“That’s more than I can handle right now,” he groaned, pressing one of her palms against his erection. “Can’t you feel what you do to me?”
Words failed her. Her entire body was on fire, liquid molten heat that slowly consumed her inside and out. Judd skimmed his hands up to her shoulders and slid the straps of her bra down before reaching behind her and unsnapping the hooks. The garment fell away from her. He stared at her for so long she began to feel self-conscious, but then he lifted his gaze to hers, his eyes glittering.
“You are so beautiful,” he said, reaching out one finger and tracing the pink areola that contracted even tighter under his gentle touch.
He unfastened her pants and pushed them down her legs, the black fabric swiftly followed by her panties. He knelt before her, helping her to step out of the wisp of fabric, then let his fingers glide up her legs, over her trembling thighs and pausing for a second to let his fingers brush the moisture that gathered at their apex.
“You feel so hot, so ready for me,” he murmured before pressing his lips where his fingers had been.
His tongue darted against her most sensitive spot, teasing and tasting as if she were some decadent dessert to be slowly savored. Anna clutched his shoulders as he increased the pressure of his tongue, as his lips closed over that sweet bundle of nerve endings, as she was hit with a sudden sharp wave of pleasure that radiated from her core and out to her extremities in a crescendo that tore a cry of satisfaction from deep within her.
She could barely stand another moment. Judd rose swiftly to his feet and guided her back onto the bed. Against her overheated body the sheets were a welcome stretch of coolness, but that coolness was soon swamped by the heat of Judd’s body as he rose over her.
He’d said she was beautiful but he was far more so. The symmetry of his body, the strength of his muscles, the golden tan of his skin and the heavy maleness of his arousal—each inch perfection in itself, let alone presented to her as whole.
He’d already grabbed a condom from somewhere and sheathed himself.
“I’m sorry,” he grunted as he positioned himself between her thighs. “This is going to be hard and fast, but I promise to take longer next time.” He eased his swollen length inside her, his face flushed with concentration. “And the next,” he said, his voice strained as he thrust forward, “and the next.”
Anna rocked her pelvis to meet his every move, her hands clutching his forearms as they braced at her sides, her legs wrapping around his hips. Her body responded to his fierce possession, a delicious tightening of her inner muscles heralding another orgasm. And then she was there, spasms of pleasure heightening in concentration until she thought she might break apart from the sheer strength of them. Judd lunged within her, his whole body shuddering as he, too, reached his pinnacle of completion.
When he collapsed against her, his breathing was ragged, his body still rocked intermittently by tiny tremors. It was several minutes before he withdrew and rolled to one side. He stroked away several strands of her hair that had settled over her face.
“I’ll be right back,” he murmured.
Anna nodded, too shattered to speak. A delicious lassitude consumed her body and she lay back on the sheets, barely daring to believe what had just happened between them. Judd came back from the bathroom and slid into the bed beside her then gathered her to him, whereupon he made good on his promise to take longer the next time. And the next.
Dawn was breaking when she awoke. She was sprawled across Judd’s chest, her legs tangled in his as if she couldn’t get close enough to him. The last time they’d made love she’d been poised above him, and in their aftermath she’d collapsed right where she lay. Their lovemaking had left her nearly incoherent. She’d never felt this close to another human being ever before.
In bed, Judd Wilson was a completely different man. Gone was the underlying tension that always kept Anna on edge in the office, wondering what was really going on in his keenly intelligent mind. No, in bed there had been nothing between them, quite literally. No past, no future—only the present.
Anna carefully loosed her legs from between his and levered herself onto the sheets beside him. Judd barely moved, lost in a sleep so deep his face relaxed into lines that made him look so much more approachable than he did on a day-to-day basis—less driven, less ruthless.
In the gray light filtering through the windows she looked her fill and wondered where they would go to from here. She couldn’t be angry with herself for breaking her long-standing rule—clearly Judd was a man who could never be resisted for long. But now that they’d started this affair, she didn’t know what came next. She didn’t want the kind of relationship her mother had had with Charles, which, while it was a deep and loving friendship, had never given her mother the full security of marriage which Donna Garrick had quietly craved. Her mother’s quiet acceptance of everything had made Anna angry with her for just settling for a half life.
Charles and Donna had been occasional lovers, a fact that was governed partially by his diabetes-related impotence and by the strictures of Donna being in his employ. There’d always been an imperceptible barrier between them. One that neither of them had fully crossed. Anna had always felt that her mother had compromised her own happiness for the sake of that vague relationship. Perhaps her need to provide a home and a quality education for her daughter had driven her, or perhaps, after her husband’s death, she wasn’t prepared to risk her heart again for a passionate love.
Anna had been five when her father had died unexpectedly, and her mother had been offered the position as Charles’s housekeeper. Anna had grown up under Charles’s roof lacking nothing materially. Deep inside, though, she knew that she wanted more—the emotional strength that came with being intrinsically linked with another soul being first and foremost on her list.
Judd was the kind of man she’d always believed she’d fall in love with one day. His looks aside, his intelligence and ability to provide made him an exceptionally attractive mate. But he was more than all that. This past week she’d seen so many of his strengths—his ability to calm Charles in the wake of Nicole’s defection being a perfect example.
Could she have all she wanted with Judd? Did he feel the same way about love and marriage and building a life together forever? Did he feel the same way about her? She almost laughed in the early-morning gloom. God, she was pathetic. Here she was after one night of mind-blowing sex and already she was marching him down the aisle. She didn’t even know for certain how compatible they were in other aspects of life. All she knew was that the moment she’d set eyes on him she’d reacted to him on an instinctive level she’d never experienced before. Bearing the brunt of his anger when he’d discovered her deception over her reasons for being at The Masters’ had been painful to bear. But once they’d gotten to New Zealand, things had changed. She’d seen sides of him she hadn’t suspected before. And then last night…well, last night had changed everything. Now she knew for certain that she wanted a future with him. But was that what he wanted, too?
Guilt drove a splinter into her thoughts. And what about his relationship with his sister? What about hers? Nicole already thought she’d gone over to the enemy by having represented Charles in Adelaide. If she knew that Anna was now considering getting seriously involved with Judd, she’d be even more angry—even more hurt. A lifetime of friendship shattered for a man she’d known for only a matter of weeks.
And what about Charles? How would he react to all of this? He’d seemed to encourage the two of them to spend time together, but would he approve of them having a real relationship?
Of course, all of that presupposed that a real relationship was what Judd wanted with her in the first place. Did she dare to even ask? So much was at stake—so much could be ruined if this went badly. Her job, her closeness to the people who meant the most to her, nearly everything she had,
including the roof over her head in the house she’d lived in for nearly all her life, could all be lost.
She looked over again at Judd’s sleeping form. Even now, the urge to touch him was irresistible. In spite of herself, she curled up closer at his side, feeling a little thrill of pleasure when his arms tightened around her.
For now, he wanted her and she couldn’t deny that she wanted him. And away from her friends, from the gossips at the office, from Charles, he was too tempting to resist. Things would change when they got back to Auckland. If nothing else, she certainly wouldn’t want to engage in anything inappropriate under Charles’s roof. But for now…for now, she’d fall back asleep in Judd’s arms. She’d worry about the consequences later.
Nine
Judd felt Anna’s withdrawal from him grow incrementally larger as they got closer to home. It started at breakfast on the last morning of their trip, where she’d suggested eating in the restaurant rather than in their room as they had the past few days, and it had continued through their final appointments and for the duration of their plane trip to Auckland. Now, it was dark as Evans drove them up to the house and even though she was sitting right next to him, it felt like she was a million miles away.
After Evans had taken their bags inside the front foyer and gone to put the car back in the multicar garage, Judd turned to Anna.
“Will you stay with me tonight?”
“Judd…” She shook her head, not making eye contact.
“Why not?”
Suspicion roiled inside of him. Was it because they’d be under his father’s roof? Or maybe it was because she’d be sleeping in Charles’s bed tonight. Anger flared hard on the heels of his suspicions. She’d been his, all his, the past three nights. Those nights hadn’t been anywhere near enough to sate the hunger he had for her and he damn sure wasn’t sharing her—especially not with his father.
“It just wouldn’t be right,” she said, picking up her weekend bag and starting up the stairs.
“We could be discreet,” he heard himself say. “Although you would have to try harder not to scream when I—”
“Don’t. Just, please don’t,” she said, her voice shaking and warm color spreading across her cheeks.
“I only want to give you pleasure, Anna. Nothing more.”
Her hazel eyes locked with his, and for a few seconds he thought he had her, but then she shook her head again and turned away up the staircase.
He watched her retreat from the bottom of the stairs, his whole body humming with frustration. Leaving his bag at the base of the stairs, he turned and went through to the salon, reaching for the brandy decanter and splashing a measure in one of the crystal tumblers he’d swept up off an engraved silver tray on the sideboard. He knocked back a generous mouthful of the spirit and relished the burn as it traversed its way down his throat.
She might have refused him tonight, he decided, but he hoped it would be the last time she did so. Anna Garrick had become an addiction he had no desire to shake. He finished the last of the brandy and headed for his room and his frustratingly empty bed.
The next morning Judd watched Anna under hooded lids as she summarized their trip to the South Island to Charles—leaving out what he felt to be the most important details, of course. For all her poise and aloof elegance, she was neither poised nor aloof in bed. No, in bed she was voracious and generous, two qualities he held in high esteem in a lover. After that first night they hadn’t bothered with booking two rooms again, spending their days visiting various wineries and their nights exploring every inch of one another’s bodies.
And what a body. Full in just the right places, and firm in others. A man could lose himself in her. And he had, over and over again. It had been difficult to keep his hands off her when they took their business meetings, especially when he’d seen the way other men looked at her—drawn to her beauty, her charm, her sharp mind tempered with such inherent sweetness. She was phenomenal in every respect, and it had been all he could do to keep from crowing that she was his.
Or rather, she had been his, until they’d returned to Charles.
Sleep had been a long time coming last night in his large empty bed. She’d well and truly gotten under his skin, he admitted. He wanted her now, even as she showed Charles a swiftly cobbled together PowerPoint presentation showing where they believed the company would make gains on the current market with their new trend of stocking domestically produced wines.
Judd shifted in his chair to ease the sudden tightness in his groin, his movement drawing Anna’s attention. Her eyes flew to his face, a question in them—he merely smiled in response and narrowed his eyes just a little. She blushed, a totally delightful quality, and a dead giveaway as to her physical state. He let his eyes drop deliberately to where her nipples left the tiniest peaks through her bra and against the fabric of her blouse. He didn’t mistake her sharp intake of breath, nor her very deliberate body language when she turned away from him and wrapped up the presentation.
“So, you see, Charles, all in all, Nicole was on the right track.”
“Well, she’s not now,” he grumbled. “So you’re both convinced that this is the right way to go?”
Judd rose from his chair. “New Zealand has long held a strong position on the world stage for its superior-quality wines. Our clientele deserves to be offered the exclusivity of these labels. We’d be foolish not to. And, I would suspect, if we don’t act soon, someone else will.”
“Jackson Importers, you mean?” Charles asked sharply. “We can’t have them upstage us. How soon before we can get these varieties into distribution?”
As Anna smoothly took over the logistics of the proposal, Judd sat back to watch her in action. Yes, she was the whole package, all right. Intelligent, beautiful and sexy as hell. And she was his; she just needed a little reminding of it.
Later, after Charles had left the office for the day, Judd called her back into his office.
“Close the door behind you,” he instructed as she came in.
“Is there a problem?” she asked as she sealed off the outer office, leaving them cocooned together.
“Oh, yeah, there’s a problem, all right.”
“What is it? Is it an issue with the new wines?”
“No, come over here.”
She did as he asked, a worried crease in her brow. The instant she was within reach, he drew her to him, one hand sliding up her back to cradle the back of her head. He lowered his lips to hers and took them in a kiss he’d been waiting for since yesterday. It had been only hours and yet he’d missed this physicality between them with an ache that had plagued him all last night and all day long.
She pulled away from him. “Stop. What if someone comes in?”
“I’ve already instructed that all our calls be held. No one will interrupt us, but if you’re really worried…”
A few steps across the carpeted floor and the door was securely locked. Anna turned, her back to his desk, and faced him.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
He smiled in response. “What I’ve been wanting to do since we got home.”
He backed her up to his desk, boosting her up onto its surface, and, hitching her, oh, so sensible office skirt up to the top of her thighs, he stood between her legs.
“If you won’t stay with me in my room, we’ll just have to make do,” he whispered as he bent his head to her neck and lavished the sensitive skin there with alternating nips of his teeth and licks of his tongue.
He felt the quiver of longing that rippled through her.
“But we’re in the office, people will know,” she protested, but he knew her heart wasn’t in it.
Even now her hands were at his waistband, unfastening his belt and sliding his zipper down to gain access to his body. As h
er hands freed him from his boxer briefs he shuddered in response, relishing the silky softness of her fingers as they closed around his hardness and squeezed with just the right kind of pressure.
“No one will know but us,” he groaned into her mouth as he reached between her legs and found her hot and wet already.
His fingers eased behind the fabric of her panties, sliding along her slick crease, back and forth, back and forth. She moaned in response and he kissed her again, flicking his tongue within her, mirroring his actions with his fingers. She rocked against him, trying desperately to force him to make contact with that part of her that he knew would send her flying over the edge, but this time he wanted to extend the torture just a little longer.
Somewhere along the line in the past few days she’d become necessary to him, and sleeping without her last night had been something he wasn’t in a hurry to repeat. He wanted her to want him so much, to need him so much, that she wouldn’t consider sleeping without him again.
He eased her back down on the desk and took his time with his free hand flicking open the buttons of her blouse. One by one he worked his way down, his knuckles skimming the soft swells of her breasts as he lingered on those in particular.
“Please, Judd. Let’s just do this.”
“In good time,” he answered, but even as he did so he privately acknowledged that he wouldn’t be able to control his desire for her for much longer. Even now he ached to be inside her, his erection at an almost painful level.
She’d given up touching him, so mindless as she was now to his touch. He bent and blew a cool breath across the exposed skin of her breasts, noting with pleasure how the skin raised in tiny goose bumps, how her nipples pressed against the smooth cups of her bra. This one had a front clasp, he realized with a carnal smile, and he wasted no time in squeezing the clasp and letting it ping open. It was like peeling open a luscious, ripe and forbidden fruit.
The Wayward Son Page 10