The CEO's Seduction (A Hamilton Family Series)

by Diane Alberts

  Reaching lower, he slid her underwear down her legs. When she lay bare to him, he ran a finger down her center, lightly teasing her and memorizing how soft her skin was underneath his. He tore his mouth free from hers, nibbling a path down the side of her neck. When he reached the spot where her neck met the shoulder, he bit down hard enough to cause a sting, but not mark her. Her nails dug into his back so hard it hurt, and she moaned, wrapping her legs around him. He’d been with quite a few women over the years, done these same exact things with faceless, meaningless women.

  But it had never felt like this.

  Reaching between their bodies, she caressed his abs directly over the waistband of his pants and arched her hips up against his. If she continued moving like that, this would be over too fast. If she didn’t let go of him, nothing would stop him from plunging inside her before she was screaming his name.

  “No,” he commanded, grabbing both her hands and securing them over her head with one of his. “No touching yet. And no legs.”

  She immediately unwrapped her legs from around his waist. “But—”

  “I said—” He reached under her thigh and smacked her ass just hard enough to sting a little. “No.”

  A moan was wrangled out of her, her nostrils flared, and her cheeks flushed. She looked up at him with hot, blazing eyes. “Oh my God. Do it again.”

  “Not yet.” He clenched his teeth at the rush of lust that came crashing over him at her reaction. Running his hand over her inner thigh, he crept closer to her core, but then moved away before he touched her. “I’m in charge here, because if I’m not, you’ll break me before I’m ready. And I have to break you first, Anna.”

  He caressed her ass in the same spot where he had slapped her and gave it a gentle love tap. Her eyes widened and she arched her back. She curled her hands into fists and writhed beneath him, begging without words for his touch. Shit.

  “No touching,” he commanded, his voice harsh even to his own ears. “I’m letting go, but don’t move your arms.”

  He released her hands, running his fingers down the length of her arms and over her breasts. When his fingers neared her hard nipples, she drew in a shaky breath and held it. Slowly, he traced the circle, his finger lightly brushing against her nipple. She released her breath on a sigh, arching into his touch.

  Her nails dug into the mattress. “More. I need more.”

  And just like that, the pleasure of memorizing every detail of her reactions gave way to the even stronger need to conquer her. To claim her as his. He closed his mouth around her taut peak, sucking her in deep. His other hand slid over to her ignored breast, and she fit into his palm as if she were made for him.

  She moaned and slid her hands over his back, stopping at the waist of his pajama pants again. Tugging insistently, she yanked them over his hips and down his legs. When they hooked on his knees, he let out a soft curse and rolled to his feet. Stepping out of his only remaining clothing, he hesitated to meet her eyes. All his teenaged years, he’d been the skinny, smelly geek no one would look twice at. He had spent his adult life making up for that humiliation in the gym with a personal trainer. Though he knew he was no longer that lanky kid, Anna had known him back then. Anna had seen him at his worst.

  And yet she still wanted him.

  He lifted his chin and met her stormy eyes. They fairly glowed with desire, and she lifted up on her elbows. “Holy crap, Brett. Just…wow.”

  She opened her arms to him, and the wall around his heart cracked a little more. Such warmth, and complete acceptance. What had he done to deserve this?

  And what did he have to do to make her stay?

  Swallowing hard, he slid into her arms and closed his mouth over hers. Kissing her deeply, he tried to convey all the things he felt for her in the way he kissed her. The play of his tongue. The movement of his lips.

  All the things he wished he could say, he put into that kiss.

  Everything he’d never say.

  She whimpered and slid her hands over his ass, digging her nails into the tender skin there with a desperation that he could taste. Rolling her hips against him, she opened her legs and closed them around his waist. She was so close—close enough that only a single thrust would give him what he wanted. It would be so easy to bury himself inside her. To finally feel her muscles clenching his cock as he fucked her.

  But she wasn’t ready.

  Not yet.

  It has to be perfect. She deserves perfect.

  He moved down her body as she moaned his name. Grinding his teeth at the sensation of her perfect breasts sliding over his chest, he reclaimed her nipple. After he scraped his teeth against it, he sucked the bud gently into his mouth.

  She cried out and gripped his ass, trying to pull him closer to her. His stomach twisted and turned, and everything inside him screamed at him to hurry up. To make her his. He broke free of her hold and gave a love bite to the middle of her stomach, then kissed it to make the sting go away. He repeated the gesture an inch lower, and even lower still, until he reached her soft blonde curls at the juncture of her thighs.

  Until he…

  Found goddamned heaven.

  He drew in a deep breath, desire making his stomach tighten and his cock grow more and more uncomfortable. Her scent intoxicated him, turned him on more than he ever thought possible. He flicked his tongue against her, growling deep in his throat when her whole body jerked in response. He needed to have more of her.

  More everything.

  He moved his tongue over her again. She let out a whimper and buried her hands in his hair, tugging hard enough to hurt. Her whole body quivered, and her legs tightened on either side of his head. He grabbed on to her sweet ass, lifting her higher.

  “Brett,” she moaned, tossing her head back and forth. “More.”

  She read his mind.

  Her hands clung to his hair, and she rolled her hips against him. He slid a finger inside her, crooking it just right. She whimpered and rocked her hips, seeking the release they both knew he could give her, so he thrust two fingers inside her, hitting the spot that would send her hurtling over the precipice.

  “Brett!” she cried out, her body convulsing around his fingers.

  Fuck, but he liked the sound of his name on her lips as she came.

  Dropping her weight back down to the bed, he positioned himself at her entry…and froze. Condom. He didn’t have a fucking condom.

  Why would he?

  He hadn’t come here expecting to get laid.

  “I don’t have anything,” he said, his whole body tense with the knowledge that this wouldn’t happen. Shaking, he started to withdraw from her legs. “We can’t do this.”

  She grabbed his hips and met his eyes. “I’m on the pill. And I’m clean. I haven’t…I’ve never done this without protection before. Have you?”

  “I haven’t, either. Ever.” He gritted his teeth, his gaze locked on hers. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Now.”

  Leaning down, he pressed his lips to hers. Slowly, with reverence, he slid inside her warmth. Her arms and legs closed around him, pulling him tight against her. And then? He realized there was nowhere else he wanted to be but here. With her.

  He’d been foolish to fight it for as long as he had.

  She was his.

  Chapter Ten

  Anna clung to Brett, her mind reeling and her body willingly at his beck and call. She couldn’t believe after years of dreaming and wanting…this was actually happening.

  He withdrew, and then moved inside her again.

  Deeper.

  God.

  Her heart quickened, and she wrapped her legs around him, never wanting to let go. To leave this moment, in his arms, in his bed. She needed to feel every inch of him moving on her. Around her. In her. Growling sexily, he sped up the tempo and reached between their bodies.

  When he pressed a thumb against her wet flesh, holding it there without moving, her whole body tightened as if every
single nerve were lit on fire for him with that one simple touch. It was the perfect amount of pressure to send her spiraling down over the edge again. And she had a feeling she’d never come back up.

  “Brett,” she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut and gasping for air.

  “Come again for me.” His breath on her ear only brought her impossibly closer to the edge. “I need to feel you tighten around me again, Anna. My Anna.”

  Her heart seized at the way he said that.

  He captured her lips again, his tongue thrusting inside her mouth in tune with his body. She tore free of his kiss and bit down hard on his shoulder, trying to stifle the cries erupting from her, but she couldn’t stop them altogether. And then, with earth-shattering clarity, she burst into millions of pieces, and the world ceased to exist.

  Through the fog of pleasure, he cried out her name and thrust one last time, claiming her so thoroughly she knew he would never fully be gone. She’d always had him there, in the back of her mind, but now he’d never leave.

  She’d never be without him again.

  This might be nothing more than a moment of weakness to him; for her it was both an end and a beginning. It marked the end of their time together, for he would more than likely withdraw from her as soon as he came back down to earth, and the beginning of a long, lonely life knowing how good they could have been together.

  No other man would ever be able to take his place after tonight.

  He lifted his weight on his elbows. Tenderly, he brushed her hair back off her cheek. His eyes glowed with what could only be described as happiness, and he smiled down at her. “Maybe I shouldn’t have fought so hard to keep my distance after all.”

  Well…he didn’t look as if he were seconds from running away.

  Maybe, just maaaybe…no.

  She couldn’t let herself go there. Couldn’t let herself hope for something that would never happen. She’d asked for a night, and he’d given her one to remember, so she wouldn’t ruin that by asking for more. “I’m so glad we had a chance to connect this way. It was…it was everything I dreamed of, and more.”

  He blinked down at her, his brow furrowed. “You make it sound like you’re saying good-bye.”

  “I…” She pursed her lips. She hadn’t expected him to want her to stay. Maybe she misread him after all. Maybe he wouldn’t push her away. Her heart sped up at the thought and she shrugged—as well as she could with Brett on top of her, anyway. “I thought you’d want me to leave right after…?”

  He gave her a soft kiss. “You thought wrong. We have all night. What’s the rush?”

  Right. All night. “Okay.”

  That was an impressive word right there.

  Okay.

  He withdrew from her body and agilely jumped down off the high bed to his feet, and she scooted up into a sitting position to hug her knees. She couldn’t believe how much he had changed over the years. When she first saw him standing on the doorstep, she could see that he obviously took good care of his body and worked out.

  But every muscle on his body stood out in definition, making her want to start back where they had begun, before she found out just how wonderful his skin felt pressed against hers. Bending down, he picked up his fallen glasses and slipped them onto his nose. She’d always loved him in his glasses.

  They suited him.

  Everything suited him.

  Some small part of her wished she could hate him for that, but she couldn’t. She’d tried a few times, every time he refused to see her when she visited his office. “You must live at the gym to maintain those killer abs.” She thought of her own un-toned stomach. It was flat, but it didn’t look like she could wash laundry on it like his did. “I don’t know whether to be jealous or whether to thank God for such miracles on earth.”

  He shrugged. “I just wanted to get rid of the scrawny kid I was.”

  “I liked you ‘scrawny,’” she said softly. “But I like you now, too.”

  “I know.” He shifted on his feet. “And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why.”

  She canted her head. “Because you’re you. You make me laugh and don’t treat me like I can’t think for myself. You bring out a side of me I like. And more importantly, you’re the most caring, kind man I’ve ever met.”

  “Right. Me. Kind.” He laughed uneasily and looked at the floor. Did anyone ever say anything nice to him? “Last week, I acquired a company that had been in the McAllister family for over two hundred years. I gave them a good deal, but I still closed it down without blinking an eye. Is that kind?”

  “That’s business.”

  “Yeah.” Eyeing her rumpled nightgown, he lifted it up with his finger, a smirk tipping the corners of his mouth up. “I like this. You need more of these in the future. They’re hot.”

  Way to change the subject, Brett.

  She forced a smile, but it fell flat. They both knew there was no future with them in it together. “I’ll remember to buy some more.”

  “Good.” He sat down next to her, her nightie forgotten and balled up in his hands. He ran a finger down her cheek tenderly, and in a direct contradiction, the softness in his eyes disappeared. His hand fell to his lap, and he clung to her clothing as if it were a flotation device and he was stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. “Are you okay? You’re not…regretting this already, are you? If you want to go, you can.”

  “No! Of course not.”

  He pressed his lips tight. “It’s okay. You can tell me the truth.”

  “The truth is…” She crawled into his lap. Her gown fell to the floor forgotten. He buried his hands in her hair and held her tight against his chest. She blinked back tears at the gesture. He acted as if…as if he needed her. As if she mattered. “The truth is I’m happy right here. With you. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  He took a deep breath and then tapped her nose in a lighthearted manner. “Good. Because I think we need to eat the cookies you brought. And I believe you mentioned something about wine coolers?”

  She chuckled and eyed the broken pieces of chocolate chip cookies that littered the carpet. They must’ve knocked them down at some point in their lovemaking. “Uh, I think I’ll pass on the snack.”

  He pouted. Only he could look so freaking masculine while literally pouting like a child. “But you promised me cookies.”

  “I know.” She patted his chest. “At least this time there’s no blood on them. Just carpet dust…and who knows what else.”

  He eyed the cookies. “I guess it’s been longer than five seconds?”

  “I’m afraid so.” She hopped off his lap and picked up her nightgown. Sliding it over her head, she bent down and grabbed her robe. His fingers slid up her nightgown and inside her thighs. She slapped his hand away playfully. “If you want more cookies, you’ll stop right there. We’re going to go get more cookies first.”

  Brett stood up and retrieved his pants, his brows lowering. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  He didn’t want to be seen with her.

  She tried not to let that hurt her.

  “Sure, why not?” She shrugged and slid her arms into her robe, avoiding his eyes. “I can go alone if you’d feel better.”

  He shook his head. “We’ll just be quiet so no one hears us.”

  She snorted. “I’m not the one who stomps into bedrooms in the middle of the night and thinks he’s as quiet as a mouse.”

  He chuckled and picked up the wine coolers. When she raised her brows in question, he said, “I figured we could go into your room when we get back upstairs. It has a lock. Mine doesn’t.”

  “Okay. Come on.”

  Opening the door, he peeked into the hallway. The absurdness of their sneaking around like misbehaving teenagers struck her as ironic, but she held silent. He made a quick stop in her bedroom to deposit the drinks inside, then came out with a triumphant smile. He slid his hand into hers, entwining their fingers, and led her down the hallway, hiding her from anyon
e who might look their way. As they tiptoed down the stairs, through the dining room, and into the kitchen, he didn’t drop her hand.

  After what they’d just done, it shouldn’t have thrilled her so much. But this somehow felt more intimate than sex. As if he held on to her because he didn’t want to let her go. She liked the thought, even though she knew that’s all it was.

  A silly thought.

  As they entered the kitchen, he stole a quick look at her, his face serious. Dropping her hand, he stopped at the counter and grabbed a plate out of the cabinet. When he reached up high, the muscles in his back flexed.

  Her finger twitched with the desire to touch him again.

  Over his shoulder, he said, “Maybe this time we’ll actually get to eat them. Third time’s the charm, right?”

  She forced herself to stop gaping at him like a fool, and rubbed her forearms. “As long as we don’t knock them off the bed again, we should be fine.”

  “Hmm.” He set down the plate and filled it up. When he turned around, his gaze raked over her, leaving trails of fire in its wake and making her feel as if she wore nothing at all. “We’ll do our best, but I’m not making any promises.”

  She took a step closer to him, unable to resist.

  Reaching up, she curled her hands around his shoulders and rose up on tiptoe. Gently, she brushed her lips across his, kissing him with all of the love inside her that she couldn’t show him. By the time she pulled away, he looked down at her with a mixture of uncertainty and desire in his eyes.

  His hands lingered on her hips, and he lifted her up onto the counter. Stepping in between her legs, he nuzzled her neck. “If we were in this house alone, I’d go down on you right here…right now.”

  She let her head drop back, allowing him access. “I dare you.”

  “Dare?” He laughed lightly, his hands splayed on her thighs. “You know I don’t back down from dares.”

  She let her lids drift closed. “Prove it.”

  “Brat,” he muttered. He let go of her after a deep, shuddering breath, stepping out of the crook of her legs. “I can’t. I’m too selfish. I can’t risk someone coming along and seeing what’s mine. Because make no mistake, you’re mine now, Anna.”