His Last Chance at Redemption

by Michelle Conder

  He didn’t respond immediately and she was momentarily struck with the horrible sense that maybe he had been trying to let her down gently.

  Like a helpless mouse that had backed itself into a corner, Lexi’s stomach pitched and then he held out his hand.

  ‘Come here.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  LEXI noted the way his chest moved in time with his deep even breaths and that the skin on his face seemed to be pulled tight. His eyes tracked over her with such sexual purpose there was no mistaking his intention and her arousal returned on a rush of liquid heat.

  He wanted her and she wanted him and nothing else seemed to matter right now.

  As if in a dream state, she moved towards him.

  When she reached him he widened his legs and drew her closer between his thighs, his large hands light as they enveloped her waist.

  Then he breathed deeply and rested his forehead on her chest.

  Lexi could feel the warmth of his breath through the thin fabric of her dress and gave in to the urge to stroke her fingers through his short hair. The strands felt crisp and soft at the same time. Her fingers flexed and clung and she wondered if the hair on his chest would feel the same way.

  He raised his head and her hands stilled at the intensity of the desire she could see banked behind his eyes.

  ‘Do you know how beautiful you are?’

  No, but he made her feel beautiful. Lexi felt a shiver race through her whole body and she knew he felt it because his fingers tightened around her waist. And thank God they did because her bones melted and her legs nearly gave out.

  Her hands moved of their own accord down the side of his face and cupped his square jaw, her fingertips scraping over the stubble on his face. ‘I imagined this would be hard,’ she murmured. ‘But it’s soft.’

  She saw him take a deep breath. One of the hands at her waist rose to the nape of her neck as he gently guided her face down to his. ‘I want you,’ he said gruffly and another spasm of need weakened her knees even more and brought her closer to the heat of his big body.

  She wanted him too. She couldn’t deny it. Couldn’t even remember why she should. Nothing seemed to matter except this man and this moment and then his lips finally touched hers and her brain closed down completely.

  Leo’s mouth already knew the shape and texture of her sweet mouth but still, kissing her now, was like the first time and his groin jerked with pleasure as her mouth opened over his. He tried to be gentle, but he was already hard and aching with desire for her. His tongue circling inside her mouth as he tasted her. Hers following his lead and tasting him right back.

  He smoothed his hands up over her naked back and then he wrapped them around her and stood up, taking her with him.

  She gasped and wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her inside and he felt like a warrior who had just won a great prize.

  He set her down beside his bed and stood her before him as he sat on the edge of it. His eyes drifted over her gorgeous body and, wanting to see all of her at once, he gripped the silky fabric covering her breasts and would have ripped the dress in two if she hadn’t put her hands over his to stop him. ‘I love this dress.’

  He smiled into her passion-drugged eyes. ‘I don’t have time for zips. And I promise I’ll buy twenty more for you to replace it.’ Then he ripped it—straight down the middle.

  Her breath hitched in her throat and her hands immediately came up to cover her breasts.

  Leo felt her shocked hesitation and glanced into her eyes. ‘What is it, angel?’

  Her mouth pulled down at the corners. ‘I’m afraid I’m not what you’re used to.’

  She was self-conscious! The realisation floored him and reminded him of her hesitation on the upstairs deck. Uncertainty wasn’t what he had expected from this woman who was verbally able to go toe to toe with him when no other woman had ever tried before.

  Leo ran a finger along the defined bones of her clavicle and felt something reverent pass through him. He couldn’t remember ever wanting a woman as much as he wanted Lexi Somers and his body was vibrating with the tension of holding himself in check.

  He leaned back slowly so that he could take his fill of her. She stood before him like an elegant courtesan—her petite frame ghosted in the faint light from his bedside lamps, her hands covering her small, perfect breasts, her hair still up, but slightly messy, and a delicate lace bikini brief that rode low on her hips.

  He breathed deeply and smoothed his hand up her neck and over the smooth skin of her jaw. ‘You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen,’ he said huskily, realising how true that was, his hands not quite steady as he tunnelled them into her hair to hold her still to receive his deep kiss. His fingers met resistance and he tore his mouth from hers and started pulling hair pins from her hair. Within seconds his hands were filled with small brown pieces of looped metal and he leaned back and stared up at her. ‘Remind me to take out shares in carbon steel the next time you shop for hair products.’

  She laughed, a soft, sultry sound that curled inside him. ‘My hair isn’t that easy to work with,’ she said, slowly raising her arms to loosen it so that it fell past her shoulders like a dark cloud.

  Leo meant to dump the small pins on the bedside table beside her but, with her arms raised above her head and her body almost naked before him, he quite forgot to breathe, the pins falling to the carpet.

  He reached out and measured the span of her waist with both hands. Then he smiled. ‘So small, so feminine.’ He leaned forward and planted open-mouth kisses on the outside of each rounded breast. Her body quivered and waited as he slowly made his way closer and closer to the tight pink buds that awaited his lips. She moaned softly and he felt her nails bite into his shoulders as she shifted slightly so that his mouth skated across her nipple. He blew gently and her hands moved to cradle his skull to guide him to her.

  ‘Please, Leo,’ she begged, arching closer.

  ‘Please what?’ he whispered against her. ‘Please this?’ He laved her nipple with the tip of his tongue and when she whimpered and sagged against him he held her up easily and suckled her more fully into his mouth. Her fingernails dug into his shoulder blades and gave him a heady feeling that made his erection throb.

  ‘Take off my shirt,’ he growled against her flesh, tearing the buttons as he helped her get it off him so that she could touch him in return.

  His nostrils flared as her hands found his chest and her hungry caresses sent his self-control skittering into the ether.

  She almost sobbed with pleasure as he tortured each breast in turn and he felt a primitive thrill at the feel of her pressing into him. She was every bit as responsive as he had imagined she would be and she was his. All his.

  She made a moue of protest as he released her nipple. ‘It only gets better from here, angel,’ he promised throatily, not exactly gentle as he wrapped one arm around her waist and, bringing his mouth to hers, turned her and deposited her on the middle of the bed. He moved her legs apart with his knee, his aching body looming over hers as he continued to ravage her mouth.

  He kept his weight on his arms as her hands swept over his biceps, his shoulders, and down the hard planes of his chest, setting him on fire wherever she touched him.

  ‘Leo, it’s too much.’ Her lower body writhed against his knee and he could no longer wait to test the wet heat of her arousal. He trailed his hand down her flat belly and skimmed across the top of her panties, a rough sound escaping his throat as he palmed her and found her damp. Her hips came up off the bed and he released her breast to tug her panties off. He sat back on his haunches and gazed down at her femininity. Her splayed thighs, moist breasts and dark hair that was wild against the cream bedspread.

  He settled his hand against her abdomen as he’d imagined doing many times before and moved one of her legs further apart.

  ‘You’re not naked yet,’ she murmured and he could hear the embarrassment in her voice.

  His eyes met h
ers. ‘If I get naked I’ll climb inside you and I want to make it last.’ His thumbs pressed gently against the soft skin of her inner thighs.

  ‘Leo …’ His name was more a groan than a word. ‘Come back up here.’

  He glanced up at her. ‘You don’t like what I’m about to do?’

  Her chest rose unsteadily as she drew in a deep breath. ‘I don’t know,’ she muttered, shielding her eyes with her arm.

  He paused. No man had done this for her? He felt a primitive thrill race through him at the thought of introducing her to such intimate pleasure.

  ‘Look at me,’ he commanded roughly, waiting for her to move her arm and then watching her face as he trailed a finger lightly through her silky moist curls, barely restraining himself as he gently parted her. Her breath hitched and his heart beat erratically.

  ‘Beautiful,’ he whispered, sliding a finger inside her. He had imagined her like this from the moment he’d laid eyes on her and the reality far outweighed his fantasy. He watched the way her eyes widened and her mouth went lax as he drove her higher and higher towards her climax. He was completely wild for her but, more than that, he wanted to watch her come. Wanted to taste her while she did. He’d never experienced such an intense desire to give a woman pleasure.

  He watched her eyes open even wider as he lowered his head towards her body, his brain closing down as he slid his hands beneath her buttocks and raised her to his mouth for the first time.

  Lexi’s fingers tangled in Leo’s short hair and she nearly screamed as she felt his tongue and his lips doing the most delicious things to her body. Brandon had never touched her like this and the pleasure was beyond her realm of comprehension. Her body felt as if it were a puppet moving closer and closer to something just outside of her reach. Then she heard Leo’s voice from far away telling her to relax and when she did, she screamed, her body shattering into a million tiny pieces and emotions she’d never experienced spiralled through her.

  For all she knew she could have lost hours as her body continued to shoot jolts of pleasure through her system and a satisfied smile curved her lips as she felt Leo rise up over her in a purely dominating posture.

  ‘There were stars,’ she murmured dazedly, her arms looping lethargically around his neck. ‘And I don’t think I’ll ever move again.’

  ‘Good. Because you’re exactly where you need to be. And this time I might throw in the moon as well.’ Leo’s accent was rougher than ever.

  ‘Promises, promises,’ she teased, lying still as she felt him sheath himself with a condom.

  Leo laughed and planted his palms either side of her face to protect her from his full weight and she could feel his hair-roughened thighs lying solidly between her own.

  She felt the hard length of him probe her entrance and his biceps shook as he held himself in check. ‘Open wider angel, and let me in.’ She did as he commanded and his control seemed to give out because he surged into her in one powerful thrust of his hips.

  Lexi gasped and tensed as her body felt stretched like never before.

  Leo stilled and dragged his lips from hers, his hands cradling her face. ‘Lexi, are you okay?’

  She sucked in a breath and nodded, her fingernails easing out of the dents she’d made in his hips.

  ‘You’re so tight, moya milaya. Just relax for me and we’ll fit together perfectly.’

  His words made Lexi’s pelvis soften even more and when he felt her muscles release he sank all the way inside her. He held still for another moment but Lexi’s body had already adjusted and he was hitting a spot that sent gushes of pleasure cascading through her lower body. She raised one of her legs up over his hips and felt him smile against her mouth.

  ‘That’s better.’ His mouth left a moist trail over her jawline and Lexi’s body arched under his as he began to move inside her in a masterful rhythm. ‘Now come for me again, angel, while I’m inside you,’ he ordered in a voice that sounded as unsteady as she felt. Lexi couldn’t resist the build-up of pleasure any more than the tide could resist the pull of the moon. She couldn’t think as her body shattered once more in an even deeper climax. Her body clamped down around his and drew a sound from his throat that was almost subhuman as he surged forward twice more before finding his own release.

  Leo woke, slightly disoriented, and shifted under the weight of the warm, naked female who had wound herself around him like tinsel on a Christmas tree, one leg thrown over his thighs, her head nestled in the crook of his arm, her small breasts flattened against his side and her slender fingers spread wide over his chest. He didn’t remember falling asleep but a glance at the faint grey dawn outside the windows told him he must have. The yacht was still moving so he knew they hadn’t yet reached Athens.

  He gently flexed his stiff shoulder muscles and Lexi adjusted herself like a contented cat, snuggling in closer and sighing in her sleep.

  His fist clenched at the sound and he had the instant urge to break free from her hold and run for his life. He wasn’t used to sleeping next to someone, that was the problem. It had nothing to do with the deep sense of well-being enveloping him in a warm, peaceful cocoon. A concept he hadn’t felt in … forever.

  It wasn’t that he had a lot of one-night stands; it was more that he liked his space. Needed his space. And he didn’t want any woman to get the wrong idea and start mentally rearranging his furniture.

  His fingers drifted through the silk of Lexi’s hair as he recalled in minute detail how he had taken that warm, tight body with his own. He felt his groin stir at the memory and knew that the smart thing to do would be to get out of bed and go for an early morning swim. Grab a coffee and start work.

  Some of his tension must have leached out of him because Lexi whimpered and caressed his shoulder with her smooth cheek. Leo’s hand immediately flexed against her hip and slid down around the soft curve of her lower back, his fingers stroking her soft skin. She must have liked it because the leg she had thrown over his thigh rubbed his and now he was fully erect and, instead of following his saner instincts and climbing out of bed, he found himself shifting again and urging her small, compact body to lie over his. Her thighs automatically splayed to accommodate his hardness while his two hands caressed her curvaceous bottom.

  He shouldn’t be doing this.

  Taking advantage of her while she slept. He might have stopped but then she widened her thighs even more and whispered, ‘Don’t stop,’ into his ear. Leo turned his head and caught her mouth with his in a kiss that went from soft to carnal faster than his Maserati hit a hundred clicks. She pushed up sleepily, her hands on his shoulders, her mane of hair falling around her and resting just above her pert breasts, which had taken on a luminescent quality in the pre-dawn light. Leo groaned and reached for one at the same time as he delved into his side drawer for protection. She arched into his caress and lifted her lower body against his but he stayed her with a hand on her hip.

  ‘Wait,’ he whispered gruffly.

  He protected them both and nearly came on the spot as she reached down and guided him into her body.

  Her moan precipitated his own and he’d never felt such overpowering pleasure as he did at that moment. If he’d been at all capable of thinking he might have been concerned but she moved her hips experimentally against his and he pushed her hair back off her breasts and cupped her in his large hands, watching as she rode him into the sweetest orgasm of his life.

  While he was still coming down from a place he didn’t think he’d ever been before he stroked a lazy line up and down her spine.

  She made a low murmur of pleasure and slipped off him to snuggle into the crook of his arm again.

  ‘I’m all sweaty.’

  ‘You feel fantastic.’ He traced a finger over her hip and the gentle swell of her belly without really realising he was doing it. Then she shifted her top leg more comfortably over his and his heart caught.

  ‘You know, when I first saw you I thought you were heartless and unapproachable,’ she murmur
ed sleepily. ‘But that’s just what you want people to think, isn’t it?’

  No. He was heartless and unapproachable.

  Normally.

  Normally, when his brain was operating at one hundred per cent capacity. Normally, when he was with any other woman but her. He felt a frisson of unease slither through him as her fingers once again threaded through the hair on his chest.

  Now he should get her up. Send her back to her room. Give her every indication of how this situation was going to play out.

  Her breathing became choppy and he knew she’d sensed the subtle sense of dread that had overcome him.

  ‘Did I just ruin everything with my big mouth?’ She lifted her head, uncertainty threaded through her voice just as her fingers had been lightly threading through the hair on his chest before he’d ruined it.

  ‘No,’ he said gruffly. He moved a hand into her hair and gently urged her head back down onto his shoulder. ‘Sleep.’

  She let out a sigh that whispered across his skin like the sea breeze.

  Leave. He’d meant to say leave.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  LEXI woke the next morning and the first thing she registered was that she was smiling. The second, as she moved her legs and rolled over, was that her body felt different. Languid. Replete. Achy.

  Her eyes flew to the empty pillow beside her and then around the masculine bedroom. Empty, both. She breathed out and let the sense of happiness glide over her again.

  Leo. Last night.

  And then another emotion took hold. Panic. What had she done?

  She rolled back onto her stomach and groaned into the pillow. She’d come to his room last night because she’d been worried about his state of mind. She’d stayed because … because … he was just so male. So commanding. When he’d said, ‘Come here,’ in his rough, accented voice she had felt powerless to resist. Hadn’t wanted to resist. Some part of her knowing that to do so was pointless. This thing between them had been building since the moment she’d first walked into her office and seen him standing there like a modern day terminator, about to take her room apart if he didn’t get what he wanted.