How much time elapsed he had no idea and didn’t care. The only thing mattered was being here with Gia and sharing in this experience together.
“Mmmm… A bath and bed sound wonderful.” Her voice had a dreamy air about it.
“You’re right it does.” Languorously, he shifted his weight and the oil made him slide off her. He raised her blindfold.
Heavy-lidded, she gazed up at him and smiled. “Take me home, Sultan.”
Home? Now why did that single word make him grin ear to ear?
Chapter Seven
Gia held the coffee cup to her mouth and inhaled the rich scent before she gently blew. The steam dissipated in the breeze sweeping over the deck outside her bedroom where she and Marc had chosen to have breakfast. Last night had been exciting and hot. Something she had never thought to experience. But night after night of this type of excitement would be too much for her.
Gazing over her cup, she took in Marc’s disheveled state and grinned. He had a stayed-up-all-night-fucking look that she had helped put there. His silky hair begged her fingers to roam through it. The dark shadow on his chin and jaw said he needed a shave. He yawned and she fought the urge to do the same. Both were tired when they received the call to breakfast. Neither were ready to rise and attend, but they had. She set her coffee cup down without even tasting it.
God. He looked good enough to eat.
The only problem…
Gia was falling for an android.
When it happened or how it happened she wasn’t sure. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t rational. Yet he made her feel more like a woman than any man ever had. They talked and shared intimate moments that felt so right. She had been more honest with herself in the last couple of days then she had in the last several years.
Still, Marc wasn’t human and he never would be. Gia knew this. Yet she had no idea what to do about it.
He took a bite of toast, chewed and swallowed. “Something wrong?”
Oh hell, yeah. But she might as well take one thing at a time. The most pressing issue was her parents’ anniversary. Gia had mentioned her dilemma last night after they came home from the dungeon.
When she didn’t answer, his chair scraped across the deck and he rose, moving around the table. In seconds she found herself in his arms, his lips pressed to hers, sipping from her mouth as if she were a fine wine meant to be savored. Every time he kissed her she dissolved in his arms, craved for the caress to never end, but it always did.
When they parted she sighed, the sound filled with both longing and sadness. Maybe the best thing to do was return Marc to the Institute after their trip to Oregon. Her chest squeezed with a heaviness that forced her to take a deep breath.
Gia stepped back out of his embrace, needing space between them. “I want to discuss this weekend.”
“Sweetheart, are you sure there isn’t anything wrong?”
Sweetheart?
Marc spoke the endearment as if there were real feelings behind it. That just made it harder, because everything between the two of them was wrong and there was no righting it. She couldn’t fool herself. Funny thing was, she couldn’t regret this time with Marc. He had helped her define exactly what she wanted in a man. What she wanted in life—like a husband, a family, and a career. For meeting him and discovering more about herself and her wants and needs, she would be forever grateful.
“Gia?”
“Ummm. I don’t feel right deceiving my family, but I can’t deal with their questions.” Or their disappointment. She left those last three words unspoken. They had been thrilled her relationship with Doug had moved to the point she would bring him home with her to meet her family. Of course, the replacement of Doug with Marc had been a surprise, but she had no other choice.
“I need for my family to believe that we are mad for each other—happy.” There was that stinking word again. Happy. Could she truly find happiness?
“My Aunt Clare nags me incessantly about marriage and babies. Of course Mom and Dad want me to find a man and settle down too. I’m not up to worrying or discussing this subject this weekend, especially with what happened with Doug and Mary. I need you to distract my family. Can you do that for me?”
Taking her hand, he pulled her back into his arms. He looked so handsome in just a robe that was slightly parted to give her an eyeful of his incredible chest. “If you want your family to believe I’m in love with you, then it’s as good as done.” Soft but firm lips touched hers and then curved into mischief. “Maybe we should practice a little more. Want to go to bed?”
Laughter burst from her mouth. “You’re insatiable.” Another cool breeze ruffled the hem of her robe.
He nibbled on her bottom lip, trailing kisses from the corner of her mouth down her throat. “You’re too exquisite to resist.”
“We can’t. We have too much to talk about.” Even as she said it, she arched her neck, giving him more access. He nibbled, tongued and caressed the length of exposed flesh.
“Why don’t you slip into something a little more comfortable, like nothing at all. I prefer you naked.” He flashed her one of his drop-dead smiles that showed off his dimple. “I’ll do the same. While you talk I’ll give you a massage.” Sliding his hand down her back, resting his palm on the swell of her ass, he kneaded gently.
“You mean you’ll distract me.” She pushed his hand away and stepped out of his embrace.
His eyes widened with feigned innocence. “Me?” His boyish tone was so charming, she thought about stealing one more kiss, but stopped short of returning to his arms. The android was dangerous to her heart.
Playfully, she slapped him on the shoulder. “What am I going to do with you?”
“I have a few suggestions, all which involve us being naked—maybe ropes, blindfolds and whips. You enjoyed last night, didn’t you?”
“Yes, but I couldn’t live that lifestyle. The whirlwind of sensations BDSM offers is like fire and ice, so intense.” She caressed his rough cheek with her palm. “Sometimes I prefer the softer side of sex.”
“You mean those quiet moments when I can hear your heart start to race.” He brushed his hand up her arm and chills followed in its wake. “Your sharp intake of air—” His lips smoothed up her neck until he nibbled at her earlobe. “That tells me I touched you in just,” his tongue traced the shell of her ear, “the right spot?”
His softened voice slid across her skin like two sticks rubbing together creating heat and sparks and fire. Her pulse sped. Even her breathing picked up the pace.
Dangerous, rang through her mind just before she heard herself say, “Yes.”
Without a second thought, she reached for him, her fingers working at the knot in his sash. Their lips touched and electricity splintered between her thighs. She lost all control, common sense, when it came to Marc. They should be discussing their plans for this weekend. Instead the urge to feel him took over as she pressed her palms against his chest, stroking. His taut abdominal muscles quivered beneath her touch as she slipped lower to wrap her hand around his rigid erection.
God. This man was too good to be true.
His hips came forward, his cock sliding in and out of her grasp while he cupped her cheeks in his palms and kissed her so tenderly that for a moment she thought her heart would stop.
“Marc?”
“Hmmm…” he hummed against her mouth.
“We really need to—”
He deepened the kiss and Gia melted into his caress. He tasted of coffee and something darker and seductive. With each thrust of his cock, he mimicked the action with his tongue.
When they paused between kisses to breathe, it took all her willpower to unfurl her fingers and release him.
“Talk,” Gia murmured, even though her heart wasn’t in it.
Still, she braced her palms against his chest and gazed into his sultry eyes. Talking—no kissing, that’s what they needed to do. Without another word, she stepped reluctantly away from him, turned and sashayed through th
e open doors into her bedroom.
As she walked deeper into the room, the doors shut with a bang. Startled, she pivoted to see Marc standing naked. A wickedly delicious grin met hers. Like a predator stalking his prey, he moved toward her.
The heady gleam in his eyes instantly fired her blood. All of a sudden the room became too hot, her skin too warm. The robe she wore was oppressive, her hands fell to the sash around her waist, fingers clawing and loosening the knot.
“We have to talk.” She almost laughed at the lack of persuasion in her voice. It didn’t help that she wore nothing beneath the robe that she shrugged off her shoulders. The soft material drifted to her feet. At least she had the good sense to say, “Promise me. We talk now, sex later.”
Beneath half-lowered eyelids he mimicked her. “Talk now. Sex later. Got it.”
His cock arced hard and ready against his solid abdomen. The impressive length and girth made her mouth water to taste but she had to stay focused.
Marc climbed up on the king-size bed. Fluffing the pillows, he leaned against them and the intricately carved headboard. Spreading his legs wide, he patted the space between his thighs. “Come here.”
On her hands and knees she crawled across the bed, stopping before him. “Talk,” she said weakly, when what she really wanted to do was drop to her belly and take him into her mouth.
“Talk.” He made a circle with his index finger. “Turn around.” When she did as he requested, he pulled her up against him. His large palms began to massage her tight shoulders. “So, what is it I need to know?”
“You mean other than you make me horny?” She giggled nervously, shifting her thoughts to his large hands doing amazing things to the tension buried within.
“Mmmm. I like my woman horny. You’re so tense. Relax, baby.” He found a particularly hard area at the base of her head and began to rub it with his thumbs.
Inhaling, she attempted to relax and forget about how good his hands felt on her skin. “I was born Regina Lynn Easton. My siblings refer to me as Gina. Doug—I mean my ex-agent—suggested I drop the ‘n’, changing my name to Gia for publicity reasons.”
“Gina.” He paused. “I like that better.” His fingertips found another hitch in her muscles, this time in the side of her neck.
“Mmmm. That feels good.” She tilted her head, closing her eyes as she continued. “My mother’s and father’s names are Elaine and Paul. I have two older brothers.” She flinched with a sudden spark of pain that quickly turned to pleasure. “Oh yeah, right there.” His fingers hurt so good. “Scott is the eldest and then Parker. I also have a younger sister, Becka. All three are married. Only Scott and Parker have children. One each, both girls.” Gia shared with him Sylvia’s and Shelley’s ages, then she went into a little more detail about her siblings’ spouses, Carrie, Faith and Victor, respectively. “Perfect couples. Perfect marriages. I’m the black sheep of the family, according to Aunt Clare.”
“I doubt that. You are a strong, intelligent woman. It’s because of your strength and intellect that you have avoided making the wrong commitments.”
She glanced over her shoulder. “Do you really see me like that?”
“I do. You’re more than a pretty façade, Gina. People only need to really ‘see’ you to realize there is more to you then what meets the eye. Look what you’ve done on your own—who you’ve become.”
Gina? She liked hearing her given name upon his lips. But the most important element of what he had just said was that he saw her as a person. She faced forward again. One who had a brain and knew how to use it. He had been the first to see her, other than her family. Her thoughts went back to the immediate question at hand. How to fool her family?
Marc smoothed his palms up her rib cage, his hands cupping her breasts. With a featherlight touch, he began to massage them.
Again, she looked over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Distracting you.” He rubbed his thumbs over her nipples and they hardened beneath his touch. “You’re getting tense again.”
She couldn’t help it. Going home was a mixed bag of emotions. Oregon was home. It was where she had grown up. She loved her family—needed them. But they hated the fact that she lived in Hollywood. They thought her career was a source of her unhappiness, but her discontentment had started way before her career had been established. Her failed relationships with both men and women had always been the crux behind her sorrow. Of course now her unsuccessful relationships hit the media faster than she could call her folks with details. The lies were the worst.
Hey wait. The truth sucked too.
“Stop it,” he grumbled.
“Stop what?”
“Biting your bottom lip and thinking too hard.” He slid a thumb across her abused lip. “It will be fine. I’ll make it all right.” Something in his tone made her believe he could do just that. He dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder.
“Fine.” She inhaled a weighted breath. “We need to come up with a plausible life story for you.”
“I’ve got one,” he said, matter-of-factly.
Leaning on a hip, she met his gaze. “You’ve got one?”
“All of the models are programmed to have a past, as well as a present. How else would they—we—fool the public?”
“That makes sense.” Spinning around, Gia came face-to-face with him. “So, Marc Charleston, tell me about yourself.” She crossed her legs Indian-style, giving him an eyeful of all that pink delicious flesh between her thighs. Gaze narrowing in on her, he reached for her, but she slapped his hands. “Focus.” The temptress flashed him a coy grin.
“Okay. Let’s see.” He pondered what he would say. Guess there was nothing better than the truth. “Born and raised in Niagara Falls, New York, I graduated Harvard with a science degree and moved to California to work for the Institute of Robotics. Both my mother and father have passed due to an accident. They were both scientists working on a spaceship bound for the moon when it exploded.”
For a moment, a case of nerves silenced him. What if she recalled the accident? Maybe the truth wasn’t such a good idea. It was obvious that Gia still believed she was talking to an android and not a man who had both his parents ripped from his arms at an early age.
“I was sixteen. My two older brothers raised me. The three of us are still close.” If not for them, Marc would probably not have attended college. It was his brothers’ love of science that helped him get past the loss of their parents. Marc owed his siblings everything.
“Sam and Elliot are both electrical engineers. Sam and Chelsea have two sons, Nathan is twelve and Brandon is thirteen. They are responsible for the gray streaks in my brother’s dark hair.” He laughed before he could stop himself. Clearing his throat, he continued. “Elliot and Cathy can’t have children. Both my brothers reside in Boston. We get together on Thanksgiving and Christmas. I try to visit them at least two more times throughout the year.”
Gia leaned forward as if she were taking in everything he said.
“I’ve never been married, focusing more on my career, until lately.” He ran his fingers through her silky hair, bringing the strands to his nose. She used something fruity, exotic on her hair. Visions of the ocean and swaying palm trees, their naked bodies lying on the sand, brushed his mind. “S-something has been missing from my life,” he admitted before he knew it. Her sculpted lips beckoned to him and he pushed to his knees, taking her face in his hands. “I want someone in my life. A wife. Children.” Dipping his head, he captured her mouth.
Someone like you.
“Niagara Falls,” she whispered against his lips. “I’ve never been there before.”
Showering small kisses across her face, he muttered, “The economy has taken its toll on the city, but it is still beautiful and one of the United States’ top ten tourist destinations and, of course, the honeymoon capital of the world, besides the moon.”
She eased back, sitting on her calves. “Don’t mention that last detail to Aunt Clar
e.”
“Moon?”
“No. Honeymoon capital.”
He hauled her back into his arms. “I won’t.” Her warm body pressed to his felt so soft and pliant. His cock stirred against her mound. He kissed the tip of her nose. “My brothers are protective over me, but they would love you.”
“I’d enjoy meeting them someday.” Once again, color rose in her face. Gia pressed her palms against his chest and gave a little push. Frustration ran across her face. “I can’t believe I said that. It’s a good story, Marc. Believable.” Her chest heaved. “Now, where and how did we meet?”
“M.A.C. You were looking for a sex toy and I was available.”
With a shove, she pushed him back upon the bed. Laughter spilled from his mouth. He tried to grab her wrist but she was crawling away from him too fast.
“That’s not funny,” she whined.
“But true.”
The grin she attempted to hide burst free. “Yes. But we can’t tell my parents that.”
“So, what will be the sleeping arrangements at your parents’ home?” Marc didn’t want to spend a minute separated from her and the thought of tiptoeing to her bedroom sounded a little juvenile, but he’d do it if he had to.
“Mom and Dad are open-minded.” Gina crawled out of the bed to stand next to it. “Besides, I’ve got to keep an eye on you. I wouldn’t want any of my cousins picking up on my boy toy.”
“Boy toy?” Was that how she really thought of him, even after all that had passed between them? The blow to his ego was difficult to take, but he had to remember she thought of him as an inanimate object, something to pleasure her and help her get through this weekend, not the man he was. He climbed to his feet to stand about three feet away from her.
As she walked toward him, the heat of her body called to him. He met her halfway. Tipping her chin, she stared up at him, her mouth pulled into a thin line. Her forehead furrowed. “I envy my brothers and sister and their spouses.” Her blue eyes turned misty as she breathed a heavy sigh. “They laugh together. Share their hopes, dreams. Children. A home. Things that seem so far out of my reach.” Her shoulders sagged. “Sometimes I wish—”
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