by Desiree Holt
“I don’t know when you find the time to work out.” She ran the tip of her finger along the center of his flat chest, through the curls at his groin and down the length of his cock. She had to force herself to stop gripping that hot, hard shaft and stroking it to bring him to orgasm.
“Good genes,” he teased.
Then he lifted her in his arms and stepped into the deep tub. With great care, he lowered himself into the water until he was seated, taking her with him and arranging her with precise movements between his thighs. His legs bracketed hers and he drew her back until she was leaning against his chest. She wanted to purr with satisfaction.
Cupping her breasts, he teased the nipples with his thumbs. He had placed her so the length of his cock was wedged between the cheeks of her ass, and every time she made a movement, her flesh rubbed against it. She was torn between wanting to come and never wanting to move.
She closed her eyes and leaned back against John’s chest, just drifting. The friction of his thumbs on her nipples set up a fluttering in her sex, the inner walls rippling with tiny spasms. She tried to close her legs and squeeze hard against the sensation, but John had her legs spread on either side of his.
“You’re mean,” she whimpered, as she tried to shift her position.
His laugh was a low, rough sound in her ear, his breath a soft whisper.
“If I let you come too soon, where’s the fun in that?”
“Lots of fun,” she protested, shifting her hips. “I promise.”
He chuckled again and closed his teeth on her earlobe in a gentle bite. “But even more doing it my way.”
He pinched her nipples and gave them a light tug, setting off another chain reaction. With his lean, muscular arms circled around her she was captured and held in place while he teased her at his leisure. The aerating effects of the bubbling water soothed at the same time as they stimulated, pushing her to the edge and keeping her there no matter how much she tried. The press of his cock in the crevice of her ass didn’t help either, the long, hard length so tempting and teasing.
They stayed like that for a long time, neither of them speaking. In truth, it seemed as if no words were needed. John spent a long time rubbing and squeezing and pinching her now ultrasensitive tips and kneading her breasts. Ever since he’d discovered that she responded so well to stimulation there, he’d made that a focus of his efforts.
A moan of pleasure tore from her as he pressed her legs even farther apart and slid one hand down past the gentle curve of her stomach to toy with her mound. Just the barest caress of a fingertip over her throbbing clit made her cry out with need. That sexy chuckle in her ear didn’t help either, driving her even crazier.
Lindsey felt as if she’d been transported to a cloud, one where a steady hum of sexual desire vibrated through her, just enough to keep her on edge but not enough to break the spell. She wanted to come, wanted that climax, yet John played her body so skillfully she didn’t want to lose the continuous surge of pleasure gripping her.
She blinked when she felt something warm and slick touch her arm, and when she looked she saw that John had poured some of the scented body wash she used into his hand and was slowly stroking it up and down her arms.
“Mmmm.”
All she could do was lie there and hum with satisfaction as he applied it to every area of her body. Then he soaked the washcloth and let warm drops drizzle over her until all the soap had been washed away.
“I almost hate to get out of here,” she murmured, putting her arms around his neck and leaning against him as the water drained from the tub and he lifted her onto the rug. She was still right on the edge of orgasm, just as she’d been when he began undressing her. Every touch of the towel as he moved it over her body was like the sensation of a vibrator against her humming nerves. And watching him dry himself off didn’t do much to calm that down.
“No more teasing,” she whispered when he carried her to the bed. “I want to feel you inside me.”
The covers had been stripped back—she wondered when he had done that—and he placed her so her head rested on the pillow. In seconds he had dragged his toiletries kit from the messenger bag, pulled out a string of condoms that he dropped onto the nightstand, torn one off and sheathed himself.
Then he was there, over her, nudging her thighs apart and kneeling between them. Gripping his cock with one hand, he took a deep breath and pressed the dark purple head against her opening. Then, with a flex of his hips drove himself inside her.
Sweet Jesus! The man definitely has more than his share.
He filled her so completely the sensation made her catch her breath. Lindsey bent her knees and planted her feet on either side of his body, lifting herself to meet his thrust. More, she wanted to scream. Faster. She reached around him and dug her nails into the firm flesh of his ass, trying to make him increase the speed.
But he set the pace and rhythm, and despite her moans and pleas he didn’t vary from it. Now slow, now a little faster, now faster yet. As his thrusts picked up speed, he drove in even deeper, again and again. Lindsey wrapped her legs around his hips, locking their bodies together and they moved as if they were one person. Faster. Harder. Until she lost all sense of self and surroundings. Until nothing existed but this man and his rock-hard shaft and the pleasure he was giving her.
“Open your eyes,” he commanded.
When she did, she saw his eyes staring right at her, black onyx with a touch of amber. And, swirling in there, an explosive mixture of hunger and need.
“Now, Lindsey.” He practically growled it. “Right now.”
He drove into her, hard, three more times. Four. Then, as if someone had tripped a switch, they exploded together. Her inner walls gripped him, milking him, and her legs kept them locked to each other. There was nothing there except their bodies pulsing with need and hunger and incredible emotion. Again and again they spasmed, until there was no energy left in either of them, and at last they were limp, spent.
Lindsey let her legs fall to the side, bracketing their bodies, while she caught her breath. When she looked up, John was smiling at her, a tiny dimple winking in his cheek. He brushed her damp hair back from her forehead and dusted her lips with a kiss.
“There are no words,” he told her.
She nodded, knowing what he meant.
“And just in case you think otherwise,” he added, “this is about a lot more than sex. I can get just sex anywhere. But I can’t get what’s happening between us with anyone else. Believe it. Do not forget that, Lindsey. Promise me.”
Even though she heard the intensity in his voice, she wasn’t about to make a mistake again. She could lose herself in the sensual pleasures he coaxed from her body, but her heart was still locked away. Once burned, twice shy, she reminded herself.
“I—I’ll try. That’s the best I can do right now, okay?” And she would, even as she guarded her heart.
“I want to tell you something, Lindsey.” John studied her face for a long time, his eyes dark again with emotion. “When Taylor called and asked me to come here and work on this project, at first I almost turned her down.”
Lindsey frowned. “Why?”
“Like I said the other night, I was afraid to see you. Afraid of what you’d say after all this time. I did a shitty thing, Linds. And I was mad at myself for never getting back to you. When I finally realized what I’d thrown away because I was so afraid of commitment, I didn’t know how to fix it. The worst thing for me would have been to show up and find you with someone else. I’m not sure how I would have handled that.”
She thought for a minute, choosing her words with care. She reminded herself this could all still turn to garbage, and she didn’t want to feel that hurt again.
“Lindsey?” He strung light kisses along her jawline.
“I’m not with anyone else, John. How could I be? Four days with you ruined me for anyone else.”
As she spokes she was surprised to feel the tension easing from his bo
dy.
“Thank god for that.” He let out a soft breath. “I swear to you, Lindsey, I’ll never be that stupid again.” He dusted a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “I’m damn lucky to get a second chance with you. I don’t intend to blow it.”
At last he eased himself from her body, pinching the top of the condom to keep it closed. She lay there with her eyes shut while she waited for him. He was back in seconds, nudging her closer to the center of the bed, then climbing in and spooning her against him. His cock, now at rest, nestled between the cheeks of her ass and he banded one arm around her, cupping her breast in his large hand.
“When this is all over,” he said in a low voice, “we’re going to have a serious discussion about the future.”
“John.” Her voice was slurry with sleep. “We hardly know each other yet. We’ve spent all our time in bed.”
“Not all of it,” he disagreed. “And we’ve been together enough for me to know I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you in my life.”
A tiny thrill squiggled through her.
“How about we take care of business first? Then we can talk about the future.”
“Count on it.” He kissed the shell of her ear. “No bull here, Lindsey. You can fucking count on it.”
Chapter Fourteen
John and Lindsey were at the office in the morning well ahead of everyone else. John was itching to get started taking apart Craig’s financials and creating a money trail, and she had regular client work to take care of, along with more research into Masquerade.
When Noah and Taylor arrived at seven, John was already in the zone with his laptop and she had moved to her office to take care of current Elite work. There were graphics to be approved, client projects to be updated and a new schedule to be created to make it easier for her to track business. She tasked Leda with creating a master calendar and distributing it to everyone. She also requested a large printout to put on the board in her office, listing the schedule for each month including the one for the upcoming month. Now that she was in charge of everything, she needed to streamline her organizational method.
She didn’t know what to make of the fact that both Cantrells stopped at her office to let her know they were there, but neither of them commented on the fact that she and John had arrived together or asked where he’d slept the previous night. She did her best to act as if nothing was out of the ordinary and just got her coffee along with everyone else, stopping John before he headed back to his work.
“If it’s all the same to you,” she said, “I’d like to have my staff meeting and get that out of the way before I dive back into Masquerade. Also, Taylor said right after I speak to the staff she wants us to meet with Jerry.” She made a face. “That ought to be a lot of fun.”
“Whatever you need to do. Elite’s all on your shoulders now, so that has to come first. You know where I’ll be. Just join me whenever you can.”
“Thanks. I’ll go have Leda set it up for me.”
It would be important to bring herself up to speed on everything until Elite settled into its new routine. She didn’t want anything to fall into a crack because she wasn’t paying attention. She also wanted to assure them yet again that nothing was changing as far as they were concerned.
The biggest problem would be Jerry. The day before yesterday, after discussing it with Taylor, she’d had him cancel all the location shoots scheduled for Parrot Cay, including the current one. He had not been pleased at all. She was sure he’d been stewing about it and wouldn’t wait for the staff meeting to bring it up. Sure enough, when she buzzed him to come to her office, he showed up with a chip on his shoulder that was almost visible.
When he walked into the office, he frowned when he saw Taylor sitting there, as well.
“Am I in trouble because I didn’t think we should cancel the shoots?” he asked.
Taylor shook her head. “I’m just getting myself up to speed and thought maybe I could help answer your questions. I know you’re unhappy with the decision. It was Lindsey’s, but I support her.”
“Have a seat,” Lindsey told him. “It’s obvious this is a hit button for you.”
He nodded, and dropped into a chair. “I haven’t changed my mind about it. I still think that’s a big mistake. With Craig gone, we can’t afford to let our clients think we’re cutting back on anything. Besides, people have expectations.”
“Oh?” Lindsey lifted an eyebrow. “Like what?”
“Like expecting us to keep our schedule and honor our commitments. Craig worked hard to get it all set up. There are important people involved, not the least of which is the man who is so hospitable as to let us use his home and houses us while we are there.”
“With Craig gone,” she repeated for emphasis, “I need to get a better handle on things and see how it all fits. I’m still not convinced we have to go offshore for those layouts. As I said before, we have plenty of tropical locations right here in the Fort Lauderdale–Miami area. I’d like to research what’s available before we start chartering planes again and eating the expense of a foreign location.”
“Ruben Madea will be very disappointed,” Jerry warned her. “He’s been extremely gracious about welcoming us into his home.”
“Fine. I will personally thank him for his generosity, but I wonder if we weren’t beginning to take advantage of it.”
Jerry shifted in his seat, his irritation obvious. “He also sends a lot of clients our way.”
“Make me a list of them and we’ll review them.”
“But—”
Taylor held up a hand. “Jerry, is there a problem here I don’t know about? Some arrangement I should be aware of?”
He paused so long before answering, Lindsey’s neck began to itch, her personal warning sign that something was not quite right.
“Is there anything I should know about this that isn’t in the reports?”
“No.” He heaved a sigh. “But those location shoots are a big attraction for the models, too. It helps us get both some of the top ones and the young fresh faces that draw the attention of customers.”
“How did you meet Señor Madea?” Lindsey asked. “It’s somewhat unusual for someone to offer their home frequently the way he has.”
“Craig knew him. I think they met through mutual friends. Why?”
“Just curious. Like I said, it’s an unusual situation.” She cleared her throat. “Listen, Jerry. I’ve been doing this a long time and I know there are many ways to please clients. How about this? Put together a report for me of those shoots, what clients they are for and how many models we’ll be using. I also want to have John Martino do a cost analysis of the models’ expenses.”
Jerry looked ready to jump out of his chair.
“Lindsey, please don’t tell me you’re looking to change modeling agencies. We worked hard to get the relationship with this one and have them send us their best models for each layout.”
“I’m not jumping into anything,” she assured him, “but I need to have all that information in front of me to make informed decisions. The sooner you get it to me, the smoother this will go.”
Then, as if he’d decided that arguing with her wasn’t the way to go, the creases smoothed out of his forehead and the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile.
“You’re right. Let me get this together, because when you see my report, you’ll see how making changes isn’t the right way to go.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Something’s going on there,” Taylor said as soon as he left.
“You’re right, and I have to admit I’m disappointed. And how did I miss all this in four years?”
“Because you weren’t looking for anything and there weren’t any problems. And Craig was apparently very clever at making sure of that.”
“I wish I knew if he’s pissed off because his gravy train ride might be coming to an end, or just irritated in general because I might change things? If he was part of this or just stupid?”
“When you get his report, shoot a copy to me. By that time John should have some information and we’ll be in a better position to pursue this.”
“Sounds good to me. And I always welcome your opinion.”
Taylor laughed. “Noah will tell you I am always looking for an opportunity to give my opinion.”
Lindsey looked at her watch. “Okay. Staff meeting time. Then I’m all John’s. And yours.”
“Good.” Taylor nodded. “Today I’d like you to really dig into Masquerade again. Anything you can find. Any tiny nugget, I don’t care what it is. What else do you have on your plate today?”
“This shouldn’t take that long. After that I need about a half-hour to catch up on some stuff with my own clients. Then I’m good to go.”
“Where’s the best place for Noah to park himself? He has some business to take care of. Plus, he’s going to use some other off-the-books contacts in addition to what Charley’s doing to see what he can find out about Ruben Madea.”
“Tell him he can use my office. I’m working in here with John and I’ll meet with the staff in the conference room.”
“Excellent. Let me know if I can help with anything.” She started to leave, then turned back. “Also, we should get to the funeral early enough to mingle with the crowd. Who knows what we’ll pick up? Even at a funeral.”
Lindsey nodded. “Of course. I’m letting everyone in the office know we should make a good showing. The more the better.”
“Good. All right.” She glanced at her watch. “I’m expecting a call shortly so I’d better go get ready for it.”
For a long moment after she left the room, Lindsey just sat and stared at her laptop.
“Lindsey.” She looked up to see John in the doorway. “I’ll say the same thing Taylor did. None of this is on you.”
“I just can’t believe Craig was doing all this practically under my nose and I didn’t catch it.”
“If he’d been hiding it from the beginning, then it wouldn’t be obvious in normal business operations. Let’s go back to square one and see what we find. Come on. Let’s put that sharp brain of yours to work.”