by Opal Carew
* * *
Kate melted against him. He took her mouth with confidence, his tongue gliding deep, exploring her with authority. Her insides ached in need. Her nipples drove into his chest, longing for his attention.
But there was something she needed even more.
His mouth withdrew and he gazed down at her.
“Fuck, Kate, the way you’re looking at me…”
“I want you to…” She drew in a shaky breath. “I need…”
His hands tightened around her shoulders.
“What is it? What do you need?”
She couldn’t just ask him. But … she could … beg. Like she’d done so often in the past.
“Please, Sir. I want you to fuck me.”
His eyes clouded and he hesitated, but he didn’t draw away.
She stepped back and stripped off her thong, then leaned over the couch again, offering herself.
She heard him release a pent-up breath. He stepped behind her and she expected his hard cock to drive into her.
Instead, he took her shoulders and drew her upward, then turned her around so they were face-to-face and pulled her into another heart-shattering kiss.
His lips parted from hers and he gazed at her with a fierce expression. “Tell me again what you want.”
He seemed close to losing control and that thrilled her. “Please, Sir, I want every inch of you inside me.”
And she did. God, her insides ached with the need to feel him inside her. Stretching her. Filling her.
He dropped his pajama pants to the floor, then backed her against the wall so fast she gasped. His fingers found her opening and stroked.
“Oh, yes.”
He groaned, then hard, hot flesh pushed against her. His cockhead teased her opening.
“Hard. Drive into me hard, Sir.”
His fierce glare, shimmering with defiance, cut through her. Would he refuse?
But he drove into her, his hard column of flesh impaling her in one sure stroke.
He held her tight to his body, crushing her against his broad chest. “Is that what you want?”
“Yes, Sir,” she said with a slow breath. Oh, God, she’d almost forgotten how long and thick he was. Almost. Her body remembered, and embraced him. She quivered as they stood there, his big cock deep inside her, his body crushing her to the wall.
He gazed down at her and the intensity of his dark blue eyes unnerved her.
Almost as if … No, she wouldn’t believe that he loved her.
She squeezed him with intimate muscles and he groaned.
* * *
Matt couldn’t help himself. She squeezed and he responded. He lifted her legs and she wrapped them around him, then he drew back and drove deep again. Deep into her hot velvet depths.
“Oh, yes.”
Her words, dripping in pleasure, rocked through him. He didn’t know how long he’d last. He was so close, so delirious with need being inside her like this.
Her fingers tightened around his shoulders as he drove in again and again. His cock ached as the cool air surrounded him, then he drove into her hot depths again. Cool, hot, cool, hot. She arched against him and moaned. He gritted his teeth, willing himself to hold back. Just long enough …
“Oh, God, yes.” She threw her head back. “Oh, yes…” Her fingers tightened. “You’re making me…”
Her passage tightened around him as she shuddered in orgasm. He thrust deep and let go. His balls tightened and heat coursed through him, flooding into her.
He held her soft body tight to him as he came. The intensity of it heightened every sensation. Her nipples pressed into him. Her hot sheath around him. Her soft breathing against his neck. The thumping of her heart against his chest.
He held her close, never wanting to let her go.
But knowing he had to.
He gazed down at her and her eyelids fluttered open, revealing her big, beautiful blue eyes. Their gazes locked, then her eyes widened and … Oh, fuck, he could sense her drawing away. The open, vulnerable look in her eyes closed and her body tensed ever so slightly.
But her heart still beat close to his, and her hot sheath still surrounded him.
He wasn’t willing to give up this closeness again. Not yet.
He captured her mouth, swirling his tongue against hers, then he swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed.
* * *
Kate’s breath caught as Matt laid her on his bed. She didn’t know what to think. Didn’t know what to feel. Having Matt inside her again, making love to her … Oh, God, it had been sheer heaven. But then when she’d opened her eyes and seen him staring down at her … What did he think? She didn’t dare to believe he would want her again.
Sure, he’d made love to her, but any man would take an opportunity like that. A woman offering sex … why would he say no? But for her, it had been so much more. After two years of believing the worst of him, and now finding out it was all a lie, she realized Matt really was the man she’d fallen in love with back then.
He drew her against his body, spooning her, his arms wrapped around her waist. The staccato patter of ice pellets hitting the window signaled the return of the freezing rain, but she’d never felt so warm or so protected, curled up tight against Matt’s big, hard body with his strong arms around her.
She sank into the heaven that she found herself in and soon fell sound asleep.
* * *
Matt held her close, loving the feel of her soft, warm body close to his. She hadn’t intended for them to have sex tonight and she would probably regret it in the morning, so he would enjoy this night with her in his arms before they went their separate ways.
She murmured in her sleep and shifted closer to him, her soft, round behind pressing tighter against his groin. God, how could he not get carried away with …
Oh, fuck. He hadn’t used protection. When she’d begged him to fuck her, his cock had been doing all the thinking. Not that that was an excuse.
He knew she was safe. He’d been tested since his latest, short relationship ended eight months ago. He was clean, and she probably was, too. He’d find that out later.
But what if she wasn’t on birth control?
* * *
Kate awoke to the glint of sunshine. She opened her eyes and realized she didn’t recognize the room she was in … and there was a hot, hard body pressed against the back of her, and big, strong arms around her.
Matt.
Oh, God, she’d had sex with Matt last night.
His breath against her temple was slow and steady. He was still asleep. She drew in a slow breath, then shifted forward slightly, trying to slip from his embrace, but his arms tightened around her.
“You know, you don’t have to run away anymore.” His deep voice rumbled from his chest, then his lips caressed her ear.
“I wasn’t trying to run.” It was actually a lie. If she’d been able to slip away, she would have dashed back to her room, gotten dressed, then pretended this had never happened. Now she had to face what they’d done head-on.
“You’ve been running from me for two years. I get it. It’s a hard habit to break.” He rolled her onto her back and smiled down at her, then captured her lips. Almost as soon as it started, the kiss was over. And she wanted more. “But now you know I’m not the frightening man you thought I was.”
“Right.” But he was. Not because he was the ruthless man Ileana had led Kate to believe he was, but because Kate knew that around him, she became someone else. That hadn’t changed. Last night had proven that to her.
As he watched her, his brows furrowed. “Kate—”
“Look, Matt. Last night was a mistake. We should never have…” But it was her fault, not his. “I should never have asked you to…” Her hands clenched into fists. “Damn it. That’s exactly why we can’t do this. I beg you to dominate me, to punish me. Who does that?”
To her surprise, he grinned at her. “What’s wrong with enjoying a little role-playing in
the bedroom? It’s healthy and it’s exciting.”
Her head shook back and forth. “But it’s not a role. I become someone else. Someone I don’t even recognize.”
He drew in a deep breath and moved away, giving her much-needed space to breathe. “Okay, it’s just as well. I didn’t bring you here to start up a relationship again.”
She gazed up at him. “Why did you bring me here?”
He’d drawn her here by saying he wanted to be an investor in her company and she prayed it wasn’t just a ploy. She didn’t want to let down her employees. Her heart clenched. And she didn’t want to fail again.
“Kate, I didn’t lie to you. I brought you here to discuss investing in your company.”
“Really?” She was almost afraid to believe him. After the wild roller coaster of emotions she’d been through over the past twenty-four hours, she didn’t think she could cope with another shock. “But … why? I mean, how did you even know I needed an investor?”
“A few months after you left me, I heard you’d moved away from New York and set up a business somewhere else. When I saw you at the mall recently, I wondered how you’d been doing. I asked around and found out you were looking for an investor.” He shrugged. “I wanted to help.”
“I realize you own Facts and Figures Inc., but what does the board of directors think about you investing in my company?”
“Actually, I’m investing personally. I thought you’d prefer that to being partners with a corporation.” He shrugged. “I just made it look like they were the interested party because if you knew it was really me, I’m sure you wouldn’t have agreed to come.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You said you hadn’t lied to me.”
He grinned. “Well, not in any way that was important. So are you still interested?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good.” He pushed away the covers and stood up.
She dragged her gaze from his nakedness. They were going to be discussing a business relationship. She shouldn’t be drooling over his sexy, masculine body. Damn, how could she become partners with a man she’d been so intimate with? A man she’d drop to her knees for on command?
She drew in a breath, her fingers clenched around the sheets covering her. She’d find a way. Because she simply had to make this work.
He pulled on his pajama pants and turned to her. “So tell me, Kate, how are you?”
Actually, she felt incredibly refreshed. Once they’d made love, she’d fallen into a deep sleep, feeling warm and protected in his arms. Not that she would tell him that.
She gazed at his unsettling blue eyes. “I’m fine. A little hungry.”
He grabbed something from his zippered bag and tossed it to her. A granola bar. “It’s either that or leftover lasagna. I’d planned to have food delivered, but with the weather, that won’t be possible.”
“This is fine.” She unwrapped it and took a bite.
“But what I meant is, how are you doing? Living here in Connecticut for the past two years?”
“Oh, it’s a beautiful place to live. I have a nice apartment, friendly neighbors. I like to go biking in the fresh air. There are a lot of great parks and bike paths.”
“So you like it here?”
“Yes, of course”—she gazed at the bar in her hand—“but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss living in New York City.”
* * *
The wistfulness of her words haunted Matt. She missed her old life. She never would have left the city if she’d had a choice. If circumstances hadn’t forced her to move.
And he’d had a role in that.
“You have an apartment. You didn’t want to buy a place?” he asked.
Pain lanced across her features. “No. I didn’t want to fall in love with a place again and chance losing it. Maybe later, when things have settled down with my business.”
She glanced at him, then down at her granola bar, and took a bite. The sadness in her eyes flooded him with guilt.
“What about you? Did you ever buy that big house you were looking at?”
“Yes, I did,” he said, struggling to keep his voice emotionless. “I live there now.” But he’d hoped one day Kate would live there with him. “From everything I’ve seen, your business is doing well. Why is your partner pulling out?”
* * *
Kate glanced at him in surprise. She was sure Matt would have found out all the details before he considered investing. “He got a great job offer in California.”
“Yes, I understand the background. But even if he moves away, he could have kept his share in the business. Or was there something more than business between you?”
“No, he thought handling the business remotely would be too complicated. And the two of us were never involved. I know better than to mix a business partnership with romance.”
Oh, damn. How would he take that after last night? She gazed at his inscrutable expression and decided she’d better tackle this head-on.
“Matt, about what happened last night—”
But his cell phone chimed from the dresser just as she started talking. She stopped while he took the call.
“Pearce,” he answered. “Okay, good.”
He hung up and tossed the phone on the bedside table.
“That was the driver. He said they should have the road cleared in an hour or so. He’ll pick us up then.” He grabbed his pajama top and pulled it on. “In the meantime, I think we’re long overdue for some caffeine. We can take our coffee in the living room and sit by the fire. We have some things we need to talk about.”
Her heart stopped at those words, but she nodded.
“I set the coffeemaker to start automatically, so it should be all ready. Are you coming?”
She was totally naked under the covers and was not about to hop out of the bed just yet.
“I’ll meet you downstairs.”
As soon as he left the room, she slipped from under the covers and dashed across the room, then peered out the doorway to see him disappear down the stairs. She hurried down the hall to her room and retrieved the robe he’d given her.
* * *
Matt walked into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee, then walked through the door to the living room. Kate sat on the couch waiting for him. He sat down beside her.
“Matt, I’m sorry about last night.”
“You’re sorry?”
His stomach churned. Why was she sorry? Sure, he knew they couldn’t really carry on their relationship, especially given certain facts he was not about to tell her, but he would never regret what happened between them last night.
“I’m sorry that things went too far, and I’m sorry if I hurt you. Back then … and now.”
“You don’t have to apologize. Especially about last night. There is, however, something important I need to ask you.”
At his serious tone, she glanced up. “What is it?”
“Is it possible that you could be pregnant after last night?”
* * *
Shock vaulted through Kate. “What? No, why would you ask that?” Then she realized. “Oh, we didn’t use a condom.”
“That’s right. I’m really sorry, Kate.”
“I didn’t even think about it. I mean, I know you. I trust you. It never even occurred to me that there’d be a problem. I mean, safety-wise.” She glanced at him and noticed his tight expression had softened a little. “And I’m on birth control. I’m sorry, I should have told you.”
Relief washed across his features. “Good. I wouldn’t want a pregnancy to result from what we did last night.”
Her stomach churned and she had to steady her breathing. As sensible as his statement was, it felt like a rejection. Of course he wouldn’t want to be saddled with her and a bastard child just because of one night of indiscretion. Even though he had tons of money to spare, he wasn’t the type of man who would just pay her off with child support. He was the kind of man who would want to be present for his son or daughter. A
nd that would mean he’d be stuck with her, even if just for regular visits with their child.
Their child. The thought of having a child with Matt made her want to weep. Because she loved him and would love to have his child. But she and Matt just weren’t right for each other. Oh, how she wished they were. He would be a wonderful father. And she would love to spend the rest of her life with him.
As she watched him take a sip of his coffee, her gaze slid along his square jaw covered in dark stubble, then down his pajama top to the solid, muscular chest peeking out. If only …
“I also want to apologize to you for what Ileana did to you,” he said.
Anguish lanced through Kate at the memory of Ileana’s lies, and the pain Ileana’s friend had inflicted on her.
“But we’ve already established that you knew nothing about that.”
“That’s true, but I still feel responsible. I was the one who took you to that party.” He shook his head. “I had no idea at the time that she was capable of such a thing.”
“As you said”—her words sounded tenuous, but it was the best she could do—“you didn’t know.”
He nodded and sipped his coffee as silence hung between them.
“Before we begin our professional relationship, may I ask you something that’s entirely inappropriate?”
She shrugged. “Well, given what happened last night, I suppose we’re already on a roll.”
He turned to her with a flicker of a smile. “Do you think you can be truly happy in an ordinary relationship? Because I get the sense that you need a Dominant to bring out your true nature.”
She shook her head. “I was—and am—totally uncomfortable with how we behave when we’re together. In bed, I mean. I become so … submissive.”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “And the problem is?”
“It’s not me … normally. I’m only like that when I’m with you. And it’s so … powerful … the need I have.”
He gently lifted her hair from her face. “You can still be strong and independent, but be a sub in the bedroom.”
“I know. I mean, theoretically I know, but when I beg you to punish me, I…” She shrugged. “It’s like I’m losing myself.”
He stared at her for a long moment, the glimmer in his eyes unreadable. Then his mouth turned up in a lopsided grin. “So you don’t like it when I punish you? When I bare your ass and discipline you? When I possess you in every way?”