering of dark hair over his solid torso, the hard bumps of his collarbones and the rigidly outlined contours of every abdominal muscle.
His hands tightened a little around her waist and spun her around so her back was to him and he could deal with the hooks and eyes that fastened her halter neck jumpsuit together. ‘Hell, Sarah! What possessed you to wear this? Did you deliberately set out to make this difficult for me?’
Sarah laughed but was soon catching her breath as he succeeded in his mission and the top section fell forward. He dealt quickly with the zip and the entire garment pooled around her feet.
He nuzzled at her neck. ‘You made up for it. I love that you’re not wearing a bra.’ His hands took their time. She expected him to cup her breasts but he didn’t. His mouth bombarded her with exquisite sensations that made her legs feel boneless. He kept raining kisses up and down the sensitive column of her neck and grazing here and there with his teeth.
His hands caressed her sides, outlining her hips and waist—his thumbs sweeping back and forth across her hip bones before his hands moved up. His fingers almost grazed the soft swell of her breasts and she felt her inner muscles contract in sharp need.
‘Hold me tight,’ she urged, pushing her backside firmly against his erection.
His touch grew firmer but not where she wanted it to be.
Her nipples hardened into peaks that seemed to pout their displeasure as they waited for his attention.
‘Not enough,’ she murmured as she turned in his arms. ‘Oh God, that’s better.’
Now her breasts were abraded by the fine hair on his chest and she rejoiced in the delicious friction as she rubbed against him.
His fingers eased her G-string down over her hips and she wriggled to discard the scrap of lace. Then she gasped as his hands clamped on the cool flesh of her buttocks. The sudden heat was akin to searing her with a branding iron.
He lifted her easily, his biceps barely bulging with the effort. ‘Wrap your legs around my waist.’
His wish was her command.
Arms around his neck, legs around his waist, she hung on tightly as he walked to the bed that had already been turned down by hotel staff.
He set her down on her feet at the edge of the bed.
‘I love the feel of you,’ she told him as she delighted in exploring his body. His muscles were so well-honed, probably developed through his work as a labourer but now kept taut through a dedicated gym routine.
‘I’m yours to feel,’ he husked out. ‘Don’t be shy. I ache everywhere for your touch.’
Needing no further encouragement, her hands sought the masculine shape of him. She let her fingernails score the hard length through the fabric of his trousers and he sucked in a huge breath. But he didn’t let her play for long enough before he was moving to slip out of his casual deck shoes.
‘Undress me, Sarah.’
It was one of the moments she’d been dreaming about.
Mouth dry, she made short work of the button of his trousers, undid his fly and he helped her rid him of his trousers.
His boxer shorts were seriously tented, a spot of moisture marking the fabric against the tip of his penis.
Sarah swallowed hard as she wondered what he’d taste like, but there was no time to act on her thought as he eased her back onto the bed and joined her there.
Kneeling beside her, he traced one finger over the jagged line of her main scar and she watched his face intently searching for clues as to what he might be thinking about them. He dipped his head and his lips followed the trail of his fingers, delivering tender kisses that were soothing like the anointment of a healing balm. Far from being repulsed, he almost worshipped those scars and paid homage to them.
‘These are part of you, Sarah. They’re part of your story and speak to me of how strong you are—how you’re a survivor. Never be ashamed of them or embarrassed by them.’
His hands continued to roam over her midriff—over the ridges and bumps of the ugly scar tissue and the puckering patterns where the surgeon had stitched her back together. His head lowered once again and he dipped his tongue into the hollow of her navel, licking around it and sending quivers of delight through her.
Her navel was an erogenous zone?
Who knew such ministrations would result in sensational, drowning currents of pleasure?
‘Talk to me, Sarah. Tell me if there’s anything I do that you don’t like and I’ll stop.’
Somehow she didn’t envisage that ‘stop’ would be a word she’d want to utter tonight unless it was because she thought she was going to die from sweet sensory overload. It was far more likely that she’d be urging him on.
When he moved a little up the bed, her fingers speared through his hair, loving the texture of it. He looked at her breasts and she saw his stark desire in the taut stretch of his skin and the way his throat worked up and down. He cupped each breast in his hands, rubbing his thumbs back and forward over her throbbing nipples and pinching the peaks slightly until pleasure bordered on pain and she writhed with want.
Her senses clamoured as his tongue tormented the peaks and then—sweet heaven—he drew one dusky pink nipple into his mouth and sucked—gently at first and then with increasing strength.
Could anything be more sublime?
When she thought she’d reached the edge of the world, he tipped her off the cliff and plummeted her into an abyss of pleasure so acute she thought she’d pass out. His teeth grazed her nipples one by one and he set tremors rippling right through the length of her body.
‘So delicious,’ he told her with a thick rasp of pure male appreciation. ‘I want to taste all of you, my gorgeous Sarah.’
Nick’s body was moving over hers and Sarah grabbed his upper arms. ‘I … Stop!’
His whole frame jerked and he became statue still with only a muscle tic appearing up near his cheekbone as he looked to be gritting his teeth together.
‘I …’ Sarah swallowed to lubricate her vocal tract as she searched for words.
When Nick would’ve moved away from her, she tightened her hold on him.
‘No! I don’t want to stop. That is …’ She could see the confusion in his face and she couldn’t blame him. Shaking her head she tried to explain. ‘I want to taste you too. Let me make love to you, Nick, before we make love together.’
His shoulders lost their stiffness and his relief was palpable as he smiled. ‘Thank God! I thought you’d changed your mind.’
‘I want to take the lead here for a while. I want to learn your body before it becomes a part of me.’
He grinned and rocked back to sit on his heels so he could spread his hands expansively. ‘Waiting to make you mine might just kill me but I’m all yours, my darling. Lead away.’
She patted the bed beside her and he lay down next to her.
‘Time to get these off.’ She stretched the elasticised waistband out and lifted it up and over the top of his penis. Nick obliged by raising up his hips so she could strip him completely.
Sarah wasn’t some c
ompletely naive Victorian maiden, yet she was still a little surprised at the thickness of him. Intent on both discovering him and desperate to try to make him mindless with need, her fingertips skirted around his girth and she teased the soft hair at his groin before letting her fingernails score gently over his sac.
‘If I die, Katie gets everything,’ he rasped.
Sarah smiled but was too focused on taking the long, heavy length of his shaft in her hand to really appreciate his joke. She’d already felt this hard, steely length. What she hadn’t felt was the velvet softness of the head of it. Using the pad of one finger, she smoothed over the bead of moisture that was right there at the slit until his slightly darker flesh was glistening.
‘Use your hand, Sarah.’ One of his hands closed over hers to show her how he wanted her to stroke him—how much pressure he liked and how fast he wanted her to move up and down his shaft. But while Sarah was happy to keep her hand on him, she had other ideas.
Operating purely on her instincts and desires, she pulled her hair to one side. Slowly, she lowered her head and licked along his shaft, allowing her tongue tip to trace over the veins that were standing out as the blood pumped to that part of his body. She couldn’t wait. Her lips closed around his turgid flesh and she sucked him right into her mouth.
Nick groaned.
Her inner muscles pinched sharply echoing his need.
‘Oh God. Yes, Sarah!’
His guttural words filled her with a primitive sense of feminine power and she revelled in it as she absorbed the exquisite and slightly salty taste of him. She continued to suck him and to lathe his length with her tongue until he was shifting restlessly on the mattress and her jaw was starting to ache faintly from the unfamiliar stretch.
‘No more, Sarah.’
But she wanted to continue and resisted his palm on her forehead as he urged her to lift her head up.
‘God, Sarah. If you don’t stop now, I’m going to come.’
That was the idea, wasn’t it?
She tightened her grip and increased the pace of her stroking while her lips moved up and down in sync with that hand and her other hand kneaded his balls with gentle pressure. It was enough to tip him over the edge and he groaned out her name and panted his release as she tasted the essence of him.
Seduced by the Billionaire Page 19