Touch of Heaven (St. James Sisters Book 1)

by Maureen Smith

“Yes, Raina,” he said with exaggerated patience. “Please come in.”

  He watched as she wandered slowly into the room, glancing around casually. “You sure do like mahogany,” she murmured.

  “Is that a criticism?”

  “No, just an observation. And a compliment. You have excellent taste.”

  She said it matter-of-factly, without inflection, as if she were a bored queen bestowing favor upon a loyal subject. If Warrick had still been standing, he would have bowed in grateful submission.

  “What’re you working on?” Raina asked, approaching his desk.

  “Work stuff.”

  “I can see that. What kind of work stuff?”

  When he told her about the Lake Charles project, she gave him a bemused smile. “But you’re the CEO, with an army of engineers and project managers at your disposal. Why would you have such a hands-on role in the designing of a pipeline?”

  Warrick smiled. “I like to keep my skills sharp.” He paused. “Do you have a massage license, Raina?”

  She shook her head. “I have my hands full enough running Touch of Heaven. When I first decided to open a spa, I knew that I couldn’t become a full-time practitioner and still expect to have a profitable business. So I leave the client services to my experienced staff and focus on the business side of the house.” She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “But I guess it’s a little different for you. You were a licensed engineer before you became a CEO. Although you have complete confidence in your employees, it must be a little hard for you to relinquish control of projects you once enjoyed so much.”

  “You’re right,” Warrick smilingly admitted, both amazed and pleased by her perceptiveness. She’d summed up his feelings perfectly. It was a little disarming. Almost as disarming as her scent as she drew nearer. She must have showered before going to bed. The scent of soap on her skin teased his senses, as did the tantalizing curves of her body beneath the silk robe. When she propped a shapely hip against the large L-shaped desk, Warrick was surprised, and secretly thrilled, that she’d ventured so close to him. His nerve endings hummed with awareness.

  “Is that the project?” Raina asked, nodding toward his computer monitor where he’d been working in AutoCAD, an advanced engineering software program.

  “Yeah,” Warrick answered.

  Raina stared at the large screen, her brows furrowing at the complex, crisscrossing network of pipelines that he’d designed. Warrick inwardly smiled. She had no clue what she was viewing.

  As if she’d read his mind, she shook her head dazedly and murmured, “I can’t even begin to comprehend what I’m looking at.”

  He laughed. “I figured as much.”

  Her lips curved in a sheepish grin. “Don’t make fun of me. You went to school for this. You eat, sleep, and breathe this stuff.”

  Lately the only thing he’d eaten, slept and breathed was Raina, but Warrick saw no reason to mention this. Instead he gave her a teasing smile. “Would you like me to explain the schematics?”

  “Yes, please.”

  But as he slid his chair toward the monitor and leaned forward, something on the shelf behind him caught Raina’s eye.

  She let out a startled cry that made him glance sharply at her. “What?”

  “The snow globe!”

  Warrick followed the direction of her shocked gaze. Puzzled by her reaction, he reached out and picked up the small snow globe with a wooden base. Inside was a clever little scene depicting a sandy beach nestled smack dab in the middle of downtown Houston. The words “Nothing is Impossible” were inscribed on a banner that drifted lazily across the skyline. When Warrick shook the globe, tiny white flakes swirled around the glass dome so that it appeared to be snowing on a summer afternoon in Houston, hence the inscription, “Nothing is Impossible.”

  Smiling, Warrick turned back to Raina. “I received this as a gift for—”

  “Your college graduation,” she whispered. “I know.”

  “It’s amazing,” Warrick said, his smile softening as he gently shook the globe again and watched the resulting snowstorm. “I’d never seen one like it before. Someone gave it to me at my graduation party, but there wasn’t a card or anything, and when I asked around, no one knew who—” Suddenly he stilled and lifted his eyes to Raina’s face.

  The way she was looking at him made his heart clutch in his chest. As comprehension dawned, he stared at her. “You gave this to me?”

  She nodded slowly, her eyes soft and glowing. “When you delivered the valedictorian speech at your high-school graduation, you told your classmates that nothing is impossible. You exhorted them not to let anything or anyone stop them from achieving their dreams. It was a beautiful, awe-inspiring speech, Warrick, and when it was over, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. I’ve never seen a standing ovation that lasted so long. Even your brothers were moved.” She gazed wonderingly at him. “Don’t you remember?”

  Warrick swallowed hard, wondering at the strange tightness in his throat. “I’ve given a lot of speeches since then,” he joked lamely.

  Raina smiled a little. “I never forgot it. I was at Galveston Beach with my family a few months before your college graduation, and when I saw that snow globe at one of those novelty shops, I thought it would be a perfect gift for you. You were going out into the real world, and I knew you’d let nothing stand in your way—” Her voice hitched, and she quickly glanced away.

  Warrick returned the snow globe to the shelf, handling it almost reverently now, and rose from the chair.

  “Raina?” He reached out and caught her chin, gently forcing her face toward his. He was surprised to see tears glistening in her dark eyes.

  “Why are you crying?” he asked softly.

  Embarrassed, she choked out a teary laugh. “It’s so silly. The day of your graduation party, I got cold feet about giving you the snow globe, especially when I heard what other people were getting for you. Yolanda told me your mother was sending you on a trip to Jamaica, and your uncle bought you new furniture for your very first apartment because you’d accepted the job in Philly. I was embarrassed to give you such a simple, inexpensive gift, so I removed the card so you wouldn’t know who it was from. You didn’t open your presents until after the party, so I never knew what you thought of the snow globe, and Yolanda never said anything. All these years, I thought you didn’t like it—”

  “I loved it,” Warrick said fervently. “I thought it was the most unique gift I’d ever received in my life. Believe me, Raina, if I’d known it was from you, I would have thanked you. So fourteen years later, I’m saying thank you.”

  Raina gave him a tremulous smile. “Better late than never,” she quipped. She searched his face. “Did you really like it?”

  His heart constricted with an emotion so intense it made him ache. “If I didn’t like it,” he said huskily, “why would I have kept it all these years? Why would it still hold a special place of honor on my shelf after all this time? When I was trying to get my company off the ground, I used to look at that snow globe and remind myself that no matter how tough things seemed, nothing was impossible.” He smiled tenderly. “Do you still doubt that I liked it?”

  Raina shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. As Warrick gazed at her, a single tear escaped and rolled down her face.

  That was his undoing.

  He gently cradled her face in his hand and wiped the tear away with the pad of his thumb. Raina trembled, her lashes fluttering as he leaned down and brushed his mouth over hers. Her soft lips parted, sending a jolt of agonized longing through him. As he deepened the kiss, he knew that this time, nothing short of a natural disaster would keep him from making love to her.

  The moment Warrick kissed her, Raina knew she was lost.

  She couldn’t have resisted him to save her life. She wanted this, wanted him more than anything else in the world. More than the very air she breathed.

  As she curved her arms around his neck, Warrick pulled her against him until their bodie
s were fused together from shoulder to knees. Her nipples tightened against the iron slabs of his chest. Her aching loins throbbed against his rigid arousal. She rocked her hips fitfully against him, and he groaned deep in his throat.

  He lifted her off the floor and into his arms. As she wrapped her legs around his waist, the silk folds of her robe parted. Warrick slid his hands beneath the raised hem of her nightshirt, kneading her thighs before reaching beneath her silk underwear to grasp her bare bottom. Raina gasped, his touch searing her skin, firing her blood. She ground her pelvis against him, and this time they both groaned.

  He set her down on his desk, kissing her feverishly, thrusting his tongue deep inside her mouth. She moaned, erotic sensations tumbling through her, faster and faster. She could feel him everywhere—her breasts, her stomach, between her thighs. His taste was in her mouth. His scent was in her nostrils. His breathing, as rough and ragged as her own, resonated in her ears.

  As he sucked her bottom lip, she tightened her thighs around him and gripped his hard-muscled back, feeling the heat of his skin beneath his shirt. She wanted him out of his clothes. Wanted to feel his naked, powerful body against hers. Wanted to feel him moving between her legs.

  Cradling her face in his big hands, he kissed the length of her throat, nibbling and nipping as he went, making her shiver with need. All the while his hips moved against hers in a slow, measured rhythm that made her writhe desperately against him.

  “Easy,” he murmured. “Don’t rush this.”

  Easy for him to say, Raina thought. He hadn’t been waiting for this moment practically all his life. But hadn’t she known, after their first kiss, that he would be this way, a skilled, patient lover who would take his time pleasuring and tormenting her?

  She whimpered softly in protest as Warrick lifted his head from hers. Holding her gaze, he reached for the belt of her robe and slowly, deliberately, began untying it. Raina’s heart thundered, anticipation coiling in her belly.

  As he slid the robe from her shoulders, the friction of the silk, combined with the warm brush of his knuckles against her skin, made her shudder convulsively. She closed her eyes and swayed against him as he leaned down, placing an openmouthed kiss on her bare shoulder.

  “You have such beautiful skin,” he said huskily.

  Raina quivered as he rained hot little kisses down her arm. He kissed her slowly, thoroughly, sparing no inch of skin his sensual onslaught. When his warm mouth reached the heaving valley between her breasts, her nipples hardened. Warrick rasped his thumbs over them, sensuously tracing their outline through her silk nightshirt. Desire coiled tighter in her stomach. Moisture pooled between her thighs.

  Warrick brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her. A deep, carnal kiss that left her panting, hungry for more.

  She opened her heavy-lidded eyes and watched as he sank to his knees before her. He gazed up at her, his midnight eyes blazing with fierce sensuality. Raina was mesmerized, completely under his spell. His for the taking.

  His hands moved slowly up her legs, first grasping her ankles, then her calves, before sliding up her thighs to push her nightshirt out of the way. Without being asked Raina braced her hands on the desk and raised her hips, and he grasped her panties and slowly dragged them off her legs.

  And then he just stared at her, his hungry, possessive gaze devouring the sight of her.

  “Beautiful,” he whispered reverently. “So damned beautiful.”

  Raina shook all over, feeling as if she were having an out-of-body experience. There she was, perched on the edge of Warrick Mayne’s desk, her legs spread open, completely exposed to him. But she felt no shame. All she felt was a powerful, consuming need to have him buried deep inside her.

  He caressed her inner thighs, gently kneading her, leaving a trail of fire everywhere he touched. A woman could become a slave to those experienced hands. She already was.

  Holding her gaze, he let one long, thick finger wander into the neat triangle of curls between her thighs. When his probing finger reached the slick entrance to her body, Raina moaned. She was burning from the inside out, already on the verge of climaxing.

  He stroked the swollen, pulsing folds of her sex, rumbling appreciatively, “Mmm. You’re so wet.”

  When he slid his finger inside her, Raina cried out, pleasure coursing through her. He pushed deeper, stoking the flames threatening to engulf her.

  “Warrick…” she whimpered his name helplessly. She didn’t know how much more she could take.

  And then he pressed his hot mouth to her, and her hips jerked off the desk as she let out a keening wail.

  His strong hands gripped her waist, holding her in place, giving her no reprieve. Her eyes closed and her head fell back as she felt his tongue move skillfully across her pulsing flesh. Her heart pounded furiously against her ribs.

  He murmured her name, his voice hoarse with desire and primal need.

  Keeping one hand around her hip, he pushed his finger back inside her, stroking her insides as he simultaneously suckled her engorged clitoris. It was the most powerfully erotic thing Raina had ever experienced. She moaned and rocked against him, feeling an orgasm building in her loins. Warrick stayed with her, his long finger penetrating her in controlled thrusts, his tongue tormenting and pleasuring her until a burst of ecstasy shimmered through her. She sobbed his name as her body convulsed, arching tightly against his mouth.

  He didn’t release her right away, licking at her wetness until she stopped trembling.

  Dazedly she opened her eyes and met his smoldering gaze. The expression on his face was feral, primal.

  To Raina’s astonishment, she felt a fresh wave of arousal. Her body had had its first taste of what this man could do to her. Like an addict, it wanted more.

  She was already tugging at Warrick’s broad shoulders as he straightened from his kneeling position. Desperate for the feel of his bare flesh, she began unbuttoning his shirt, her fingers fumbling in her haste. Why are there so many damned buttons!

  Cursing impatiently, she gave up the effort and yanked his shirt open, sending buttons flying and scattering across the floor.

  “Sorry,” she breathed.

  Warrick laughed, dark and masculine. “Believe me, I’ve got plenty more.”

  Frantically Raina stripped off his shirt, then ran greedy hands over his hard-honed, bare chest. He was magnificent. Solid power and muscle, not an ounce of flab to be found. She delighted in the tremor that rippled through him at her touch.

  Next she attacked his belt, hurriedly unzipping his pants and tugging down his dark briefs. She gasped as he sprang into her hand—long, thick and gloriously hard. Her womb contracted in eager anticipation. He was every bit the superb male specimen she’d imagined he would be.

  He sucked in a harsh breath as her hand closed around his throbbing erection, stroking up and down the rigid length until he groaned, moisture beading the swollen tip. Raina wanted to taste him, wanted to wrap her mouth around him, but suddenly he caught her wrist and shook his head, his eyes glittering dangerously.

  “Not now,” he said, a low, savage growl.

  Raina nodded, heady with the knowledge that she could arouse him as easily as he aroused her.

  Warrick reached out, dragging her nightshirt over her head and tossing it aside. She trembled as his dark gaze swept over her naked body, staring at her breasts with a hungry reverence that took her breath away.

  He hauled her into his arms, a deep shudder racking their bodies as they came together, chest to breasts, skin to skin. He seized her mouth with his, kissing her fiercely and possessively. When her nipples puckered against him, he drew back and gently cupped her breasts in his palms. The feel of his rough, masculine fingertips against her flesh made her shiver.

  “Ahh, Raina,” he groaned huskily. “Every inch of you is exquisite.”

  She felt a thrill of pleasure at his words.

  Then he dipped his head and drew an erect nipple into his mouth, and a jolt of sensa
tion ripped through her.

  Warrick kicked off his pants, then cupped her bottom and lifted her tight against him, his erection probing the slick entrance to her body. Raina clamped her thighs around his hips.

  Their gazes locked. He thrust into her, stretching her, and she cried out hoarsely. Warrick swore under his breath, closing his eyes as if he were in excruciating pain.

  Raina knew the feeling. He felt so good inside her, so big and thick that the pleasure was almost unbearable. Their bodies fit perfectly, hand in glove. As her inner walls contracted around his penis, she knew she wouldn’t last very long.

  Legs braced wide, Warrick began thrusting into her. She held on to his shoulders, her fingertips digging into the hard pad of muscle and sinew. As he plunged in and out of her, she felt every swollen, incredible inch of him.

  His mouth sought hers, their tongues tangling erotically.

  His strokes deepened, sending her breasts bouncing up and down. Pressure built inside her.

  Their breathing grew ragged, harsh. As sweat broke out on their bodies, Raina tightened her legs around his waist so she wouldn’t slip from his embrace. He cupped her butt in his hands, his powerful body slapping against hers, pounding into her until she moaned uncontrollably.

  She could feel her orgasm building, even more explosive than the first one.

  Warrick drove into her, ruthless and demanding, fueled by the same urgent need that gripped her. She felt the tension mounting in his body, knew that he, too, was on the verge of release.

  They erupted, the orgasm tearing through them at the same time.

  Together they cried out, shuddering and whispering each other’s names. As Raina’s muscles clenched around his throbbing shaft, she felt the vibrations deep in her womb, like the aftershocks of an earthquake.

  And as she and Warrick stared into each other’s eyes, their bodies locked in a profound moment of ecstasy, Raina knew her life would never be the same again.

  Chapter 16

  With a soft, dreamy smile on her lips, Raina awakened in Warrick’s bed the next morning. She felt boneless, thoroughly and deliciously sated, as memories of last night drifted lazily through her mind. After their passionate coupling in the study, Warrick had taken her upstairs to his bedroom, where they’d made love long into the night, making her glad she was on the pill.