Bought by a Millionaire

by Heidi Betts

  Reclining against the leather upholstery, he brought the whole length of her body to rest atop his. Breasts pressed to chest, stomach pressed to stomach, thigh pressed to thigh. She felt the bulge of his arousal at her hip and reached down to boldly stroke a hand across the front of his tuxedo pants. He groaned, clutching her tighter and pushing his pelvis higher toward her touch.

  “Shannon,” he breathed into her mouth. “You’re making me crazy.”

  No crazier than you make me, she thought, but held back the words. She didn’t want him to know how deep her emotions were running, or how easily she could fall in love with him at any moment. Instead, she bit her lower lip and let her head fall to one side as Burke slipped the strap of her dress off her shoulder and kissed a trail from neck to elbow.

  With each pass of his lips, he sucked a patch of skin lightly into his mouth, leaving tiny spots of wetness that turned chill in the night air. A second later, her breast was bare, treated to the same nibbles and bites as the soft underside of her arm. He circled her overly sensitive nipple, flicking the pebbled point with his tongue before pulling it into his mouth.

  It was her turn to moan. She twisted her fingers in his hair and held his head steady while he feasted on her breasts.

  She didn’t notice when the limousine eased to a halt, but Burke must have because he cursed low and foul, then pulled away to rearrange her clothing. Tugging the strap of her gown back over her shoulder, he made sure she was well-covered and smoothed a smudge of lipstick from her lips before giving her a gentle smile.

  “All right?”

  All right? She was anything but all right. Her body hummed like a well-strung harp, her insides felt as though they’d been simmering over a low heat for hours, and her brain refused to function.

  But she nodded, because it was the response she thought he expected. It was small consolation that he looked equally dazed, and she reached out to return the favor of wiping a smear of shimmering bronze from his mouth, too.

  The door opened as she was lowering her arm, and Burke stepped out, then turned to offer his hand. With a nod to the driver, he led her a short distance through the underground garage to the elevator that would take them directly to his penthouse apartment.

  As soon as the heavy metal doors whooshed shut, he spun on his heel and pinned her against the back wall. His kiss sent every brain cell that had begun to operate again into full retreat. The muscles and tendons near her kneecaps went weak as butter, and she gripped his shoulders to keep from sliding into a puddle on the floor.

  When the elevator doors opened in front of his penthouse, he scooped her into his arms and carried her inside without ever breaking the kiss. He kicked the door closed with his foot, then headed for his bedroom at the back of the apartment, not stopping until his shins bumped the edge of the king-size mattress.

  He laid her down as gently as a baby, brushing loose strands of hair from her face before stepping back to shrug out of his tuxedo jacket. The bow tie and cummerbund followed, and then his hands moved to the buttons of his dress shirt. One by one, they slipped through their holes, giving Shannon a glimpse of smooth skin and flat male nipples.

  The breath caught in her lungs as the shirt fell to the floor and he reached for the waistband of his pants. She thought she should probably be undressing, too, but couldn’t seem to move. She was riveted in place by his spectacular beauty and the stunning knowledge that this man actually wanted her. Her. Plain, simple, unpretentious Shannon Moriarty.

  Kicking off his shoes, he joined her on the bed, propping himself on an elbow to look down at her.

  She swallowed nervously, not sure of what to do or say next. This wasn’t exactly a typical occurrence for her, being in bed with a man. Especially one as handsome and rich as Burke.

  What if he expected her to be savvy and practiced?

  With his free hand, he started to pull the pins from her up-swept hair, holding her gaze the entire time. “Do you want to stop?” he asked softly. “I’ll have to stand under a cold shower for weeks if you say yes, but I don’t want you doing anything you’re not ready for. We don’t have to go any farther.”

  Just that small bit of understanding and willingness to stop if she wanted relieved some of the tension coiled inside her. She shook her head, loving the feel of his fingers combing through her hair as he brought it to fall around her head and shoulders.

  “No, I want to. I just…I don’t do this very often.”

  “It’s all right. I don’t do it as often as you might imagine, either. That’s what makes this all the more special.”

  He leaned forward to kiss the corner of her mouth, her cheek, her nose. She felt the pads of his fingers feathering lightly along her arm, and then to the small of her back. The zipper of her gown opened with a series of soft snicks. In a skilled move, he released the shoulder straps and skimmed the entire garment down and off her body.

  Because the dress had been practically backless, she wasn’t wearing a bra, and her arms came up automatically to hide her nakedness. The panties Margaret had bought to go with the gown weren’t much better; just a narrow patch of black lace with silver butterflies sewn on, held together by a thin strip of elastic band. But at least they covered the pertinent parts.

  Burke’s broad hands covered hers. His dark coloring contrasted sharply with her milky white skin, and sent a clutch of awareness to the bottom of her stomach. He was so large, so masculine, while she felt small and delicate. Rather than intimidating her, however, it made her feel comforted. Safe.

  Him man, her woman. She liked that.

  “Don’t hide,” he breathed, urging her to loosen her hold and let her arms drop to her sides. “You’re beautiful. I want to see you.”

  She squirmed under his scrutiny, her fingers curling into the bedclothes as he looked his fill.

  “They’re tender, aren’t they?” he asked, brushing the side of his thumb over the tip of one nipple.

  With a gasp, she nodded. She didn’t know if it was his touch or the mere sound of his voice, but her nipple bunched and contracted almost painfully.

  “They’re fuller, too, than when we first met.” He grinned wolfishly, rolling her nipple now between two fingers. “I’m a details man. I notice these things.”

  His hand cupped her breast for the barest second before moving to her rib cage, across her waist, to the flair of her hip. “I can’t wait to see how the rest of your body changes with the pregnancy.”

  He fit his palm to the slight swell of her abdomen and left it there while he attended to the rest of her body. He drove her wild with long, torturous kisses, and nips and licks at her heated flesh.

  With one hand at her breast, keeping her nipple in a state of constant, almost painful arousal, his other slipped between her legs. She was already wet, and his fingers slid easily along her femininity. Burke made a low, growling sound in his throat as he stroked her delicate folds until she was writhing beneath him.

  Every muscle in her body was pulled taut as a bowstring, and she knew that if he did what he was doing for much longer, she would fly apart in his arms without ever knowing what it felt like to have him inside her. She’d waited too long, denied herself too long to let that happen.

  “Please,” she breathed, fighting the wave of ecstasy that threatened to crash over her as he brushed her most sensitive spot. “Burke, please. I want you inside me.”

  He went still above her, lifting his head and looking down at her with those intense gray eyes. “That’s what I want, too,” he breathed a little unevenly.

  Lowering his mouth to cover hers, he kissed her as he settled between her legs and slowly, slowly began to slip inside.

  Shannon gasped at the exquisite friction of his body sinking into hers. She hadn’t been with all that many men, so this making love business was still fairly new to her. And yet she knew, deep down in her soul, that this time was different.

  Burke was different.

  No man had ever made her feel this way. As
though her skin were alive with a thousand volts of electricity. As if her heart were about to pound out of her chest, and that if he left her now, she might melt…evaporate…cease to exist.

  Burke entered her only a fraction of an inch, pausing to give her time to adjust to his size and intrusion. He held himself frozen in place, but it wasn’t just for her; it was for him, too. Blood pounded in his ears and throbbed at his groin, and he was afraid that if he moved, if he experienced any more sheer pleasure within the next three seconds, he might humiliate himself like a sixteen-year-old boy.

  He’d wanted Shannon for so long, and now he had her. She was in his arms, in his bed. He was inside her, and he never wanted to move.

  But as much as he wanted to hold her like this forever, his body screamed for its long-awaited release.

  Carefully, he withdrew, causing Shannon to suck air sharply into her lungs. Her breathing matched his own, shallow and rough, and he pushed forward again until he was fully embedded in her wet heat.

  Running a hand through the auburn curls at her temple, he met her unfocused gaze and smiled softly. “Okay?” he asked, wanting to make sure he hadn’t hurt her.

  She nodded, then raised her arms and legs to wrap around him and pull him closer. “Don’t stop now,” she told him with a seductive grin. “Things were just getting interesting.”

  He returned the look with a wicked one of his own and touched his forehead to hers a second before covering her face and neck with butterfly kisses. At the same time, he started to move his hips. Back and forth. In and out. Slowly at first, and then faster as passion overtook him.

  His fingers dug into her hips, holding her so close, even the thinnest wisp of smoke wouldn’t have been able to float between their sweat-drenched bodies.

  “Burke.”

  His name rolling from her lips in that soft, breathless voice sent desire spiraling through his veins, tightening every muscle until his teeth clenched.

  Ecstasy rushed to consume him, but he wanted Shannon with him, right there falling over the edge with him.

  “Now,” he whispered, fusing his lips with hers as he found the tiny bud of pleasure between her legs and stroked her into oblivion. “Come with me, Shannon. Come with me now.”

  Her mouth opened on a gasp. She twisted her head into the mattress, arching her back as the climax hit.

  Burke felt every shudder, every ripple, and bit his bottom lip until he tasted blood as he fought his own orgasm, clawing to break free, so he could watch hers. But it was too much to bear, and with one last thrust, he came, losing himself inside her.

  He didn’t know how much time passed while they lay there, boneless and replete. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. When he realized he was likely crushing her with his dead weight, he rolled to his back, bringing her along to rest at his side. She immediately snuggled into him, her head on his shoulder, her leg twining with his. He took a moment to enjoy the sensation, rubbing a hand up and down the length of her arm.

  “Are you all right?” he felt the need to ask, forcing the words past his dry throat.

  Shannon tilted her head just so, looking up at him with sparkling emerald eyes. A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “More than all right.”

  She turned her face into his chest to stifle a yawn. And when she stretched, her knee grazed his groin, sending his nerve endings into blazing awareness. Where he’d thought himself thoroughly sated only a second before, he now felt his erection stirring to life, wanting her again.

  “What about you?” she returned. “How are you feeling?”

  There was the slightest hint of insecurity in her tone, and he rushed to reassure her, not wanting her to regret anything that had happened between them.

  Taking her hand, he brought it to wrap around his straining member. “What do you think?”

  Her eyes went wide as she held his gaze, fingers tightening on his firm flesh just enough to make him suck in a breath.

  “I thought men needed time to recover between…bouts.”

  His mouth twisted. “Apparently not,” he said dryly.

  With Shannon, he’d been in a state of almost constant arousal since they met. Why should after they’d made love be any different? Although he had expected at least a short reprieve before his body began making noises about being satisfied once again.

  Shifting, Shannon placed her hands flat on his chest, pushing herself up until she hovered above him. She straddled his thighs, just inches from that part of him begging for her attention.

  “We should probably take care of this little problem, don’t you think? I wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  He watched, mesmerized as her hands stroked his chest, brushed his nipples, moving down to his abdomen, where the muscles clutched in avid anticipation. His lungs burned, his entire body tensed as he waited to see what she would do.

  When her long copper curls fell like a shroud around her face and she lowered her head toward his erection, his vision went black. He thought for sure he’d briefly lost consciousness.

  He wanted her mouth on him almost as much as he’d wanted to make love to her in the first place. He’d fantasized about this very occurrence a hundred times in the past months. But he didn’t want Shannon to do anything she wasn’t completely comfortable with. And he certainly didn’t want her doing it out of obligation, just because his johnson refused to sleep after one of the most satisfying sexual encounters he’d ever experienced.

  “Sweetheart,” he bit out, feeling her hot breath on his manhood and clenching his teeth against the sensations it created. “You don’t have to do that.”

  She raised her gaze to meet his. “Don’t you want me to?”

  She didn’t look embarrassed or unsure, as he’d feared she might. Simply curious.

  The air seeped from his lungs in a long wheeze as he attempted a chuckle. “It would be a little hard for me to lie at this point and say I don’t,” he responded, dipping his chin at the insistent appendage. “There are parts of my body that have no sense of shame. But you’ve had enough for one night. I don’t want to wear you out or make you do anything you aren’t ready for.”

  She fixed him with an angelic smile. “I think you should let me be the judge of when I’m worn out. And as long as you’re not morally opposed, this is something I want to do.”

  He’d died and gone to heaven, was all he could think. Or maybe hell. From the way she was touching him, tasting him, she had to be a devil in disguise. Fists clutching the sheets, he reminded himself to breathe before his chest exploded from lack of oxygen.

  Her mouth surrounded him. Her tongue took turns torturing him in both long, slow licks and short, quick swirls. He tried, but couldn’t remain still. Against his will, his hips arched off the mattress, seeking more of her tender ministrations. He forced his fingers to loosen their grip on the sheets beneath him and moved them to tangle in her hair.

  He meant to pull her away before he lost the last shred of his rapidly deteriorating control, but somehow ended up holding her there, guiding her movements a moment longer. A tenth of a second before it would have been too damn late, he managed to draw her away, pulling her up and across his chest.

  Covering her mouth with his own, he tasted himself on her lips and groaned. His hands roamed from her upper arms, where he held her, to her hips, teasing every inch of flesh along the way. He positioned her where he wanted her, bringing her down to encompass him in one smooth, excruciatingly slow slide.

  Shannon closed her eyes and bit her lip to keep from crying out as she felt Burke stretching her, filling her with more than just the most intimate part of his body.

  She’d never been held the way Burke held her; looked after the way he looked after her; made love to the way he’d made love to her earlier and was making love to her again now. And no matter how hard she’d tried to fight it, she was afraid her heart had already started down that slippery slope of falling in love with him.

  It co
uldn’t work out. They were from different worlds, wanted different things out of life. The only commonality between them was the child growing inside her, which had begun as a business arrangement. And no matter how much she wished things could be different, their time together was limited.

  But even knowing that, she wasn’t willing to let an inevitable future spoil her present. She wanted to be with Burke. Wanted to feel him beneath her and over her, around her and inside her.

  When the time came, she would let him go. But until then, she would indulge herself, freeze-framing in her mind every detail of his handsome face, strong body and generous nature. Pictures that she could take out again on those lonely days when she didn’t have Burke or their baby to hold.

  Tears of regret prickled behind her eyelids, but she blinked them back, focusing instead on the shock waves Burke was creating deep within her. His hands cupped her breasts, fingertips tweaking her nipples in rhythm with the motion of his hips.

  The climax hit her with the force of a sledgehammer, jumbling with her unprotected emotions and catching her off guard. Wave after wave of intense pleasure rippled through her, making her cry out and stiffen above him.

  Burke was still hard within her, pistoning his hips in search of completion. A second later, he tensed beneath her and came with a low moan. She collapsed atop him, her bones the consistency of butter.

  Shannon envied whatever woman he eventually ended up with. To have this man in love with her, in her bed every night. To wake up to him every morning, have children with him, build a life with him. It was everything she’d ever wanted, with a man she’d never imagined she could find. And yet it was impossible.

  Her heart mourned, even as she reminded herself that she’d known from the beginning this was a temporary situation. Going to bed with him at all had been a huge mistake, but darned if she was sorry.

  As she started to drift off, she told herself she would put the situation to rights first thing in the morning. Never mind the images of love and marriage and forever that floated across her brain.