“Very selfish,” he growled as he positioned her feet on the bed.
She curled up to watch as he lowered to the ground, one knee at a time. “You’ve had a rough few days,” she conceded. “Women bursting into your office—”
“One woman.” He ran his hands up her calves. Her knees were bent, and he urged them apart. He’d planted her feet wide enough to accommodate his broad shoulders. “You were the only woman who walked into my office and took off your clothes.”
“True. But then there was the alligator.”
“You were there for that too,” he pointed out.
“You know, maybe my week was worse.” She tried to draw her legs together, but he placed his hands on her knees.
“Did you deal with a sex tape?” he demanded, keeping his gaze on her face.
“No.” She allowed her legs to fall open.
“Lie back, princess,” he murmured. But he was no longer looking her in the eye as he spoke. His gaze was fixed on the slip of black lace between her legs.
She slid her palms along the comforter and allowed her head to fall back against the bed. She didn’t need to watch. She could map his movements through touch. His hands ran up her thighs . . . his fingers toyed with the edge of her panties, drawing them aside. Then his tongue teased and taunted her, flirting with her most intimate parts before licking a path down, down, down . . .
“Use your hands,” she begged, her tone low and urgent. But if ever there was a time to plead with a man like Jared Mitchell this was the moment. She could feel the orgasm building up. Her hips rocked up and back, trying to place his tongue exactly where she wanted it.
“Easy now,” he murmured. She could feel the words against the exact place she wanted his hands. “I’m going to take my time.” But he heeded her request and slipped one finger inside her.
She thrust against his hand and waited for his tongue.
“Oh, God,” she gasped.
“Hold on, Lucy.”
He drew his mouth away, and she wanted to scream. How could he? She was on the verge of exploding.
“Jared!”
He lowered his mouth and sent her screaming into the glowing, pink, perfect land of orgasms. She’d been there before. She’d ridden him to a wave-crashing climax on the beach. But this—the way his tongue cast a spell, the way he listened when she begged for his touch—this was one of the best.
But after you’ve had the best . . .
She shoved the thought aside and pushed herself up on her elbows. Jared pressed lazy kisses to the inside of her right thigh. He looked up at her without taking his mouth off her skin. Slowly, he raised his lips until they hovered over her leg. “I’m not done yet.”
“Selfish bastard,” she said.
“I’m just getting started—”
A shrill, sharp ring cut him off.
“No, no no,” she murmured. “Don’t tell me that’s Finn calling.”
“It’s not,” he assured her. She felt the words between her legs. The rush of air teased her as if he were literally breathing hope into her chances of an orgasm.
“It’s Tico Software. One of my companies,” he explained.
“On a Friday night?” Her body throbbed, begging for his attention, and utterly unconcerned with phones calls and interruptions.
Now who’s the selfish one?
“I should have turned it to silent.” He lowered his mouth to her and gave her sensitive skin a smooth lick.
“That’s okay,” she muttered. “Just. Don’t. Stop.”
The ringing ended, and Lucy closed her eyes. Her world narrowed to his mouth, his lips, and his touch.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
“Do they always call until you answer?” she asked.
“I don’t usually ignore Tico,” he murmured. “They’ll stop eventually. Or I could switch the phone off—”
“No!” Her hands reached for his head, and her fingers wound through his hair. “Keep going. I’ll ignore it. We’ll ignore it.”
“As you wish, princess.”
His mouth went back to work. A second later the ringing stopped. But the reprieve was brief—very, very brief. Three unanswered calls later, she came. And her cries matched the pitch of his cell phone.
So this is sex with a workaholic.
She struggled to catch her breath but kept her gaze focused on the ceiling. She could hear him moving around the room. His footfalls on the plush carpet. The rustle of pants as he withdrew his phone. His soft curse.
“I need to make a quick call,” he said. “Stay right there. I won’t be long.”
She heard the door to the bedroom open and close with a resounding click.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she murmured to the large, empty bedroom.
Are you sure about that?, a little voice in her head challenged. Is this what happy ever after looks like? Sex between phone calls?
“He’s the unicorn. I can’t walk away from him.” She clutched at the bedspread. “It’s just one phone call.”
She closed her eyes. Lying wouldn’t help. She knew this was disaster territory. And it had nothing to do with gators. They could escape the predators lurking in canals. But she couldn’t ask him to walk away from his career. He’d worked too hard and come too far. Plus, he’d told her earlier that he would never ask her to leave her business.
But where does that leave us?
Chapter 23
“I will be back on Monday.” Jared held his cell to his ear. His laptop was precariously balanced on his thighs. In a few minutes, the first-class flight attendant would ask him to store all of his electronic devices for take off. “Tico’s new product launches in two weeks. I need to hold the management teams’ hands through the last-minute preparations, but then I’m back.”
“We’re throwing three deluxe princess parties this weekend,” Lucy said lightly. “I’ll be spending the rest of the week ironing gowns and baking cookies. We agreed to provide fifty frosted castle treats for one of the parties.”
“So you won’t have time to miss me?” he teased.
“Oh, I will. My weekend would be so much better if you were here to help me out of my gown at the end of the day,” she said in a light voice.
“Mine too.” The flight attendant approached his row. She wore a friendly, but firm, smile. “I need to go, Lucy. But I’ll have Internet access once we’re in the air.”
“I’ll see you Monday,” she said. “This time, I’m planning the date. I don’t want to run the risk a thunderstorm or another alligator will interrupt.”
“Sounds great.” The flight attendant was no longer smiling at him. He’d never regretted choosing a commercial flight over his private plane before. But damn, he didn’t want to hang up on Lucy. “I’ll call you when I land. I—” He coughed. “Bye, Lucy.”
Under the flight attendant’s watchful eyes, he turned off his cell and slipped his laptop in to the seat pocket in front of him. Then he turned to the window.
I love you.
He’d nearly blurted out the words. But he knew that before takeoff, with a stern flight attendant staring him down, wasn’t the time or place to casually toss out that declaration. He couldn’t set off the fireworks and then walk away.
He stared at the clouds through the narrow window. The plane slipped into the dense, fluffy layer of sky, and then flew back out. A familiar tone resonated in the cabin. An official announcement followed, granting him permission to use his electronic devices.
He pulled out his computer and opened his email. New messages flooded his inbox. His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
Am I falling in love with Lucy Linden?
He shook his head. He couldn’t answer that question now. He needed more time.
Three more emails appeared in his inbox. The subject line of the last one read: We have a problem. All three were from Tico Software upper management. Jared clicked on the first message. His personal life needed to take a backseat until Monday. Right now, his company needed
him.
He’d built The Mitchell Fund on his reputation for success. Tico Software was the cornerstone. He couldn’t afford a misstep. Not with this product launch. And not after the mess with the sugar deal. Rumors could sink his fund just as fast as reality. If investors and potential companies looked to other private equity firms—and logically, they would if his recent track record showed a list of failures—the company he’d built from nothing would sink beyond the point of repair.
What if Lucy slips away while I’m in New York?
His fingers froze over the keyboard, and he looked up. He couldn’t lose her. It had nothing to do with her brother, or how closely their lives were entwined. Lucy had shocked some part of him to life.
But Lucy knew what it took to build a business. She would understand. Still, she wouldn’t wait for him to solve Tico’s latest crisis unless she believed he was coming back.
Somehow he had to show Lucy that he was committed to her. He would give her everything she wanted. He’d deliver every wild, risky fantasy she’d ever imagined, and he’d offer the security that her ex had stolen.
“I’m going to deliver the fairy tale, Lucy,” he murmured. “Everything your sweet princess alter ego wanted after the prince turned out the lights.”
That’s where her dates—and all of the drunken dads—had gone wrong in the past. They thought the Cinderella illusion was for them. But Lucy deserved the fantasy. And it went so much deeper than a sweet girl in a pretty dress. The man who dropped everything to find the woman who’d captured his heart—that was the fantasy, the unicorn, and the dream that seemed so damn elusive. The so-called prince who saw every facet of the woman he loved.
His jaw clenched, and he closed his eyes, his fingers still hovering over the keyboard.
I’m going to sweep you off your feet, Lucy.
He returned to his computer screen and clicked into his calendar. He needed to find a time to see Lucy.
“Take off the gown, princess.”
Lucy froze. Her gloved hand pressed against the hallway wall. A thunderstorm had rolled in on their drive back from the late Sunday afternoon birthday extravaganza. The rain had passed, but the sky remained dark. And they hadn’t bothered to leave the entryway lights on. Plus, this deep, familiar voice came from inside the house.
“Jared?” she called. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back until Monday.”
“I had to change my plans. The Tico marketing team needs me in New Jersey all day tomorrow.”
There goes my plan for a romantic dinner at City Place, she thought. But she’d had a feeling when she made the reservation that she’d be calling to cancel.
And he’s here now.
Suddenly, her feet, sore from a long weekend of parties and mock glass slippers, hurt a little less. She walked down the hall, past the doorway leading to their office and flicked the light switch. Jared stood at the base of the stairs with his right shoulder leaning against the wall. While she was still dressed for work, he’d traded his usual button down shirt for a faded grey t-shirt that read The Taco Bar First Anniversary across the chest. Either the shirt had shrunk in the wash or his biceps had grown since the restaurant’s first year. Not that it mattered why the fabric hugged his muscular arms.
“How did you get in?” she asked.
“Finn swung by and unlocked the door.” He nodded to her. “Now take off your gown.”
“Nicole and Emma—”
“Already drove away,” he said. “I spoke with Emma this morning and gave her access to my house. Don’t worry about the princesses. I sent Finn over to check on them. He’s out of earshot. Now Lucy, please. Take. Off. Your. Dress.”
She reached behind her and slowly drew the zipper down. “You really are a recovering workaholic,” she murmured. “Slipping out of the state between meetings.”
“I’m trying, Lucy,” he said. “I know this isn’t the date you planned. I still owe you a meal, but I only have an hour before I told the pilot to have my plane ready.”
“You flew to Florida for one hour with me?” She felt the gown loosen around her chest and ribs.
“I wanted to see you.” His gaze followed her neckline as the dress loosened and then lowered, revealing her strapless bra. “Beige underwear?”
“Always.” She let the dress slip down her body, past her abdomen. She carefully drew it over her waist and then released it. The gown fell to the ground in a blue heap. “No one is supposed to see Cinderella’s undergarments.”
“This is a first?” His voice was a low, seductive rumble that threatened to turn her unattractive, full-coverage panties into Victoria’s latest secret. And his blue eyes . . . he studied the tops of her thick, white thigh-high stockings as if he’d never seen anything like them. He probably hadn’t, unless he’d seduced a woman dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
“Yes.” She slipped off the pseudo-glass slippers made of plastic and stepped over the gown. “This is a first.”
“I didn’t come here for Cinderella.” He reached his left arm out and ran a finger over the upper edge of her strapless bra. “Maybe you should take this off.”
“A good idea.” She reached behind her, released the hooks, and let the bra fall to his feet.
He trailed his fingers over the swell of her breast. Her nipples tightened, silently begging him to stay and play. But he ignored the request, instead drawing a line down her stomach. “No corset?” he murmured. “I thought it was part of the costume.”
“I gave mine up,” she said. “Too restrictive.”
His fingers slipped under the elastic band of her underwear. “I feel the same about these.”
She nodded and gently pushed his hand away. Then she stripped off the underwear she’d never planned to wear for him.
“And the stockings?” She raised her right leg and rested the ball of her foot on the bottom step. Her inner thigh brushed against his jeans.
“Leave them,” he growled.
He drew her against his body. His clothes felt rough against her bare skin, but her hips still rocked against him.
“Let me kiss you, Lucy.” He ran his hands over her back, holding her tight. “Before you take off anything else.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
His mouth claimed hers, and the world around her spun out of focus. She pressed against him. Her lips and tongue demanded more. His palms ran over her ass and squeezed. She arched into his touch.
We’re not going to make it to the bedroom.
She drew back from his kiss. “Do you have a condom with you?”
He laughed. “I came prepared to make love to you the minute I saw you.”
“Oh thank goodness.” She slipped her hands under his t-shirt and pressed her fingers into the hard ridges of his sculpted abs. “Now, it’s your turn to lose the clothes.”
Grinning, he released her and pulled his shirt off. “But you should know that I’ve been tested, and I’m clean. I should have told you the other night on the beach.”
“Jared.”
“You have a right to know that it had been a while since I was with anyone else. And I wouldn’t have touched you if I wasn’t sure. I have too much respect for—”
She pressed a finger to his lips. “Please don’t mention my brother. I know you care about him, but, please don’t.”
He caught her hand in his and drew it away from his mouths. “I would have stayed away out of respect for you, Lucy.” He spoke in a low, firm tone. “I don’t give a damn whose sister you are. You deserve a man who will do everything in his power to keep you safe.”
“Jared.” She met his intense gaze. If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have stumbled away. One step. Maybe two.
“And that’s not all.” He smiled at her as if he had a secret that would melt her stockings off.
He wrapped his hands around her waist and shifted her to one side. Then he moved behind her and dropped a kiss on the nape of her neck. “Lucy, you deserve to
see your dreams come true.”
He placed his palm flat between her shoulder blades and gently guided her forward. Her hands reached for the fourth step as he explored the curve of her back. “And Lucy?”
“Hmmm?” she murmured, stepping her feet apart. She could hear him drawing down his zipper.
“Your brother is the last thing on my mind right now,” he added, lifting his hand off her back.
“Mine too.” Her chin dropped to her chest as her bottom pressed up. Behind her, his jeans rustled. The sound of the condom ripping followed.
And then, finally, she felt him pressing against her, begging for entrance. She tightened her grip on the wooden step. Her heels rose up as if she’d slipped into an imaginary pair of glass slippers. He responded by sliding into her. Not all the way. Not yet. Delicious pleasure rippled down her legs.
“More,” she whispered.
He teased her with another inch and then another.
“Not funny,” she said, rocking her hips back to demand more and more from him.
“Not laughing.” His hand wrapped tightly around her hips. He thrust hard and fast into her.
“Jared,” she gasped. Her body rocked from the momentum. The muscles in her legs and arms threatened to buckle. But she wanted to remain strong. He felt so big and powerful behind her. He thrust into her as if he’d forgotten the meaning of control. She looked over her right shoulder, twisting her torso just enough.
“Fuck.” He exhaled the word through clenched teeth. His muscles constricted, and his fingers dug deeper into her skin as if trying to keep her hips from torquing around his cock. He lifted his right foot and placed it on the bottom step. Then he thrust deeper. Harder.
She closed her eyes.
I could live right here . . . chasing this orgasm forever . . . loving the feel of him inside me.
“Look at me,” he ordered.
“If I open my eyes—” she inhaled sharply, “—it will be over. If I look . . . ” She panted around the building pleasure. “If I look at you, I’ll . . . this will be over.”
The Cinderella Fantasy Page 15