‘Then you might like this.’ Another glass was set alongside the first. Pale wine, just the sight of it a balm on her still-screaming taste buds.
He pulled up a chair and sat down beside her, back a little, away from the others. Dressed in black jeans and a black shirt. She could see his forearms. Lightly tanned. Muscular. Capable. He gave her a barely there grin. His face had intensity all over it—accentuated by the shadow on his jaw.
‘Thank you.’ She lifted the water and took a deep sip, needing it more than ever.
He watched. Before she could put the glass back on the table he took it from her. Eyes not breaking their hold, he lifted it to his sensuous, sensitive mouth and drank deeply.
‘You mind sharing?’ he asked belatedly.
Sienna snaked in some air. ‘Not at all.’
Julia’s eyebrows had disappeared under her fringe. Brooke was hammily fanning herself.
Tim dropped forward on his seat, clunking the legs down. ‘Glad you could finally join us, Rhys. Let me introduce you. Julia, Brooke, this is Rhys. And I think you met Sienna earlier.’
A look passed between the two men. An even less subtle look passed between Brooke and Julia. Sienna ignored the lot of them, quickly reaching for the wine.
‘Rhys is an old school friend of mine who’s in town for a few days. Thought I’d get him to help us out.’
‘Shouldn’t you be up on that stage singing your little heart out, Tim?’ Rhys interrupted.
Tim smiled a sly smile, picked up his bottle and headed back to the stage where the other band members were already strapping on instruments and quickly checking their pitch.
Julia and Brooke stared after him, then turned back and stared at Rhys, then Sienna.
‘We’re going to dance,’ Brooke declared, grabbing Julia by the hand and leaping to her feet, eyes flashing.
‘Some sound and lighting geek,’ Sienna heard Julia mutter as she passed her.
‘Mmm hmm.’ Sienna bought some time by having another sip of wine.
Julia and Brooke hit the dance floor and headed right up the front, taking Tim’s tambourine from him and starting dancing in a way that more men than just those in the band enjoyed.
Sienna watched them for a moment, loving their enthusiasm. But the strong, silent presence beside her was all she could really focus on. She turned to study him as he quietly regarded her. One thing she did know how to do was talk to people. Or, rather, how to get people to talk to her. She’d been cast in the role of confidante for so many years. The one sitting, while others achieved; she’d be the ear when they needed a rest or reviving. Ironic that she, who couldn’t participate, could motivate and could listen.
‘You in town for long, Rhys?’
‘Just a few days. I’m a builder. From Melbourne.’ He took another drink from their shared water.
OK. Keen to get the basics out. She tried to get him to elaborate a little. ‘A builder?’
His attention was fixed on the band. ‘Sure.’
‘You don’t look like a builder.’
He glanced at her then. Wry amusement in his face. ‘I didn’t think I’d need my tool belt tonight.’
She grinned and gave up on the small talk. He clearly wasn’t one to waste words. And the most she was conscious of was her Goliath-sized awareness of him—it didn’t leave much room for conversational effort.
Surprisingly he took on the task. ‘What about you? What do you do?’
‘Not much at the moment.’
‘On holiday?’
She nodded.
‘From where?’
‘Life in general.’ She laughed at her own pretension. Expanded so he wouldn’t think she was an idiot. ‘I’m in Sydney for a week before embarking on my big adventure.’
‘Your OE?’
The great Overseas Experience. Obligatory for most Kiwis in their early twenties. Maybe it was something to do with being stuck in a tiny country on the edge of the earth. For a year or two or more they’d pack their packs and traipse around the world. She nodded. It had taken her a little longer to get organised, but finally she was on her way.
‘Europe?’
‘South America initially.’ There were a couple of things on her life’s must-do list that she wanted to finally cross off. Peru was right up there.
‘So where is home?’
She shrugged. ‘I’m not sure yet.’ It wasn’t where she’d come from. She loved it. She loved the people but she needed space to set her life in its new direction. ‘What about you?’
‘I’ve a couple of weeks off. Just spending it hanging out in Sydney.’
‘Catching up with old friends?’
‘Right now I’m more interested in making new ones.’
Silence fell again. His eyes held hers as he took another sip—this time of her wine. She wished he wouldn’t. She really did because all she then saw was that beautiful mouth with its perfect cupid bow. Since when did she feel jealous of a glass? But how would it feel to be pressed against his lips, to have his tongue lick her rim?
She felt heat rise in her cheeks. The way she was thinking! And the worst of it was she was certain he knew. Possibly even thinking the same. Because his attention was fixed on her when she took the glass from him and sipped.
He waited until she’d placed her glass back on the table before leaning closer to her, speaking with the world’s most tempting voice.
‘You know what I think, Sienna?’
‘What?’
‘I think you should dance with me.’
A flicker of excitement ran from the nape of her neck all the way down her spine, through her legs and to her toes. She wriggled them in her sandals. ‘OK.’
They stood. Julia and Brooke were somewhere up the front, playing up to Tim’s ‘glam lead singer’ act. Sienna stopped in the middle of the crowd, wanting to disappear into it. Not wanting to feel any more self-conscious than she already was. Fully aware that Tim and the other band members were probably watching. That Brooke and Julia would be giving the thumbs-up behind Rhys’ back. She didn’t want the distraction or the discomfort.
Within three seconds she wouldn’t have cared if there were a film crew beside her broadcasting the action live to twenty million viewers. She’d totally lost awareness of all others, of their surroundings. She lost all sense of everything except Rhys. The thrill rippled through her—her awareness of him almost a tangible entity. They took advantage of the crowd on the floor to stand close. He smiled and she found herself smiling back, just like that. So easy. The music wasn’t too heavy, he moved, she followed. Fingers brushed. She nearly jumped, the electricity practically sparking. She glanced at her hand. Quickly looked to gauge his reaction—had he felt that current? He was watching her face, then looked to her hand. With slow deliberation he reached out and took it in his, his grip firming at her tremble.
If she felt this on edge with just one small touch, how on earth would anything more feel? All she knew was that she wanted that more—with a biting need, almost desperation. Desire both ferocious and foreign.
Neither of them was smiling any more. They moved closer as the floor became more crowded. He didn’t take his eyes off her. Shadows fought with emerald light. His hold on her hand tightened.
‘I know this is really forward. And I know I don’t really know you. And feel free to say no, but…’
‘But what?’
He looked straight into her eyes with a wry turn-up of his mouth. ‘I’m going to kiss you.’
Sienna stopped moving. Stood stock-still in the middle of the dance floor while a hundred others grooved close around her. Her initial reaction was relief—that she hadn’t been dreaming, that the attraction wasn’t all one-sided. The relief soon gave way to electric excitement. She provoked it further, confidence surging through her. ‘Well, that’s good, because I intend to kiss you right back.’
He’d stopped dancing too. Abandoned the pretence of caring about the music. Green eyes, not slate, burned into her. ‘That’s good.’
He stepped nearer. Her body screamed for the touch of his. But it was still out of range—the millimetres feeling like miles. Yet there was almost reluctance between them. A tacit agreement to draw it out, to savour the moment that they’d both been seeking since first seeing each other. She sensed it in him, the deliberate decision to take time to truly appreciate each moment.
Anticipation immobilised her. As much as she wanted to move, it was he who would have to take that final step.
He did. His hand came up, traced her cheek and jaw with a light finger. She quelled the tremor inside. Her lips were tingling. She just had to lick them, had to.
‘No,’ he muttered. ‘Let me.’
He bent to her. Very gently touched the tip of his tongue to the full centre of her lower lip.
Sensation engulfed her. This was crazy. But the fire ripping through her was real.
His hands, gentle, went to frame her chin.
‘Better?’
‘No.’ She tried to hide the shaking, not wanting to admit to the extremity of her reaction.
‘Still thirsty?’
Desperately so. She managed a minute nod. Her chin tilted up to meet him, her neck arched to its full length.
His hand slid around it so his fingers tangled into her hair at the back. How she wanted that mouth—that beautiful mouth…
He touched her again. Brushed his lips over hers a couple of times. Such soft teasing that tore at her self-control. She reached up and mirrored his action, threading her fingers into the thick hair at the back of his head, pulling him down to her.
They stood completely still in the mass of movement. Unable even to sway in time, concentrating wholly on each other, on the fragile softness that would shatter if their passion was unleashed. This wasn’t the place for it to be unleashed. Yet she knew it was impossible to hold back.
A moment of fantasy melded with reality. Just this once.
He lowered his head as she lifted her chin. They met at the middle, lips catching and clinging. Mouths opening so tongues could taste—deep and delicious.
He kissed his way down the length of her neck, and back up to her ear. ‘You are quite the most beautiful thing.’ He pulled back to look at her, his gaze heavy and gleaming.
She ensured her lips curved upwards but dropped her lashes so he wouldn’t see the pain she knew her eyes would have reflected. Beautiful? Not entirely.
She tugged on his hair, directing him back to her mouth. Wanting the words to end and only the feeling to remain. Not wanting compliments or pretty phrases or promises to falsely gild this moment. Because that was all it was—one moment, but one of absolute bliss. The kind of moment she’d wanted all her adult life and one she wanted to extend. She wanted to make the most of the magic in the night. She melted into him in a way she’d never do at home. But she wasn’t at home. She wasn’t with anyone she knew.
The sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on was holding her and kissing her as if she was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen. There was no one who knew to tell him otherwise. She’d keep up this pretence as long as she possibly could.
Their bodies collided as passion rose. Initial restraint fast fading as they recognised their needs matched.
More.
At the first touch of his fingers on her bare back, her body shook—the electric charge bolting through her system again. He jerked his head back, his startled green eyes reading hers. She registered the same aftershock in them. He opened his mouth to speak but she stretched forward, reaching right up on tiptoe to prevent him. Not wanting to name it, just wanting to experience it.
Again.
His fingers traversed, burning fire as they went. The need to have them touch her all over nearly crippled her. Instead she spread fingers and palms across his shoulders. Wanting to experience the feel of him as much as the way he made her feel.
So this was what Cinderella must have felt like. To have met her Prince Charming, to be dancing, but knowing it was a fantasy that couldn’t last past the midnight hour.
Make the most of it.
Time constraint made her bolder. She basked in his openly hungry gaze. He wanted her and she wanted nothing but that mouth roving over every inch of her.
No. Not every inch. She forced the miserable thought back, stepped closer into his embrace. Determined to take what she wanted while she could. And he met her, sensed her availability without censure, simply giving her what she asked for and more.
She’d never been so forward in all her life. And she loved it. It wasn’t really the kind of kiss that should be in public at all. She was locked in his arms, length to length they pressed together hard. Both feeling the desperate need to seep into each other’s bodies. To somehow transcend the clothing, the fabric between them and to merge into one.
What had begun as a slow, sensuous dance flavoured with restraint had now become frankly hot and heavy and not nearly enough. His hands traced over her back, fingers that had fluttered over her soft skin now stroked with increasing insistence. His palms pressed her towards him—closer but still not as close as she wanted. She ached, a real physical pain deep inside that only he could soothe—by being deep inside her.
His hand came to rest on her bottom, curved over it with pressure, pulling her tight into him. Locking them pelvis to pelvis. The feel of his erection against her was the most exquisite torture. Half of her trembled, the other half imbued with a surge of strength that had her moving in a way to torment him too. Hunting out the response her basic instinct demanded she receive—him driven to take.
His grip grew stronger, his kisses more frantic—trailing across her face, down her neck. Her eyes closed. Her breath came short and fast—faster and faster until she was panting, almost pleading.
His jaw brushed rough against her over-sensitised skin as he raised his head with sudden and unexpected force. ‘We shouldn’t be here any more.’ His voice was low and husky and his hands tightened, keeping her close. ‘I think we need to be alone.’
Green eyes searched hers. She knew they were seeking out doubt. But she had no intention of stepping away. For the first time in her life she ignored her worry and just went with the want.
‘Somewhere close.’ Miraculously her voice worked.
‘You’re sure?’
Again the intensity together with a sensitivity she hadn’t expected. And faint hesitancy just as there had been when they had first hit the dance floor. Desire most certainly, but something else as well. Some other thought, small but inescapable, that had him pausing. But as he pulled on her arm it seemed that he, like she, had no choice.
She gave him the only possible answer. ‘As sure as you are.’
CHAPTER THREE
THE door closed behind them, muting the noise of bottles, beat and bar. Sienna was in some oversized pantry. Half-dazed, she took in the shelves where giant jars of sun-dried tomatoes vied for space next to sacks of rice and tins of whatever. Rhys had taken her by the hand and led her off the dance floor. Known exactly where he was headed. She’d simply followed, unquestioning. He closed the door behind him. Bolted it. Swung her so her back was to the door, the lock just by her arm. He nodded to it.
‘You can leave any time.’
‘I don’t want to.’
She saw his tension as he braced against the door but holding his body away from her. She looked along the length of his arms, pinning her in. She could see the strength in them. Not overdeveloped, bulging biceps, but defined, long muscles that were, frankly, beautiful. She sensed he was pushing against the door as a way to keep himself in check. She didn’t want him to hold back. No restraint, she wanted everything. Wanted him to want her in the deeply physical way she wanted him, and she wanted to feel it, experience it. All.
It was her turn to seize the moment. Daring, she reached out quickly before habit returned and she hesitated. She unfastened the top button of his shirt. She heard the catch of his breath. A tiny smile tugged the corners of her mouth. This could be an awful lot of fun. A
nd she’d gone too long without fun. Well, not tonight.
Her fingers shook only a little as she worked the buttons with surprising ease. Until both halves of the shirt hung apart and she was able to see his taut bronzed torso. The initial attack of butterflies in her tummy was fast replaced by a serious tightening. Transverse, internal and external obliques—all those abdominal muscles tensed at the sight of raw male in perfect prime.
She must have a fairy godmother to grant her this wish. She forced her gaze from his torso to his face. She could see the way he’d clamped his jaw shut as he watched her admiring him.
Their eyes met. She saw the serious look in his again. The reality of what she was considering hit her.
She spoke. ‘I don’t usually…’
‘Neither do I.’
Somehow she knew that was true. ‘I just want to…’
‘Me too.’
Touch.
She reached a hand out sideways and flipped the light switch. Blackness covered them—sudden and total. She couldn’t even make out his outline. But she could hear him. Could sense his nearness.
‘Sienna?’
‘Indulge me.’ She smiled—excited by his audible tension, amused by her actions. She even sounded like a seductress. She slipped her panties down, kicking them off and to the floor. Now she felt like one. A sense of exhilaration flooded her. Freedom. In the dark, where there was only touch and scent and sensation, she could be as wicked and wild as she wanted.
‘How should I indulge you?’ The tension was still there, and a trace of husky desire.
‘Touch me.’
He stepped closer. She heard the movement of his feet. With the loss of vision her other senses seemed more acute.
His voice lowered but she still heard every word as clear as the beat of the drum. ‘Where should I touch you?’
‘Anywhere you want.’ Everywhere. She didn’t mind. In the dark like this, anything could happen.
He was close. Very close but still not touching and she wanted that beyond belief.
She smelt the wine they’d drunk. Then caught a hint of a scent new to her but thoroughly delightful—Rhys. Aroused.
Pleasured by the Secret Millionaire Page 3