His finger trailed downward. Chin, jaw, throat. He stayed in that strip of space between her robe as he traced the rough, puckered surgical scar on her breastbone, then slid his hand inside her robe to press his palm over her frantically beating heart.
She quivered as his caresses began again. The tender stroke of his fingertips felt so aware, so switched on, so deliberate. Every faint touch felt like a kiss.
Over her belly button. Lower. He brushed the trimmed swatch of dark hair on her mound, then lower, stroking sensitive, hidden folds between. Taking his time. Slow, teasing. He leaned over her shoulder, kissing her throat, his breath warm against her neck. His fingers delved into her secret heat. Petting and probing. Driving her nuts.
She gripped his shoulders to brace herself as she moved against his skillful hand. He coaxed her arousal higher and higher—until the wave crested, and broke.
Pleasure wrenched through her. A torrent of chaotic, beautiful energy. Deep, pulsing throbs, expanding wider and wider, filling her entire consciousness.
Vann’s murmur of satisfaction rumbled against her throat.
Sophie felt wide open to the sky. As soft as starlight. She shrugged the robe back and let it fall. No attitude. No bow-down-before-my-celestial-beauty vibe. She just wanted to be seen by him, known by him.
Vann hid his face against her hair. “Sophie,” he whispered. “You’re perfect.”
She leaned against him, shivering with laughter. “Hardly. With my battle scars.”
“Your scar is beautiful. It’s the reason you’re still here. It represents triumph over death. All the effort it took to make yourself whole and strong.”
Her throat tightened. “That’s a poetic spin on a big old surgical scar. Nicely done.”
“I swear, I could not blow smoke at you if I wanted to. You’re taking me apart.”
“Me? You’re the guy with the magic hands.” She looked him over, eyes lingering on the bulge in his pants. “What other secrets have you got hidden away in that bespoke suit of yours? I showed you mine. Now show me yours.”
His big grin carved sexy grooves in his lean cheeks as he shrugged out of his suit jacket. He jerked the tie loose, kicked off the shoes, tugged the shirt out of his pants, while Sophie attacked his belt buckle.
He pulled a strip of condoms out of his pocket, and tossed them onto the bed, and then flung his clothing onto the chair. Pants, briefs and socks, whipped off in a few quick gestures.
His naked body exceeded her expectations. She’d seen how tall and broad and solid he was, and she’d felt the intense physical energy he generated. But she hadn’t dreamed of the effect his nakedness would have on her. His body was thick-muscled, sinewy and taut and defined. Dark hair arrowed down to his groin. He was beautiful there, too. Stiff, substantial and ready for action. She seized his penis, enjoying the taut firmness, the throbbing pulse, in her palm. The gasp of pleasure he made as she stroked him.
He clamped her hand and held it still. “Stop,” he told her, breath hitching. “Let me save it for later. Keep that up and I’ll go off like a grenade.”
“Sounds exciting,” she murmured.
“Oh, it would be, for me. But it’s too soon, and I don’t want to lead with that.”
“No? How do you want to lead?”
His eyes held hers. “Just in case that’s a trick question, I don’t have to take the lead at all.”
“Trick question?” She laughed. “Please. Do I really seem so treacherous?”
“If you’d rather call the shots, just tell me. My master plan is to make you come until you’re too exhausted to roll over. The details don’t matter to me. Got me?”
She squeezed his stiff, pulsing hardness once again. “Oh, yes. I’ve got you,” she murmured, delighted at the shudder that racked him. “Right in the palm of my hand. It all sounds great. I don’t have any sort of master plan, so I’ll just enjoy yours. Carry on.”
His grin flashed again, and he turned her to face the mirror, holding her gaze as his hand slid up to cup her breast. Stroking the undercurve. Teasing her nipple.
She sagged back against him with a whimpering gasp. The tip of her breast was a glowing point of concentrated pleasure, and every slow caress racked her with fresh shivers of need. Her thighs clenched as his hand crept lower. His lips were hot against her neck, giving her lazy, seductive kisses that slowed down time. She felt suspended, breathless, as he gripped her hips, caressing her bottom.
She struck a provocative pose, leaning over. “Do you want to do it from behind?”
“Of course,” he said. “But not the first time, or maybe even the second time. It’s too soon to mess around and be playful. The first time should be...worshipful.”
“Oh. So that’s what this is? Wow. Being worshipped works for me.”
“That’s good, because that’s what’s happening.” He pulled the bed covers down and pushed her until she sprawled on her back in the bed. Scooping her hair up, he arrayed it on the pillow, burying his face in it with a wordless groan.
Then he slid down over her body, trailing kisses to the scar on her chest.
She vibrated with emotion as he lingered there, kissing right over her frantically beating heart. Any place he touched began to glow and melt into something shining and liquid. His touch was magic. Transforming her.
After a sweet, languorous eternity of kisses, he trailed them down over her breasts, then her belly. Farther, and then farther down, kissing and licking and nuzzling, until he settled between her thighs and put his mouth to her most sensitive flesh.
And she could do nothing but shiver and gasp.
Ten
Worshipful.
It wasn’t a tactic, or a choice. It was a stark truth, a physical necessity, like breathing. His body worshiped hers. Some part inside him bowed before her, dazzled by her beauty. Humbled by the privilege of touching her, pleasing her. Tasting her.
She was so sweet. He’d never imagined anything as exciting as caressing her secret female flesh with his tongue, taking his time. Making it last. Making her wait. The longer he made this last, the bigger the payoff.
Finally, she exploded in another shattering orgasm. He savored it, and kissed his way back up her body, settling himself over her. “You’re good?” he asked.
Sophie smiled as her eyes fluttered open. “You couldn’t tell?”
“I take nothing for granted with you,” he said. “It’s too important.”
“It’s wonderful,” she whispered. “It’s superdeluxe. Please, proceed with your master plan. As a matter of fact...” She grabbed the pack of condoms that he’d tossed on the bed and opened one. She put the little circle of latex in his hand, and slid her fingers into his chest hair, gripping until he felt the bite of her nails. “Don’t make me wait.”
Vann was teetering on a tightrope of self-control. He got the condom on with no fumbling. Then she pulled him into her arms, wiggling until she had him right where she wanted him...slowly easing deeper into her tight, clinging heat.
Then the deliberate, rocking surges, jaw clenched, panting for control as he fought the urge to go crazy. Lose control.
No. He was sticking to the plan. Oh-so-slow. Until it was too slow for Sophie, and she was winding her legs around his and insisting with her body. Her nails dug into him. She made those whimpering sounds that made him want to explode...but he hung back. Just a little longer...until her felt her climax start to overtake her.
Then he was lost. The power crashed through him, obliterating thought.
Afterward, he felt her lips against his cheekbone. Her chest jerked and heaved.
Still inside her, he rolled off to let her breathe. He was amazed by her beauty. He could hardly believe she was real. He drew away with extreme reluctance. “I have to get rid of the condom,” he said. “Don’t go anywhere. Please.”
“Don’t worry,�
� she murmured. “I can’t move.”
He slid off the bed and went into the bathroom to take care of it, then slid right back into bed with her, tugging the sheet up over the two of them. Hungry for contact. She was so long and lithe and exquisitely smooth. Her soft curves. Those high, full breasts.
She snuggled up close, and her pink tongue licked his collarbone, making his body instantly stir. “You taste good,” she whispered. “So salty.”
“You, too,” he told her. “You’re so sweet. Can’t get enough of you.”
Her full lips curved in that seductive smile. “Awww.” Sophie slid her fingers through his sweat-dampened hair, exploring him. Neck, shoulder. Squeezing and murmuring her approval. “This is going to get us into so much trouble.”
“Is it?” he said.
“You saw how Malcolm reacted. He’s angry. And disgusted.”
“He has the wrong idea about us.”
“How so?”
He pulled her closer, wrapping his leg around her body. “He thinks I’m just serving myself. Using you. That’s not what’s happening here.”
She laughed. “If you are using me, then you’re doing a damn good job of it.”
“All jokes aside, it was never about that,” he told her. “This is like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
“I’m glad. Because honestly? I do not feel used right now.”
“What do you feel?” He blurted out the question without considering whether he was ready to hear the answer.
She considered the question for a moment. “Hmm, let me think,” she said. “Sexually satisfied. Flattered. Delighted. Infinitely pleasured. And definitely pampered.”
“That’s a good starting place,” he said, relieved.
“Also worried,” she added. “About the fallout.”
“We’ll get through it,” he said. “We’ll look back on this and laugh.”
She gave him a dubious look. “I’m not sure what that means. But it sounds hopeful.”
“It is hopeful,” he said forcefully. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t felt this hopeful in...well, hell. I don’t know. Ever, maybe.”
Her eyes widened. “Vann. Put the brakes on. We hardly know each other.”
“We can fix that,” he suggested. “This weekend is the perfect opportunity. We’ll accelerate the process. We can work at it every waking moment. I want to learn all your secrets. I want to know everything about you. Hopes, dreams, fears, nightmares.”
To his dismay, Sophie pulled away. She sat up, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. “Okay,” she said, her voice guarded. “But let’s take it easy.”
“Easy how?” he demanded. “What does that even mean?”
“I’m not an invited guest, Vann,” she reminded him. “I’m hired help, remember? I’m a convenience for Zhang Wei. I’ll be at his beck and call, not yours. You won’t have a chance to learn my secrets while I’m following Zhang around. And Malcolm will definitely be watching us like a hawk after tonight.”
“I don’t care.” He realized, as the words came out, that they were literally true.
“Well, I still do,” she said. “So don’t rush me.”
Sophie slid off the bed, giving him the opportunity for a long, appreciative look at her backside, that mass of dark hair swinging against her back, the perfect curves of her bottom. The pearl-like luster of her skin. Those long, shapely legs.
She uncorked the wine he’d ordered the night before, and took the paper caps off the two water tumblers that were on the tray, pouring out two glasses. Then she sauntered back, aware of his gaze. Taking her time. Letting him look.
She handed him a glass. “One step at a time,” she said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
“Why not?” he demanded, rebellious.
“It’s not smart to push our luck.”
He shrugged. “I have never felt so lucky in my life.”
She sipped her wine as she studied him, gorgeous and enigmatic in the darkness. He suddenly thought of Tim Bryce and his accusations.
They seemed even more ridiculous now. He’d met liars and cheats. Some were attractive, smart, charming, but none of them shone like Sophie. Strength and toughness radiated out of her, impossible to mistake.
Sophie was for real. He’d bet everything he had on that.
“It doesn’t scare you?” she asked him. “Feeling so lucky?”
He shrugged. “Sure, it scares me. So what? I’ll be brave.”
She came closer, placing her glass on the bedside table, and clambered onto the bed, flinging her leg over his thighs. “Okay,” she said softly. “Let’s be brave. Careful...but brave.” She kissed his chest, her gaze flicking up at him with a teasing smile as her kisses trailed lower.
“Whoa,” Vann said. “What are you doing?”
“Getting to know you,” she said. “Didn’t you say you wanted to accelerate the process?”
“Of course. But...ah... I thought you wanted to slow down.”
She pressed a kiss to his thigh, her hand caressing his shaft. “But then we decided to be brave, right?”
“Uh...yeah,” Vann choked out as she took him in her mouth.
And that was the end of any words.
* * *
Sophie floated in bliss. Her body was lapped by it, caressed and cradled and rocked by waves of pleasure as she drifted up, closer to waking consciousness—
Just in time for the explosive burst of release. It welled up from some mysterious source inside her, radiating out into the universe like the sunrise.
Her eyes fluttered open as pleasure echoed through her. She looked down, gasping for breath. Vann lay between her legs, kissing the side of her thigh, petting her tenderly with his fingertips. Smiling at her as he wiped his mouth.
“Couldn’t resist,” he said. “Thought it might be a good way to start the day.”
Wow. She could not voice the word. She just formed it with her lips.
Vann rose up, a condom ready in his hand. “Am I overdoing it?”
She shook her head and held out her arms, and Vann rolled the latex swiftly over his impressive erection. He covered her with his warmth, resting on his elbows. Her body’s response was instinctive, immediate. She arched and opened as he pressed slowly inside her.
Their breath was ragged, eyes locked with each slow, surging thrust. Each stroke a caress, a sweet lick of pure delight.
It was harder to look into his eyes in the light of dawn, with the day ahead of them, with all its dangers and uncertainties. The night they’d passed was a wild erotic dream of sensual delights. She’d been so wanton, surrendering to pleasure, over and over again.
He’d awakened a need that got bigger, hotter and wilder every time.
They moved frantically against each other, desperate for release...and came to pieces together.
Vann rolled to the side, breathing raggedly. They lay there, stroking each other’s damp skin. Speechless with emotion. He seized her hand, and kissed it.
“You remember that we have a plane to catch this morning, right?” she asked.
He nodded, still kissing her knuckles. “There’s still time.”
“There’s always less than you think,” she said. “And remember. Be discreet.”
“If you want.”
“You don’t want? You want to throw caution to the wind? Already?”
He shrugged. “I’m not ashamed,” he said.
“Well, I’m not ashamed, either. But for now, I don’t want anyone else to know about what’s between us. It’s new and fresh. Let’s protect it from the outside world for a while.”
“That’s fair.”
She laughed at him. “And to that end, you should get back to your room before anybody sees you wandering the halls with bedhead and lipstick stains.”
“Do I have lip
stick stains?” His eyes widened. “Cool. Where?”
She swung a pillow at him, laughing. “Oh, get out.”
“I’m dismissed? Already?” he asked, crestfallen.
“Just for now,” she said demurely. “Later, we’ll see. Don’t you need to pack?”
Vann headed into the bathroom with a long-suffering look. He emerged a few minutes later, hair damp, and pulled on his clothes. “See you downstairs.”
“Downstairs,” she echoed.
The door shut behind him, and the room felt unbearably empty and quiet.
Sophie rolled over, pressing her face against the pillow to bury a scream of pure emotional overload. Excitement, terror, shock, joy.
And hope. This had been beyond anything she’d ever imagined. She was head over heels in lust. She’d fallen into bed with a guy she hardly knew. She’d given him everything she had to give.
And now all she could do was count the hours until she could do it again.
Eleven
Sophie was good at playing it cool. She greeted Vann at the coffee bar in the hotel restaurant with the same crisp friendliness with which she greeted Drew and the others. No one would have known they had passed a night of searing passion.
Except Drew, who knew him well. As soon as Sophie went to the buffet for some scrambled eggs and fruit, he spoke up.
“Zhang and I missed you last night at the bar,” he said. “I thought you said you’d meet us. We waited for you for quite some time.”
“Oh. Ah, yeah.” Vann had completely forgotten. “Sorry. I ended up getting involved in some work stuff in my room.”
“Yeah? I texted you. Several times.” Drew’s voice was carefully nonchalant.
“Sorry I missed it.”
“Came by your room, too, on my way to bed. Knocked on your door. Pretty loudly. Guess you must have crashed hard. Long day yesterday, hmm?”
“I was wearing headphones,” Vann said through his teeth. “I blast heavy metal when I’m looking at numbers. It keeps me focused.”
“Oh. I see.” Drew’s eyes flicked over to Sophie, and then back to Vann. “Well, good luck with those numbers. I hope they all add up for you.”
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