by Kim Lawrence
‘No!’ A finger on her cheek stopped her turning her head towards the smashing sound. ‘It’s nothing,’ he rasped, desperate not to break the mood. She stared up at him, the urgency in his voice echoed in the starkly beautiful, strained lines of his face and the molten heat burning in his heavy-lidded, half-closed eyes.
She stopped thinking about broken china; she forgot thinking about everything except the here and now. Her entire world was here, his face, his heat, and if the ceiling had fallen on their heads she wouldn’t have noticed. She’d have just carried on looking and wanting.
She wanted to touch him, taste him… She was quivering with need, shaking from head to toe.
The grip of fingers in her hair was tight but not as tight as the grip of his dark, glowing stare.
‘It’s fine…’ he murmured as his nose brushed along the side of hers. The gentle nip at the soft curve of the trembling fullness of her lower lip sent her deeper into the sensual maelstrom that held her enthralled.
‘I love your mouth.’ His tongue traced the outline until she widened her mouth, inviting him to deepen his erotic invasion.
They had reached his bedroom door when the buttons of his shirt gave way under the pressure of her purchase and Eve stumbled, but before she lost her balance he was able to scoop her up and carry her into the bedroom.
His impatient kick set the door hard against the wall but he didn’t register the framed landscape on the wall vibrating hard enough to crack the glass as he closed it with his foot.
He walked across to the bed and, pulling back the quilt to reveal crisp white sheets, he placed her on the cool silk.
Eve pulled herself into a kneeling position, her glorious hair tumbled about her flushed face and her emerald eyes glazed with passion. She looked so totally gorgeous that it took all his will power to resist the primal need to simply sink into her and feel her close around him, but her pleasure was as important for Draco’s satisfaction as his own and he needed to be sure she was ready for him.
Instead he left the moisture from a slow trail of kisses he pressed to her throat and straightened up.
Kneeling there on the big bed, struggling to breathe past the tangled knot of emotion in her chest, she watched as he rid himself of his shirt.
A hot breath snagged in her throat. She wanted him, and how could anything that felt so good be wrong? A hundred examples came to mind and she brushed them all away with fierce determination and caught hold of the unfastened ends of the belt that dangled from his belt loops.
He smiled as she tugged, not resisting the pressure that brought him to the edge of the bed where she knelt. Eve continued to gaze up at him; he was so perfect he made her ache.
Eve stared up at him with a mixture of fascination, awe and hunger. She had never seen anything so beautiful. There was not an ounce of spare flesh to blur the perfect definition of each individual muscle, and with his flat belly and broad powerful chest he made her think of a classical sculpture, but his skin was not stone, it was deep gold.
He slid the belt she had held out of its loops and let it drop to the floor but left his trousers hanging low over his slim hips as he took her wrists.
‘I’m going to undress you now.’
She felt a spasm of uncertainty, but quashed it. This man could have any woman he wanted and he clearly wanted her. She wasn’t even sure he saw her nod.
* * *
She sat there fighting to breathe and trembling as he took hold of the hem of her top and lifted it over her head, letting it fall to the floor. She had nothing but a thin camisole on under it.
‘Look at me, Eve.’
When she didn’t he sank down onto his knees on the bed beside her and, taking her chin in his hand, forced her face up to his. ‘You are beautiful.’
She quivered as his hand cupped one breast, his thumb rubbing across the turgid peak that protruded through the thin fabric. The sensation, along with the expression in his eyes, blasted all her uncertainties away.
She responded to the pressure of his hand on her breastbone and fell back on the pile of pillows. With an impatient grunt he pulled them out from under her head until she lay flat with him over her. They kissed, deep, soul-piercing kisses that left her aching and wanting more, so much more.
‘You shall have it. You shall have everything, cara,’ he promised thickly. ‘First we do not need these.’
She lay there as he skilfully removed the rest of her clothing, exposing her to his hungry, burning gaze, and wondered if she had spoken out loud or had he read her mind again?
Very soon it no longer seemed to matter. But as they kissed and he caressed her until every cell in her body was on fire Eve learnt there were benefits to having a man who knew what you wanted before you did!
When she had reached a point where she was one ache, he levered himself up into a kneeling position and slid down the zip on his trousers, holding her eyes and only breaking contact to slide them down his long legs, his boxers swiftly following.
‘Oh, mercy!’
He laughed and touched the corner of her mouth with his thumb, then met her lips with his, drinking in her sweet flavour, savouring the taste, the erotic movement of her tongue against his.
‘I want to taste all of you.’
His voice was like smoke as it clung; it seeped into every corner of her. Above it was the thunderous clamour of her heart.
‘Relax, enjoy it, cara,’ he whispered in her ear.
The intimacy of his touch, the audacious and shockingly effective caresses of his mouth and tongue should have shocked her virginal sensibilities, but Eve felt only pleasure as she moved against his hand and his mouth, letting him drive her to the edge again and again.
As her hand closed around the hard, silky thickness of his shaft he gasped and groaned. ‘I have to have you, Eve, now.’
She opened her legs in silent invitation and when he moved over her, she lifted her hips to open herself for him. The first deep thrust took her breath away but as he started to move she realised there was more…and with each successive measured thrust of his hips he drove her deeper and deeper into the heart of the heat that burned inside her, until she was the heat.
The climax when it hit her was so intense that her cry rivalled the feral moan that emanated from his chest.
CHAPTER EIGHT
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?’
Eve glanced towards the bed and immediately regretted it as he was looking magnificently rumpled. ‘Getting dressed,’ she mumbled.
‘So why are you wrapped in the duvet?’
‘Because I’m cold.’ She would be after a cold shower.
‘Right, because for a minute there I thought you might be going coy on me.’
She felt the embarrassed heat climb to her cheeks. Draco was right: it was absurd. He had got out of bed stark naked earlier and been totally relaxed, but the idea of him seeing her naked in daylight had sent her under the duvet. ‘Don’t be stupid,’ she scorned.
‘Considering there is not an inch of your body I have not explored…of course if I missed anywhere…’
He hadn’t; he had even kissed the small fresh scar from the mole removal and told her they both had one. His, she had learnt, was from a skiing accident. She had kissed it too… She pushed the memory away, but she couldn’t push away the warmth that remained low in her pelvis.
‘Look, last night happened and I’m not trying to pretend it didn’t,’ she said. The second time they had made love had been even more intense than the first as he had encouraged her to explore his body while he had tutored her in how to please him in a voice that embodied sin. ‘But—’
‘You regret it?’ His tone was sharp.
‘No, but today is another day.’
He loosed a long whistle through his teeth ‘Wow, now that really is pro
found.’
Responding to his aggravating sarcasm—only aggravating if you let him get to you, Eve—she turned her head sharply, intending to deliver an acid response. At the same moment, like a lazy big cat, he stretched. Disastrously distracted by the ripple of taut muscle in his ribbed belly and perfectly defined chest, she almost dropped the quilt.
‘You still haven’t explained how I’m your first lover.’ How a woman who was as innately sensual as Eve had reached this point without having taken a man to her bed defied logic and his powers of deduction, but he wasn’t going to complain as it was to his benefit. ‘Did it not occur to you that it is the sort of thing a man might like to know upfront?’
‘I didn’t think you’d notice.’ Keeping one hand on the quilt, she stalked back to the bed. ‘What’s so funny?’
He looped his hands behind his neck, drawing her eyes back to the muscles of his lean torso. ‘You are…’
Her scowl refused to stay in place, he was so incredibly gorgeous.
‘But deflections aside—’
‘I was not trying to deflect anything.’
‘It’s a simple question, Eve.’ He grabbed her arm and Eve sat down on the bed. ‘Better,’ he murmured, easing closer until their faces were close. ‘Nobody is a virgin at your age by accident.’ He tugged the quilt, holding her eyes as it slid down to her waist.
‘I’ve not had time for r-romance.’
‘Last night wasn’t romance, it was sex, Eve.’ The best sex he had ever had.
She lowered her chin to hide the hurt anger she knew was written on her face. When she lifted it again she was smiling. ‘You really don’t have to spell it out to me, Draco. I hardly thought it was the start of a deep and meaningful relationship.’
Her laugh grated on him. Her entire attitude grated on him; it wasn’t as though he was looking for deep and meaningful any more than he’d been looking for a virgin to take to his bed. A virgin…! Eyes half closed, he relived that moment when he had known…and felt again the equally powerful surge of possessiveness that had been too primal to deny and still was—he was her first.
‘You’re a passionate woman, Eve.’
She shook her head, not able to admit even to herself her secret fear of losing control with a man, that she might lose some of herself at the same time… Her eyes lifted, a furrow appearing between her brows as she wondered what it was about him that made it all right to lose control.
‘I’ve been b-building a b-business.’
His dark brows lifted. ‘That is a reason?’
She nodded.
‘It is possible to have sex and run a business at the same time, I promise you, cara.’
‘I don’t want a full-time relationship and I’m not into one-night stands.’ A bit late to remember that, Eve. ‘And even if I was in the market, men who share my aims and ambitions are hard to find.’
‘There is nothing stopping you looking for one of them while you have sex with me. But, believe me, one night with you would not be nearly enough for any man, cara. Actually,’ he mused, smiling to himself at the blush that had spread to all parts of her body, ‘I think you’ll find you can go to bed with a man who shares your aims and ambitions and wake up with a man who is not even faintly interested in your mind… Most men will say anything to get you into bed.’
‘But you’re different, I suppose?’
‘As a matter of fact I am. I am exactly the sort of man you need.’
‘Is that meant to be a turn-on?’ Eve had no idea if this arrogant pronouncement was intended to arouse her, but it did.
‘Think about it. I can give you great sex—and it was great—with no strings, no emotional upheaval, just satisfying sex. You may have no time in your calendar for romance, but I think a clever girl like you could fit in great sex.’
‘That sounds…’
‘Perfect?’
‘Immoral!’
His husky laughter rang out. ‘Stay with me long enough, angel, and I will corrupt you; you do have a body made for sin.’
Dropping the quilt, she rose from the bed, swept her clothes up into a bundle and marched into the bathroom.
As the door closed on her beautifully rounded little bottom he gave a loud groan. There were in his experience few certainties in life, but he found himself faced with one total certainty: he had to get Eve back in his bed or die trying.
* * *
Eve always arrived at the office first. She enjoyed those few minutes alone with no interruptions to plan out her day and get her thoughts together. Today she had arrived when her assistant was already at her desk with sympathy, a herbal tea she said always worked for jet lag and a wistful expression she always wore when she talked about weddings.
Eve accepted the sachet of tea and told Shelley she hadn’t taken any photos.
‘None?’ The girl couldn’t hide her disappointment. ‘I suppose you were too stressed about today to enjoy yourself and let your hair down.’
Eve lifted a hand to her head just to satisfy herself it was neatly subdued. Unlike her imagination. Just glorious; I want to wrap myself in your hair… The flashback, the throaty, sinfully sexy voice was so real she could almost feel his warm breath on her neck.
Swallowing, she lowered her eyes, willing the flush to stay below neck level as her fingers tightened hard enough around the herbal sachet to make the contents spill out.
‘I’ll just…’ She took a step towards her office then stopped, a frown pleating her smooth brow as she turned back. ‘Today?’
Her assistant blinked and brought up a chart on her tablet. ‘There hasn’t been another delay, has there? They are still letting you know this morning…?’
Eve struggled to conceal her dismay behind a cheerful smile that made her face ache. She had a point to make or at least a reputation to preserve—a reputation for being calm and unflappable in a crisis.
‘No, it’s still this morning.’
Inside the office she closed the door and leaned against it. This was not just a disaster, it was a… What the hell was it?
She had forgotten!
How could she have forgotten?
For six months her every waking moment had been focused on this deal; she had invested all her time and energy on it; she had lived and breathed it, focused on a goal and gone for it. She told herself that failure was not an option but she knew it always was, and that knowledge had made her wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night on more than one occasion.
And now on the very brink, she glanced down at her watch, and then lifted a hand to her face in shock. Within minutes she’d be receiving that crucial decision and she’d completely forgotten about it!
What did they say? Pride came before a fall… She had gone back to her flat that morning to change feeling pretty smug. Well, actually more relieved. Eve knew she wasn’t like her mother or any of the other women she knew who lost the capacity to be objective when there was a man in their bed, but there had been a niggling doubt—what if great sex stole her self-respect and made her willing to compromise all her principles?
Well, she’d had great sex; to her shock, the sort of mind-bending, head-banging sex that she’d had really did exist outside novels! Her body still ached from it—in a good way—and for a short time she’d stopped being the Queen of Caution and allowed her impulses full rein. It had turned out to be a totally liberating experience. Draco was an incredible lover but equally importantly in the cold light of day he was still an arrogant pain in the neck, which might for all she knew be what made him a great lover; the point was, she knew he was. She wasn’t making excuses for his shortcomings; she wasn’t about to put him on a pedestal or keep her mouth shut when she knew he was wrong.
It was a relief to have her theory confirmed. It wasn’t sex that turned women into willing slaves; it was love.
She didn’t love Draco, and the very idea of falling in love after twenty-four hours made her lips twitch into a fleeting ghost of a smile.
Love… To be honest, she didn’t even like him that much. If she never saw him again, she wouldn’t lose any sleep. That was why in some ways he was right. He was perfect as a lover—there was nothing between them but unbridled lust, nothing complicated by emotions. It had just been sex—very good sex, to be sure—but there were a lot of men out there who were not Draco, men whose hands weren’t so skilful perhaps… An image of his long fingers gliding over her skin drifted into Eve’s head, igniting heat low in her pelvis until she pushed the image away and reminded herself that she was in no hurry to repeat their night of passion. Another uncomplicated moment might happen but she was not going out looking for it.
Uncomplicated or not, the unwelcome fact remained that a night spent with him had knocked the contract that she’d worked so hard for completely out of her head…
Maybe I’m the exception that proves the rule—the woman who can’t multitask.
It’s business success or sex; I can’t do both.
Failing to summon a smile at her humour and not willing to acknowledge she was uncertain on this unfamiliar ground, Eve took a seat at her desk. She released a deep sigh, but the calm that the minimalist arrangement usually inspired, with no photos or personal items cluttering her working space, just the essentials, failed to materialise. She touched the row of pencils, taking comfort from the symmetry.
She needed to clear her head and focus.
Before she could do either, the phone bleeped and that was it. She gritted her teeth and lifted it, trying not to think of the people who had told her that she was running before she could walk.