Harlequin Presents--April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2

by Dani Collins

  ‘Coffee. I’ll make it.’ Finn sauntered over to the small coffee percolator near the mini-bar area. His take-charge attitude would have annoyed her normally, but she was tired and out of sorts, and the thought of someone else making her a coffee was rather tempting.

  ‘Fine.’ She sank to the small sofa in front of the television, wondering if she should have put up more of a fuss and insisted on him leaving. She realised, with a strange little jolt, she had never been totally alone with him before. There had always been other people in the background such as at conferences or at the airport the previous day.

  One thing she did know—being alone with Finn O’Connell was dangerous. Not because he posed a physical threat to her safety but because she wasn’t sure she knew how to handle such a potently attractive man at close, intimate quarters. At six-foot-six, he made the hotel room seem even smaller than it actually was. And, while she was no midget at five-foot-ten, she was currently barefoot and wearing nothing but a bathrobe.

  Being so minimally attired made her feel at a distinct disadvantage. She needed the armour of her clothes to keep her from temptation. And temptation didn’t get any more irresistible than Finn O’Connell in a playful mood.

  Within a short time, the percolator made its gurgling noises, and the delicious aroma of brewed coffee began to tantalise Zoey’s nostrils. Finn poured two cups and brought them over.

  ‘Here you go. Strong and black.’

  Zoey frowned and took the cup from him. ‘How did you know how I take my coffee?’

  His eyes twinkled. ‘Lucky guess.’

  Her lips twitched in spite of her effort to control her urge to smile back at him. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage him...or did she? The thought trickled into her head like the coffee had done in the machine just moments ago.

  The dangerous thought of exploring the tension between them hummed like a current. It was a background hum, filtering through her body, awakening her female flesh to sensual possibilities. Possibilities she had forbidden herself to consider. Finn was a player, a fast-living playboy who had ‘heartbreaker’ written all over his too-handsome face. She had already had her heart broken by her ex. Why would she go in for another serve? It would be madness...

  But it wouldn’t be madness if she set the terms, would it? Why shouldn’t she allow herself a treat now and again? She had given so much to her ex and got nothing back. Why not indulge herself this time with a man who didn’t want anything from her other than hot no-strings sex?

  Finn picked up the writing desk chair and placed it close to the sofa where she was sitting. He sat on the chair and balanced his right ankle over his other thigh in a casual pose she privately envied. Zoey had never felt more on edge in her life. Edgy, restless...excited. Yes, excited, because what woman wouldn’t be excited in Finn’s arrantly male presence?

  Zoey sipped her coffee, covertly watching him do the same. Her eyes were drawn to the broad hand holding his cup, her mind conjuring up images of those long, tanned fingers moving down her body...touching her in places that hadn’t seen any action for months on end. Places that began to tingle as they woke up from hibernation.

  She sat up straighter on the sofa, almost spilling her coffee. ‘Oops.’ She caught a couple of droplets rolling down the side of her cup before they went on the cream linen sofa.

  ‘Too hot for you?’ Finn asked with an enigmatic smile, his eyes glinting.

  You’re too hot for me. Zoey put her cup on the lamp table next to the sofa, her hand not as steady as she would have liked. ‘No, it’s fine. I’m just jet-lagged, I guess.’

  He leaned back in his chair until it was balanced on the back legs only, his gaze measuring hers. ‘Did you sleep on the plane?’

  Zoey nodded. ‘I’m glad I did now. If I’d realised you had my computer on the plane, I would have been in a flap of panic. It was bad enough finding out when I did, but at least it was only for a short time.’

  There was a pulsing silence broken only by the sound of his chair creakily protesting at the way it was balanced. Finn rocked forward and the front legs of the chair landed on the carpet with a thud. ‘So, how did you figure out it was my computer?’

  ‘There was a business card in the laptop bag with a lipstick kiss on it from a woman called Kimba.’ She picked up her coffee with a roll of her eyes. ‘I’m surprised there was only one card. I was expecting hundreds.’

  He gave a laugh and leaned forward to place his coffee cup on a nearby table. ‘I do clean it out occasionally. But that wasn’t all that was in the bag.’

  Zoey brought her gaze back to his. ‘You’re crazy for leaving your password on a sticky note. What if someone else had got your laptop?’

  His mouth curved upwards in a smile, making his eyes crinkle attractively at the corners. ‘I had my laptop serviced yesterday and they reset the password. I haven’t had time to reset it again.’ He reached for his coffee cup, took a small sip and then balanced it baseball-style in his hand. ‘So, did you read my emails? Have a little snoop around?’

  Zoey could feel heat storming into her cheeks and put her coffee back down on the table. ‘Of course I didn’t. Did you read mine?’

  He placed his hand on his heart. ‘Scout’s honour, I didn’t. I was tempted, sure, but I figured it was a pretty low thing to do.’

  She bit down on her lower lip before she could stop herself. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she believed him. He might be a charming player in his free time, but he was scrupulously honest in business. He had built from scratch an advertising empire that was one of the most successful in the business. She might not like him, but she couldn’t help admiring him for what he had achieved.

  Finn took another sip of his coffee. ‘Did you look at my pitch?’ His eyes held hers in a penetrating lock that made her scalp prickle.

  Zoey sprang up from the sofa as if one of the cushions had bitten her on the bottom. ‘I admit I was tempted, seriously tempted, but I didn’t do it. Besides, I already know you’re going to win.’ She was doomed to fail with him as an opponent. It was galling to think he was going to win over her yet again. Would she ever get a chance to prove herself? She drew in another breath and released it on a defeated sigh. ‘I think I haven’t got a chance against you.’

  ‘Come now, it’s not over till it’s over.’ He got up off the chair and placed his coffee cup on the table with a loud thwack. ‘You haven’t even presented yours and you’re giving up? What sort of attitude is that in this business? You have to believe in yourself, Zoey, no one else will if you don’t.’ His tone sounded almost frustrated, a frown deeply carved on his forehead.

  His unexpected reaction surprised Zoey into a defensive mode. She curled her lip, her eyes flashing. ‘Thanks for the pep talk, O’Connell. But I don’t need you to tell me how to live my life.’

  He raked a hand through his hair, leaving track marks amongst the thick strands. ‘Look, I know things are a little messy with your father right now. But...’

  Messy? She didn’t need Finn to tell her how messy things were—she lived the cringeworthy reality every single day. Watching her father go from hero to zero, picking him up after every binge drinking session, covering for him when he missed a deadline, making excuses to clients when he failed to show up for a meeting... The list went on. Zoey tightened her arms around her middle until she could barely breathe. ‘I’d like you to leave. Right now.’

  Finn held her stormy gaze with unwavering ease. ‘I admire your father. In his day, he was one of the best in the business but—’

  ‘Get. Out.’

  ‘I’d leave if I thought that’s what you really wanted.’

  Zoey thrust up her chin, her eyes blazing, her body trembling with forbidden longing. A longing she was desperately trying to control. ‘Oh, so now you’re an expert on what I want? Don’t make me laugh.’

  Finn stepped up to within a few ce
ntimetres of her, not touching her but standing so close she could see the detail in his eyes—the tiny flecks of darker brown like a mosaic, the pitch-black rim of his irises as if someone had traced each circumference with a felt-tip marker. He said nothing, did nothing, his expression almost impossible to read except for a diamond-hard glint in his eyes. Her eyes drifted to the sensual contour of his mouth and something deep in her core fluttered like the wings of moth—a soft, teasing reminder of needs she had ignored for so long. Needs Finn triggered in her every time she was near him, erotic needs that begged to be assuaged.

  Zoey became aware of the heat of his body, aware of the energy crackling in the small distance between their bodies. Touch him. Touch him. Touch him. The mental chant sounded in her head, the need to do what her instincts demanded a relentless drive she suddenly couldn’t control. Her hands went to the rock-hard wall of his chest, her fingers clutching at his T-shirt until it was bunched in both of her hands.

  One part of her brain told her not to get any closer, the other part said the exact opposite. The push and pull was like a tug-of-war in her body. She was drawn to him like an iron filing to a powerful magnet, the sheer irresistible force of him overwhelming any blocking tactics on her part—if she could have come up with one, that was. Her rational mind was offline, and her body was now dictating the way forward. It had taken control and was running on primal instinct, not on rationality and reason.

  One of her hands let go of his T-shirt and went to the back of his head. She stepped up on tiptoe and got her mouth as close to his as was possible without actually touching it. She didn’t know why she was flirting so recklessly with danger. She didn’t know why she was putting herself so close to temptation when her ability to resist him was currently so debatable.

  But some wicked little imp inside her egged her on to see what would happen. She knew it was dangerous, infinitely dangerous, but oh, so wickedly thrilling to have him teetering with her on a high wire of self-control, not sure who was going to topple off first.

  Her heart was beating like a tribal drum, the same erotic rhythm that was pulsing insistently between her legs. ‘You think I can’t wait for you to kiss me, don’t you? But do you know what’s going to happen if you so much as place your lips on mine?’

  Finn still didn’t touch her; his hands were by his sides but his hooded gaze communicated the effort it took not to do so. ‘I’m going to kiss you back like you’ve never been kissed before, that’s what.’ His voice was deep and husky, his sensual promise sending a shiver cartwheeling down her spine.

  Driven by that same little inner demon, Zoey moved a fraction closer, breathing in the vanilla and coffee scent of Finn’s breath, her senses rioting. ‘You think you’re irresistible. That no woman with a pulse could ever say no to you. But I can resist you.’

  Could she? Maybe, but why did she have to? They wanted the same thing—no-strings sex, an exploration of the lust that flared between them. What could be wrong with indulging her neglected senses in a simple hook-up with him?

  Finn nudged his nose against hers—the tiniest nudge, but it sent a shockwave through her entire body. ‘You’re not saying no to me, you’re saying no to yourself. You want me so badly, I can feel it every time I see you.’

  Zoey fisted her hand in his hair in an almost cruel grip. ‘I didn’t think it was possible to hate someone as much as I hate you.’

  His lips slanted in an indolent smile. ‘Ah, but you don’t hate me, babe. You hate how I make you feel. And I make you feel smoking-hot.’

  ‘I feel nothing when I’m around you.’ Liar, liar, pants literally on fire. On fire with lust.

  He gave a low, deep chuckle and placed his hands on her hips, tugging her forward until she was flush against his rock-hard body. ‘Then let’s see if I can change that, shall we?’ And his mouth came down firmly, explosively, on hers.

  CHAPTER THREE

  ANY THOUGHT OF pushing him away flew out of Zoey’s head the moment his mouth crashed down on hers. Besides it being too late, deep down she knew she had intended this to happen from the get-go.

  She wanted him to kiss her.

  She wanted to push him over the edge.

  She wanted him to be as desperate for intimate contact as was she.

  His lips were firm, insistent, drawing from her an enthusiastic response she hadn’t thought herself capable of giving to a man she didn’t even like.

  But what did like have to do with lust? Not much, it seemed.

  The sensual heat of his mouth set fire to hers, his tongue entering her mouth with a bold, spine-tingling thrust that made her inner core contract with an ache of intense longing. His tongue duelled with hers in an erotic battle that sent her pulse rate soaring. She kissed him back with the same fierce drive, feeding off his mouth as if it was her only source of sustenance. Never had a kiss tasted so good, felt so good. It made every cell in her body throb with excitement.

  One of Finn’s hands went to the small of her back, drawing her even closer to his pelvis. The rigid press of his erection sent another wave of longing through her body. She made a sound at the back of her throat, a desperate whimpering sound of encouragement, and pushed further into his hardness, her arms winding around his neck, her fingers delving into the thickness of his hair.

  Finn tilted his head to gain better access to her mouth, one of his hands cupping the side of her face. His tongue flicked against hers, calling it back into play, teasing her to a point where she was practically hanging off him, unable to stand on her own, for her legs were trembling so much. Never had she felt such ferocious desire. It pounded through her with each throbbing beat of her blood.

  The taste of his mouth, the texture of his skin against her face, the feel of his hands on her hip and her cheek, sent her senses sky-rocketing. She needed to be closer. Ached to be closer. Would die if she didn’t get closer.

  Zoey unwound her arms from around his neck, tugging his T-shirt out of his jeans and placing her hands on his muscled chest, still with her mouth clamped to his. Her tongue danced with his in a sexy tango that made hot shivers go down her spine like a flow of molten lava.

  Finn lifted his mouth off hers, looking at her with his dark, mercurial gaze. ‘How am I doing so far? Have I changed your mind, or shall I stop right now?’

  ‘Shut up and keep doing what you’re doing,’ Zoey said, dragging his head back down so her mouth could reconnect with his.

  The kiss went on and on, more and more exciting, more and more intense, leaving her more and more breathless, aching with want and wondering why the hell she had rebuffed him earlier. This was what she wanted. This passionate awakening of her senses, catapulting her into a maelstrom of delicious feeling. Feelings that she had forgotten she could feel but which she was feeling now even more intensely than ever before.

  Finn lifted his mouth off hers only long enough to haul his T-shirt over his head, tossing it to one side before his lips came back down on hers with fiery purpose. His breathing was heavy, the primal, growling sounds he made in his throat ramping up her own arousal. One of his hands slipped between the front opening of her bath robe to claim her left breast. She gasped at the contact of his hands on her naked flesh, her body erupting into flames.

  ‘Yes...oh, yes...’ Zoey hadn’t realised she had spoken out loud until she heard the sound of her desperate plea. ‘Don’t stop.’

  Finn’s eyes blazed with lust and he brought his mouth down to her breast, circling her nipple until it rose in a tight bud. He took it in his mouth, sucking on her with surprising gentleness, the sensation sending her senses spinning out of control. She grasped at his head, her spine arching in pleasure, her lower body tingling, tightening in anticipation of his intimate possession.

  He lifted his mouth off her breast and held her gaze in an erotically charged lock that made the backs of her knees tingle and flames leap in her feminine core. ‘I want you.’ Hi
s bald statement was the most exciting, thrilling thing she had ever heard.

  ‘Yeah, I kind of guessed that.’ Zoey rubbed against him, shamelessly urging him on. ‘But I don’t want to talk. I want to do this.’ She placed her mouth on his chest, circling her tongue around his hard, flat nipple, delighting in the salty taste of his skin. She began to go lower, drawn to the swollen length of him, driven by some wicked force within her. She had to taste him. All of him.

  Finn made a rough sound at the back of his throat and captured her by the upper arms. ‘Wait. I have other plans for you right now.’

  He ruthlessly tugged the bath robe fully open, sliding it down her arms and untying the belt so it dropped to the floor at her feet. His hungry gaze devoured every inch of her flesh but, instead of shrinking away from him, Zoey stood under his smouldering gaze, relishing every heart-stopping moment of seeing the raw, naked lust on his face. She was empowered by the way he was looking at her, as if she was some sort of sensual goddess that had materialised before him. She was giddily excited by the rampant desire she triggered in him—the same out-of-control desire he triggered in her.

  ‘I want to see you naked. Fair’s fair.’ Zoey surprised herself with her boldness. Who was this wild and wanton woman blatantly stating her needs?

  Finn held her gaze with his smouldering one. He unsnapped the stud button on his jeans and rolled down the zipper, the zzzrrruuppt sound sending a shiver skating down her spine. He stepped out of his jeans, and then out of his black form-fitting undershorts, and her heart rate went off the charts.

  Zoey sucked in a breath, devouring every proud inch of him with her gaze. ‘Mmm...not bad, I suppose.’