by Anne Oliver
‘Thanks. So do you. Well, not lovely exactly,’ she babbled on. ‘More smart, savvy businessman.’
‘I’m not sure how smart and savvy this businessman’s going to be this evening.’ Flicking off the TV with the remote, he crossed to her, curled hard fingers around her upper arms. ‘I didn’t play it too damn smart back there in the bathroom.’ His olive-green eyes turned to unreadable slate and he dropped his hold as if he’d been stung.
Her cheeks burned, sparks shot through her bloodstream. Her body was already clamouring for an encore of his sexpertise and he regretted it?
Jared clamped his jaw shut. She looked like a fantasy in that nude-coloured dress and black shoes. And if he stood here a microsecond longer looking into those molten amber eyes and knowing he was responsible for putting the heat in them, he’d lose his tenuous hold on control and his smart savvy business reputation really would be a memory. Turning away, he strode to the door. ‘Let’s go.’
The deal was in the bag. Jared already knew. The groundwork had been done over the past month and tonight was more of a social event.
Sophie was the perfect PA and partner. She involved Trent’s wife Tania in girl talk, leaving him free to discuss plans and possibilities with Trent, but was eerily able to switch to business when he needed her to. She’d obviously swotted up on the information over the weekend because she was conversant and up-to-date with the project.
It had been a terminally long dinner, but Trent was meeting them tomorrow to show them over the property and sign off on the deal.
But then their hosts wanted to show them a little local hospitality and it was on to the newest supper club to listen to the latest jazz/blues trio over a cheese and wine nightcap.
It was torture sitting so close to Sophie that he could smell the soap she’d used—the soap he’d used, actually—and not being able to touch her the way he wanted to. Not as a boss but as something more. For the short time they had before she left he wanted to know Sophie better. A lot better.
A couple of times their thighs had bumped beneath the table and their eyes connected—a brief clash of heat—before she shifted position and resumed conversation. With Tania, with Trent. Not him. Since this was business, his business, there was nothing he could do about it now, and she knew it. She was driving him mad. Payback, no doubt, for the way he’d left the situation hanging on their way out this evening when he’d dropped her arms as if she had some terminal infectious disease.
He had a few ideas for payback himself.
It was nearly midnight before they said their goodnights to the clients. The journey back to their accommodation took less than five minutes. During that time Sophie went into PA mode with tomorrow’s plans. A meeting at ten to discuss a new project, a couple of client follow-ups, signing the deal with Trent…
He knew it backwards; he’d given her the instructions for the damn schedule in the first place.
He pressed the remote and the security door rolled up, rolled down as he drove through and parked undercover at the side of the house. He killed the engine. Unclicked his seat belt with unnecessary force. ‘That’s enough.’ She stopped speaking immediately. ‘Your PA duties are over for the evening.’
‘Okay.’ She chewed on her lip a moment, then turned to face him, disengaged her own seat belt.
He couldn’t read her eyes in the dimness. ‘Sophie. Honey.’ He caressed the side of her face. Noticed his fingers all but trembled. ‘You misunderstood me earlier when I said what happened in the bathroom wasn’t a smart move.’
She tilted her head to one side, as if to say ‘go on’.
He caught her face between his hands. ‘If I’d touched you again I’d’ve had you on the floor with that dress up around your ears before you could blink and we’d never have made it to dinner.’
She gave a tiny gasp and her fingers worked at the neckline of her dress.
He shook his head. ‘If that sounded crude, I apologise. You’ve been driving me to distraction all evening. All week. I’m going crazy. Do you know how hard it’s been all evening? Watching you and not being able to touch you?’
‘No. I can’t begin to imagine…’ a corner of her mouth kicked up, a smile that spread to her cheeks and twinkled into her eyes as she looked pointedly down at his swollen crotch ‘…how hard. But if you take me indoors maybe you can show me.’
He sat back and watched her gaze heat as she reached for his tie, slid it through her fingers. ‘And for the record I’d really, really like for you to have me on the floor. Dress around my ears and all. It’s a personal fantasy of mine.’
‘Be sure you know what you’re asking.’ His voice came out rough-edged, harsh in the car’s close confines as he ripped off his tie.
She shook her head. ‘I know exactly what.’
CHAPTER TEN
A QUIVER of excitement thrummed through Sophie as Jared gripped her upper arms and pulled her against him. His mouth crashed down on hers, demanding. His fingers plucked at her nipples through her dress, arousing. His breath was harsh and fast and hot against her cheek and she shivered in anticipation.
This wasn’t the charming, focused entrepreneur she’d spent the evening with. Nor was he the suave and skilled and generous lover who’d sent her into ecstasy in the shower earlier. That man had been a man in control.
This man was not and the knowledge that Sophie was the woman to bring out this wild, desperate side sang through her body like fine wine. Feminine power. She’d never experienced it, and it felt amazing. Her blood frizzled beneath her skin wherever he took those impatient hands and clever mouth.
Quick as a snap he had the zip in her dress shirring down her back. His mouth was hot and wet on her neck as he slipped the dress off her shoulders. ‘I want you…’
‘Yes…’ she breathed, quivering at the edge of desperation she heard in his voice.
Quick deft fingers plunged beneath the edge of her bra to tweak her already hard nipples into throbbing points of lust. He yanked the bra cups down. ‘I want you now.’ His urgency sent hot shivers down her spine.
Closing her eyes, she arched her aching breasts upwards. ‘Yes. Right now.’
And she would have let him take her right then, right there in the car with the squeak and smell of leather, the gearstick between them like some secondary phallus, but he was out of the car, opening her door, pulling her out.
He tugged her to the front of the car, somehow losing her dress on the way, and splayed her across the slippery smooth bonnet to feast on her semi-exposed breasts like some primeval starving animal.
The heat of the car’s engine warmed her back and buttocks, cool damp air caressed her décolletage. A hard thigh nudged her legs apart, one hand shot between them and up to find the edge of her panties.
And, oh, that first flick of his fingers over damp cotton… She sucked in a gasp as the small but electric sensation bolted to her core.
‘Sophie…’ It was a growl, as strong and dangerous as any predator, and she trembled, not with fear but with desire. Excitement. Anticipation.
One tug and his fingers twisted beneath her panties. He stroked her once, twice, then plunged inside. Her inner muscles quivered and clenched around his fingers.
Their gazes clashed. She stared in wonder, in awe. All trace of civilised gone, just primal aroused male. She could see it smoulder behind his night-darkened eyes, could feel it in the heat coming off his body in waves, could smell the musky scent of arousal on his skin.
And the long, hard and demanding ridge of masculinity against her thigh.
She wanted it inside her. She wanted him stretching her, invading her, filling her. Fulfilling her. Yanking the annoying clasp from her hair, she shook her hair free, aware of the feminine nature of her action and revelling in it. ‘Yes…now,’ she ordered, leaning back on her elbows, spreading her legs wider for him and rocking against his hand.
With a sharp, ripping sound her panties were gone, tossed away, leaving her fully exposed to Jared’s ho
t eyes. There was a stunned moment of stillness from both of them. Then the want, the impatience.
‘Now, now, now.’ The fevered chant beat through her blood, keeping time with her frantic pulse.
Jared’s fingers were so unsteady he could barely unzip his trousers. She didn’t want finesse, neither did he. He could have given her words—how alluring she looked in starlight with her hair tumbled over her shoulders, her eyes hot for him, her dusky nipples glistening from his mouth, but she didn’t want romantic words, neither did he.
Now, now, now.
The flames in his gut leapt higher at the husky sound of her ragged demand on the still evening air. She didn’t want slow, neither did he.
Sliding his hands beneath her arms, he reached behind her back, flicked the catch on her bra. She pulled it off and sent it sailing behind her with an abandon that surprised him almost as much as it seemed to surprise her. She might have tossed her stilettos the same way but he shook his head. ‘The shoes stay.’
He freed himself from his boxers while he muttered, ‘Protection.’
She stared into his eyes for a beat longer than he expected before she said, ‘Got it covered.’
Praise be to heaven for that.
No more waiting, no time to think. He plunged into her hot slippery sex in one swift glide. He knew it was only physical but the groan that erupted seemed to come from the very depths of his being.
Clamping her legs around his waist, she answered with a low keening sound of her own and latched onto his shoulders, her fingernails digging hard into his flesh. He relished the exquisite pain, returning the favour with lips and tongue and teeth on the delicate fragrant skin beneath her jaw.
She was the sweet new temptation of a spring morning, the sultry seductress of summer’s heat. And wherever he led, she kept pace with him. To places of hot, dark pleasures and whirling dervishes and erotic delights.
He told himself it was all need and greed and speed yet…for an infinitesimal hiatus, there was a lifetime in her eyes. But there was no time to puzzle it, less to wonder. He drove faster, harder, until he heard her cry out as she came, the wonder of it as he lost himself inside her.
For a long moment he rested his head on her breast, listening to her heart’s rapid pounding, his own heart beating in his ears while they both came down to earth. What had just happened here? Was this intensity normal? Surely it hadn’t been so long he’d forgotten what it was like?
‘You okay?’ he murmured, moving his lips over her skin. He looked into her eyes.
She blinked at him. ‘Mm-mm.’ It was a lazy, satisfied sound. ‘I reckon so.’
‘I think I can just about feel my legs again. What say we find somewhere a little more comfortable?’ Without waiting for an answer he carried her across the patio and inside.
He set her on her feet in front of the white leather couch and stared at her. With only the underwater lights from the pool beyond the window to lend them light, awe and…something more…filled him.
She was a picture of perfection. Her lips were ripe, full, thoroughly kissed, her eyes wide and soulful, her long bare legs, dainty feet crammed in the sexiest pair of shoes he’d ever seen. Who was this dishevelled Sophie with her hair a tangled dark halo, her nipples pinched in the cool air? ‘Are you cold?’
Sophie looked into his eyes and wondered who this woman was that she’d suddenly become. And how could she be cold bathed in all that stunning heat? She shook her head. ‘But there is a problem here.’
He frowned. ‘What?’
‘I’m the only one naked. Hardly seems fair.’
A slow smile touched his lips. ‘You’re probably right.’
Her gaze drifted down his dishevelled torso. His shirt was crushed, his trousers hung open and low on his hips. She reached for his top shirt button. ‘My turn, I think.’
She worked the rest of his buttons, then she was dragging the shirt aside so she could see if her dream lived up to the reality. To splay her hands over hard, bronzed skin sprinkled with dark hair. ‘So hot,’ she murmured, then leaned forward to press a kiss over his heart and feel the strong beat beneath her lips.
Still stroking his skin with its hard muscle beneath, she flicked her tongue around a tight male nipple. A tingle of salt, a whiff of masculine soap, the unique scent that was Jared. Sliding her hands over his shoulders, she eased the shirt off his arms. The immediate urgency over for the next few moments at least, she continued her journey of exploration in a leisurely, indulgent fashion.
Enjoying her newly discovered feminine power, she tugged the waistband lower and ordered, ‘Everything off. Now.’
‘Bossy little creature, aren’t you?’ he murmured, voice tinged with amusement.
When he’d obliged, she took a moment to admire the view. Gorgeous. Perfect. She had to touch. So many places. So many textures. He reigned over Michelangelo’s David any day… Venice, Rome.
Her joy in the moment slipped a little. Soon she’d be far from here and this would be a memory. And it could never be anything more with him. This afternoon with baby Arabella had confirmed she’d never be the woman for Jared.
Oh, but what if she could? Rather than meet his gaze, she pressed her lips to his chest. What if he didn’t care that she couldn’t have kids? What if he could love her for who she was and it would be enough?
Love? She yanked herself back. Whatever was she thinking?
‘Regrets?’
‘Oh, no.’ Now she met his eyes. ‘No. I was thinking, that’s all.’
‘Sad thoughts.’ He slid his arms around her and held her close. And his skin when it touched hers was like fire, intensely arousing yet quietly comforting at the same time.
‘I’ve seen that look in your eyes already today,’ he murmured, his words muffled against her hair.
‘No.’ She had to be more careful. Keep her guard up around him. She mustn’t let him see. It was all about good times for the next couple of weeks. She wouldn’t let herself think beyond that. ‘You imagine too much.’
And she kissed his chin and smiled into those perceptive eyes. Her fingers busied themselves lower down and she saw his gaze change from concern to arousal and felt him stir to life again in her hands. She blinked and ran a thumb over the silky tip. ‘Already?’
He grinned. ‘Just give me a few minutes.’
She wondered how long it had been since he’d been with a woman.
She let him tug her down onto the wide leather couch. They lay close in companionable silence for a moment, staring up at the underwater light from the pool reflecting on the ceiling. Somewhere across the water drifted the distant sound of wind chimes.
‘Tell me about him.’
She frowned in the darkness. Just when she thought he’d forgotten about it… ‘Who?’
‘The guy from your home town. The reason you left.’
‘How do you…?’ She trailed off. That first day on the way to Coolangatta she’d talked about a ‘change of scenery’ and avoided mentioning him because it was none of Jared’s business. But Jared was the kind of guy who made you want to share. ‘That would be my ex-husband.’
She felt him shift, felt his gaze on her. ‘You were married?’
She kept her eyes focused on the ceiling. ‘For five years.’
‘When?’
‘We split up five years ago.’
‘You must have been ridiculously young when you got married.’
The words hurt. And angered. ‘I was eighteen and maybe it seems ridiculous to you but I had my reasons. Don’t presume to know me, because you don’t.’ And just as ridiculous were the tears that stung the backs of her eyes.
He immediately rolled towards her, then up onto an elbow, and looked deep down into her eyes. Further. All the way to her scarred heart. ‘Hey…’ he said softly. ‘That’s me being an insensitive jerk. I had no right to say that and I apologise.’ He pressed a chaste warm kiss on her lips.
She stared up at him, seeing genuine concern. Because he was th
at kind of guy. He’d been blunt but he hadn’t meant to hurt her. He’d just touched a particularly sensitive nerve. ‘Apology accepted.’
He dipped his head so that his brow touched hers. ‘It’s just that I think of Lissa at eighteen. If she— Well.’ He blew out a slow breath.
‘Maybe you’re too protective,’ Sophie said carefully. ‘Big brothers are like that sometimes.’
‘What about your brother?’
‘No.’ She tried to remember the last time she’d seen him and couldn’t. ‘Corey’s one of the exceptions.’
‘So this man you married and divorced still puts clouds in your eyes. He still has the power to hurt you.’
‘No.’ She shook her head. ‘How can a man who means nothing to you hold that kind of power? He has another woman, a young son and another baby on the way. He’s happy. I’m happy,’ she finished, determined, as much to convince herself as to convince Jared. If Glen was unfaithful to his current wife, Sophie didn’t know about it. Didn’t care.
‘Do you want to tell me why you married him?’
‘Because I was ridiculously young?’ She gave a half-smile, forgiving Jared, and he reached for her nearest hand, twined his fingers with hers and somehow the story flowed like the river outside while she lay in his arms. She’d never shared her past. Only Pam knew her story, but sharing it with Jared felt natural, like lifting a burden off her shoulders. And it was almost as seductive as sex.
‘My parents drank a lot and fought more. Dad was in and out of work. Violence was the norm. Corey was out of there by the time he was sixteen. ‘But when I was sixteen Mum was involved in a major car accident and I stayed on to help. That lasted about eighteen months but eventually I couldn’t stand the arguments and the booze any longer.
‘I’d met Glen a few months earlier. He was ten years older than me and we were both working in hospitality. He seemed a good-natured guy and, looking back now, I guess I saw him as a substitute father.’ A safe haven. A way out. ‘One day we walked into a register office and just did it. When I informed my parents, they told me I was nothing but a disappointment, no better than my brother. Then they cracked open a cheap bottle of wine and began to drink themselves into their regular oblivion. I never saw them again.’