by A. C. Arthur
“Come on, the sun’s about to set. We don’t want to miss this view.”
The vehicle had stopped but she hadn’t noticed. Placing her hand in his she let him lead her out toward the end of the cliff they’d parked on.
The sky was now a fierce compilation of orange and gold, layers upon layers of intense color blending together to frame the sun’s magnificent descent. Sharp peaks of burnt-orange rock jutted upward giving rise to smooth centers and what looked to be a carefully sculpted masterpiece.
Jade was overwhelmed by nature’s performance. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered.
Linc, who had his arm securely around her waist, turned her to face him at that moment. “Yes. It is.”
Her throat constricted as his eyes focused solely on her. He had her in a full embrace now, her breasts pressed firmly against his chest.
“There is nothing else like it in the world,” he whispered, lowering his head dangerously close to hers. “You are perfect.”
She thought it was the altitude that stole her breath, but something told her it was simply the man. “Linc,” she whispered when his lips were so close she could almost taste him.
“Ask me, Jade. Ask me to kiss you.”
Oh, God, she wanted to. Every nerve in her body stood on end those moments he hovered close to her and she wanted nothing more than to pucker up and accept what he was so graciously offering. But that wouldn’t be enough. She needed much more than he was willing to give.
She turned away. “I can’t.” He still held her and that, too, was a mistake. She backed away from him.
“I’m not what you think I am and I can’t do this with you anymore.” She needed to tell him about the supplies she’d purchased on his credit card. She needed to tell him that she’d repay that amount even though she had no idea how or when. Most importantly she needed to tell him this charade was over and that as soon as she got back to the Donovan estate she was going to pack her bags and head home to Vegas.
“I don’t think either one of us can deny whatever this is between us anymore, Jade.”
He hadn’t moved from where he stood and although her back was to him she could almost see the tortured expression on his face. “There is nothing between us. Nothing but this ridiculous agreement we came up with.” And the thousands of dollars I now owe you.
He grabbed her by her shoulders spinning her around to face him. “You can’t run away from it.”
“Me? Running? No, Linc, that’s your department. What I’m doing is being realistic. I don’t want to make love with you for the rest of the week and then go on about my business.”
“Stop throwing that up in my face,” he growled as he gave her shoulders a little shake. “I know I left and I know I was wrong. I’ve apologized for that. The mere fact that you’re here means that you’ve either forgiven the mistake or at least forgotten it. So don’t bring it up again.”
“You can’t boss me around! I’m not one of your employees.” The minute the words were out she knew what his response would be.
“You are, in fact, my employee. But that’s not what this is about,” he said quietly.
“It’s not?” She dared to hope.
He let out a deep breath, looking as frustrated as she felt. “Look, we need to talk and we can’t do it here. Let’s just enjoy the view and we’ll deal with the other stuff later.”
She nodded her agreement knowing instinctively that when they did talk later she wasn’t going to feel much better about things than she did now.
Linc wasted no time excusing them from drinks after dinner. Since their encounter on the cliff he’d thought of nothing but being alone with her. He’d tried to play by her rules, tried to keep from taking her the way he wanted to, the way he knew she wanted him to. But today had just been too much.
She’d looked stunning in all white, her hair tucked back behind her ears, her eyes sparkling with each new sight he’d shown her. She’d laughed, she’d listened, she’d simply been and he wanted her, completely.
She wanted him too. A man could tell these things and he knew without a doubt that she was fighting it but couldn’t understand why. That was all well and good. Tonight she would lose the battle.
Once in their suite Jade slipped off her shoes and fell back on the bed. She was exhausted, every inch of her body hurt and she longed for a nice hot bath and some sleep. She heard his voice and knew instinctively that she would not be getting either anytime soon.
“Let me help you,” he said as he lifted a foot and began to massage. “You know you’re not the only one who can give a massage.”
He was correct. His fingers were working some mean magic on her feet, sending twinges up and down her legs. Tilting her head back she marveled in the feeling. “Mmm. You keep this up and I might offer you a job.”
He chuckled. “No thanks. I reserve this treatment for special people.”
Her head snapped up and she glared at him. “Am I to assume I’m special?”
Linc looked at her seriously. “There’s no assumption to be made. You are very special to me, Jade.” Letting her foot slip back to the floor he slid his hands up her leg to rest on her thigh.
She shook her head. “Lincoln, don’t.” She couldn’t take another minute of his sweetness. He’d driven her mad with it all day and if he continued she didn’t know that she’d have the strength to stop him and she so desperately needed to stop him.
With his free hand he brought a finger to her lips. “Shh. I don’t want you to say another word.” His gaze fell to her mouth as his finger moved slowly over her bottom lip. “It’s been an extremely long day.”
She gasped, her lips parting slowly. He slipped his finger inside and she impulsively sucked.
He closed his eyes, let out a whoosh of air then said, “A really long day.”
She moved back, dislodging his finger from her mouth. “Yes,” she whispered.
“I want you to relax.” He spoke quietly, his hand now cupping her cheek. “I’m going to take good care of you. Trust me.”
She trusted that with each touch from him her body temperature would continue to rise. She also trusted that she had the option to make an informed choice when or if the time arose. He pushed her back on the bed, settling her on the pillows. They hadn’t turned on the lights when they’d come in so they were illuminated only by slivers of moonlight coming through the partially opened drapes.
“I’m going to touch you, Jade.” He began by unbuttoning her pants, pulling them along with her panties down her legs. “I’m going to touch you a lot.”
His gaze, bold and filled with desire raked over her continuously. She sucked in a breath, felt the twinges of nervousness snaking up her spine. Cool air hit her legs and before she could speak he was working her blouse over her head. She now lay totally nude before him and while she was in no way ashamed of her body she was a little uncomfortable with the way he stared down at her.
“I told you. Perfect.” He sighed then ran a fingertip around the darkened area of her breast.
He circled and circled until her nipple hardened sharply. Bending down he ran his tongue over the distended crest and felt her tremble beneath him. Pulling away he repeated the combination with the other breast all the while keeping an eye on her, watching her every reaction.
His finger made a scorching line down her torso stopping at her navel, where he bent and showered her with tongue attention. She shifted slightly and he smiled against her.
Desire ran through her with an urgency that threatened to shatter her. Never had she felt so wanted, so cherished. Never had she needed so honestly, so completely. He touched her gently yet she knew he was using every ounce of control he possessed to do so. He’d told her to trust him and she’d decided to do just that. Wherever he was taking them, tonight and just for tonight, she’d go. And go willingly.
Linc’s touch was masterful, caressing then gripping with the urgency he contained. He was greedy and hungry, this she knew, yet he was restrain
ing his own needs to cater to hers, to take what she silently offered.
Jade simply flowed with him, with his touch, his caresses. He’d instructed her to relax but then he continued to touch her until she was taut with need. He was massaging her thighs now, his thumbs just tickling the insides, barely missing the nest of dark curls at her center. Her breathing stalled then restarted as he pushed her thighs apart, traced a finger lazily down the center of her opening.
“Linc,” she whispered.
“Let me love you, baby,” he spoke just before lowering his head.
Jade spread her legs wider, gripped the back of his head and blessedly acquiesced. His tongue moved slowly, sinuously, from her top to her bottom, soliciting from her deep moans of satisfaction. With his thumbs he spread her lips then flattened his tongue and lathed her thoroughly.
She squirmed and bucked, gripping the sheets beneath her to keep from screaming. If she died this very moment she’d go happily. Sensations twirled through her while her essence seeped out. With the pad of his thumb pressed lightly against the bud of her flower Linc proceeded to work his magnificent tongue over her opening until she thought she just simply couldn’t take it another moment.
“Linc, please?” she whimpered.
She wanted this man, all of him, in any way she could have him. If it were just for tonight then so be it, she’d deal with her broken heart next week. But for right now, for this one moment she wanted, no, needed him deeply inside of her and if that wasn’t an informative decision then brand her a fool. But by the end of tonight she’d be a well-satisfied fool.
Chapter 11
Linc accepted her agreement in the way her hands gripped his head tightly, the way her thighs clenched and retracted with his ministrations and the way she fed him like a wanton sure of her power. He acknowledged her participation and thanked her lavishly with each stroke and lick.
She dulled his senses, captured him so completely like no other woman had ever done before. Moving his lips over her soft flesh he relished in each of her convulsions. She held his head firmly daring him to move and he smiled inwardly. He had her just where he wanted her.
Jade closed her eyes not realizing that made the sensations all the more potent and soul shattering. What was he doing to her? It wasn’t simply pleasure. No, this was well beyond that. She practically floated, dangled helplessly as he manipulated her. That, she realized the moment she felt herself slipping closer to the edge, was his intention. He wanted her helpless, defenseless to his onslaught. He wanted to control her.
She wanted to protest but he continued to suck, to lap, to lick, to stroke her into submission, in that mindless swirl of contentment she hadn’t known existed until now. Her head thrashed about the pillows as she rose toward the precipice of completion.
Linc felt her soaring—she knew it because he lifted her hips, propped her up so that he had more access, more control over this sweet torture he’d instigated. He devoured her, feasting on her offering as if he’d been unjustly starved.
She moaned. It didn’t seem to be enough. She sighed and panted. Still the release did not come. “Linc,” she whimpered his name. He thrust his hot tongue inside of her and she fell.
Down that dark bottomless spiral that had sucked her in from the moment he’d first laid his hands on her. Falling and falling, that sense of weightlessness and completion that engulfed you body and soul. She called his name until her lips wouldn’t move any longer. Then and only then did he release his hold on her to slide sinuously up her body.
“Ask me to kiss you, Jade,” he demanded.
She heard his voice, heard his command and knew her response even before her lips parted. “Kiss me, Linc.”
The night began and ended with his mouth on her, first at her center and then on her lips. But that was as far as he went.
To her surprise Linc hadn’t entered her. He hadn’t found his own pleasure. He hadn’t even tried.
Still, Jade lay naked, sated and completely exhausted, her head nestled in the crook of Linc’s arm. She sighed and he shifted.
“You finally awake, sleepyhead?” He kissed the top of her head.
“Mmm. Yes, I’m awake.”
“Good, because I didn’t want to be accused of leaving you again but I do have some business to tend to.”
She shifted and propped herself up on her elbow. “Is it the same business that took you back to Vegas?”
“Yes.” He looked as if he wanted to say something else but refrained.
“You could have gone. I would have understood,” she said sincerely. She understood a lot about Lincoln Donovan now.
He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “The truth is I wasn’t ready to leave you just yet.”
“Oh?” They were silent for a moment and then she remembered something she’d meant to do yesterday. “Thank you.”
He looked at her questioningly. “For?”
“For sending my sister to keep me company. I really needed that. And it was very thoughtful of you to do it.”
“I knew you needed something. I figured since it wasn’t me, it would definitely be her. And it gave me a chance to meet her.”
“So what did you think?”
Linc chuckled. “I think you two are as different as night and day. I also think she loves you very much and that she’ll be just fine when you cut the apron strings.”
“Just how long did you two talk and what exactly did you talk about?”
“That’s between Noelle and me. I’ll just say that we now have an understanding about her gambling habits.”
“I sure do hope so. I can’t afford to make these types of deals with every casino owner in Vegas.”
“You’d better not make these types of deals with every casino owner in Vegas,” Linc warned.
She laughed then. A happy laugh that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to share with him again.
He kissed her forehead and then moved to her lips. “I’m not laughing, Jade.”
And after another moment, neither was she.
Hours later, Linc sat on the couch in the suite, a pile of mail right beside him. Jade watched him methodically go through one piece at a time. She’d finished dressing and wanted to go riding one last time.
She’d be leaving the Donovan estate first thing tomorrow morning. Noelle would no longer owe him five thousand dollars. Those were the terms of their agreement and she planned to abide by them.
But she didn’t want to think of that right now.
Right now she was content with the memories of last night, of Linc’s tenderness. He’d held her close, loved her just right and kissed her with the sweetness of a man who cared about a woman.
“How long is that going to take?” she asked, nodding toward the stack of mail.
“About an hour,” he said glancing up at her. “If I go through it all.”
She smiled, happy for this time alone with him. “And are you going through it all?”
He shook his head. “Not if you have something more appealing for me to do.”
“How about riding?”
He stood then moved toward her. Slipping his arms around her waist he pulled her close. “I want to be wherever you are,” he said, dropping a kiss on her neck then nuzzling.
Jade relished this feeling. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“So you still don’t know anything about her past?”
“For Pete’s sake, Trent. Give it a rest,” Adam bellowed.
Linc sighed. “For once I agree with Adam.”
Trent moved to the bar to fix himself a drink. “She’s got the both of you snowed. My gut instinct says she’s hiding something.”
“That’s gas,” Adam quipped.
Trent tossed him an impatient glance. “That’s five years of Navy Seal duties, investigating the enemy.”
“She’s not a spy or a traitor for that matter,” Linc offered.
He and Jade had returned from their ride about an hour ago and she was now getting some much nee
ded rest. Looking around the den he could have kicked himself for not joining her.
“No. She’s an attractive woman who’s gotten under your skin.”
“Has she really?” Adam’s eyes shifted to Linc. “Has my big brother fallen in love?”
Linc ignored them both.
The look Trent gave him said that wasn’t the response he was looking for.
“She’s a wonderful woman. A man would be hard-pressed to find better,” he stated seriously.
“If it’s getting serious maybe you should check her out, Linc,” Adam added.
Linc shot him a testy glare. “I thought you were on my side.”
“I am, but we all know how women are, especially with guys like us. Hell, you’re the one who educated me.”
Linc ran a hand over his face. Upstairs on his desk was an envelope. In it was something he hoped would put him and Jade on an even keel. That was all he was concerning himself with tonight. His brothers’ words were not fazing him at all.
Jade stepped out of the limousine in front of Chase Country Club, a gorgeous structure complete with gleaming white pillars and floor-to-ceiling windows. Twinkle lights illuminated the outside walkway giving the distinctive feeling of Christmas in the summertime. She inhaled deeply and willed the butterflies that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her stomach to cease. She wasn’t nervous, she told herself repeatedly. There was no need to be. She’d been with Linc all week long and with his family. Truth be told she felt like she belonged with them more than she did in her tiny apartment.
But this was her last night. She felt like Cinderella when she glanced down at her watch. She was right on time. Linc and his brothers had come earlier to make sure that everything was in place since this was the one event Beverly hadn’t planned herself. In a little over eleven hours she’d be on her way back to Vegas, back to the life she believed she wanted for herself.
That hadn’t really changed much. Her spa was still a top priority. It was the other, the happily ever after, that she’d be pushing aside yet again. At least this time it was of her own doing. She decided the outcome to this episode. She wanted a man to love her and Linc was incapable of that. Case closed.