Bachelor Unleashed

by Brenda Jackson

  He chuckled. “It probably has. Would it make you feel better if I promise to keep you warm?”

  Depends on how you go about accomplishing it, she quickly thought. It wasn’t an impossible feat where he was concerned, especially since he had the ability to set her on fire whenever and however he chose to do so. “Yes, that will certainly make me feel better,” she said.

  “Then I’ll make you that promise,” he said engulfing her gloved hand in his. The glove was no buffer from the power of his touch, and automatically, sensations began swirling around in the pit of her stomach and sliding down to the lower part of her body. They were invading her feminine core and making her crave things she was better off not having—especially from the man standing in front of her looking like he could eat her alive if given the chance.

  And it was a chance she refused to give him, no matter how much she was tempted. She knew now the same thing she’d known six months ago, the same thing she’d discovered the night of Natalie and Donovan’s wedding reception when he’d given her the best sex of her life. Four orgasms later—or had it been five?—she’d finally reached the conclusion that after sharing his bed for nearly a year, he was the one man who could make her think of losing her heart again. And it was a heart she’d guarded, protected and shielded since being dumped by Dustin.

  She decided now not to comment on his promise. Since she’d learned from experience never to trust a promise from a man, she merely smiled as he led her out of the restaurant. The moment they exited the door, a cold blast of winter air smacked her face, and she couldn’t help but grin when she saw a private car waiting at the curb.

  She glanced up at Xavier. “Your car and driver, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “But how did he know to come here?” she asked.

  “I called him while you were in the ladies room.

  He had to come pick me up anyway, so I figured he could very well do it here. It would save us the bother of walking back to your hotel in the cold. I promised to keep you warm.”

  And then before she could catch her next breath, she was swept off her feet into a pair of strong arms. “Xavier! What are you doing?”

  “Carrying you to the car to make sure you don’t slip.”

  She couldn’t resist burying her nose for a quick second in his chest. Her face may have touched wool material, but her nose inhaled the scent of a man. A man who used to be the best lover she’d ever had.

  His driver opened the door, and Xavier deposited her on the backseat of the car with the ease of a man who knew just how to take care of a woman, and she knew that he did.

  She scooted over when he slid in beside her, but not for long. The moment the driver closed the door, he pulled her against his side.

  “Thanks, Xavier. You didn’t have to do that,” she said removing her gloves and placing them in the pocket of her coat.

  “Yes, I did,” he said, reaching out and letting his fingertips stroke the side of her face. “I like taking care of you, Farrah.”

  His words oozed liquid heat that sizzled along her nerve endings. She tilted her head to look up at him, and he stared back, watching her with an expression that turned the sizzle into a flame and sent shudders racing through her. How had he managed to do that with just a look?

  She knew the answer before the question fully blossomed in her mind. It was there in the darkness of his gaze, a red-hot hunger that had the ability to strip her control, eradicate her resistance and make her crave the kind of pleasure that only Xavier Kane could deliver.

  “Xavier.” She heard herself moan his name, unable to hold it back any longer. And while she continued to watch him, taking in how his lashes fanned over the intensity of his dark gaze and how his lips formed a curve like they always did right before he got ready to devour her mouth, she felt a deep need spiral between her thighs.

  She was tumbling into forbidden territory and couldn’t stop herself. He was there, but he wouldn’t lift one finger to keep her from falling. She knew that. In fact, he was poised, ready to push her over the edge if he had to. But she couldn’t let that happen, not for her peace of mind and her survival.

  However, what she could do and what she would allow was a way to satisfy them both for a little while. A kiss. They could even turn their kiss into a full makeout session. It would be a quick moment of satisfaction, but it would be well worth it, she told herself. No harm, right?

  How could tangling her tongue with his cause any harm as long as it didn’t lead to anything? She convinced herself that it wouldn’t as she eased her body closer to his on the leather seat. She felt his finger move from her face to the back of her neck and begin stroking her there. Her body automatically responded to his touch.

  When he lowered his head and met her lips, she heard herself groan in a way that only he could make her do. And she knew before it was over she would do more than moan.

  Chapter 4

  Xavier felt as if he’d come home the moment his tongue invaded Farrah’s mouth. It was as if he had been away from his favorite place and was returning to a hometown welcome of the most sensuous kind.

  He relished the taste of her with a primitive longing and with an urgency he couldn’t deny. Not that he was thinking about denying it. He didn’t intend to leave any part of her mouth untouched, untapped or unstroked. He loved her taste. He had missed it. And he was damn near starving for it.

  He was kissing her with an intensity he felt in every part of his body, including the erection that nearly burst his zipper. Only Farrah had the ability to make him want to toss caution to the wind, say the hell with it and take her as he pleased. There had been so many times he had ached to take her without wearing a condom, wanting the feel of her flesh clenching him instead of the latex separating them.

  And now it wouldn’t take much for him to take her right here. His driver, Jules, had had the good sense to use the privacy shield and was probably driving around Manhattan at his leisure since he was certain they would have been back to Farrah’s hotel by now.

  The backseat of the car was dark and intimate and had the scent of pure woman. She was kissing him back with an intensity that matched his own, and the way she was sucking deep on his tongue was bringing to life every erotic bone in his body. She tasted hot, untamed, and he knew they were both on the verge of unleashing sensations they had kept bottled up for too long.

  She pulled her mouth away and drew in a deep breath, evidently needing to breathe. Personally, he needed more of her taste, but would give her a moment. He watched as she glanced out of the car window. Although they could see out of it, no one could see them inside because of the window’s darkened tint. “Where are we?” she asked.

  Xavier smiled, refusing to remove his hand from her neck, liking the feel of the soft skin his fingertips were stroking. He curved his hand around her neck even more, making sure she didn’t try easing away from him. “Driving around the city.”

  She glanced back at him and smiled. “On a sightseeing tour?”

  He returned her smile. “If that’s what Jules wants to think, but I think we know better, don’t we?”

  “Yes.”

  And then he reached out and lifted her out of the seat and into his lap and captured her mouth once again.

  Farrah wrapped her arms around Xavier’s neck while he continued to plunder her mouth with a hunger that had her moaning again. She wasn’t sure how long the ride would last, but she planned to take advantage of every tormenting and satisfying minute.

  Even through his coat she could feel the hardness of his erection poking her in the backside, but she didn’t mind. In fact, she relished the feel and regretted that clothing separated their bodies.

  Evidently he felt the same way when he released the back of her neck, and his fingers went to the buttons of her coat while his tongue was still inside her mouth. She wanted him so bad she was almost consumed by the mere idea of being here, in the backseat of a car in his lap while he kissed her senseless. His tongu
e was teasing and tormenting her into sweet oblivion, and there was nothing she could do about it. There was nothing she wanted to do about it.

  She felt him spread open her coat before his fingers went about tackling the buttons of her cardigan. She knew this was lust of the most potent kind, and it was probably time for her to rein him back in, but when he eased free a button and touched a spot above her bra, she could do nothing but moan.

  He knew what touching her breasts did to her, and she had a feeling he was about to get downright naughty. And when he eased open the next button, she knew she was right.

  She pulled her mouth away from his. “Xavier?”

  “Umm?” he asked, taking the tip of his tongue and licking the area around her chin.

  “What are you doing?” She knew it was a stupid question, but she asked it anyway. It was quite obvious that he was seducing her.

  “Letting you know how much I’ve missed you.”

  That was definitely the wrong answer because she knew, although she would never admit it, that she’d missed him, too.

  “I think I’ve gotten the message,” she said in a soft tone when he released yet another button.

  He tilted his head and met her gaze. “Not sure you have yet and not to the degree that I want you to know,” he said in a deep, husky voice. “By the time you get back to your hotel room tonight, there will be no doubt in your mind just how much I’ve truly missed you, Farrah.”

  That meant he planned to torture her some more, probably a whole lot more, before it was all over. How far would he go? How far would she let him? Those questions slipped from her mind when her cardigan opened, exposing her lace bra to his view. She knew blue was his favorite color. Had she worn a blue bra for that reason tonight? And one with a front clasp?

  He released the front hook, and her body began vibrating in pleasure when he lowered his head to take a hardened nipple into his mouth. “Xavier.” She whimpered his name on a breathless sigh and grabbed ahold of his head. Not to push him away but to keep his mouth right there to feast on her.

  Shudders tore into her, touching every part of her body, tearing at nerve endings with every stroke of his tongue on her nipple. She tightened her legs, feeling a throb between them so deep she wanted to scream. She was on the verge of one hell of an explosion. She knew it, and from her past history, he had to know it as well.

  It didn’t take penetration to make her come. Xavier’s mouth anywhere on her was known to do the trick. She had a feeling this would be one of those times, because tonight he was being generous and naughty, a combination that could cost her. At that moment, though, nothing seemed more important than having him suck her nipples like he was doing now.

  Unless he decided he wanted to…

  The thought of his tongue sliding between her womanly folds had her releasing a trembling breath, and when she felt his hand work its way under her skirt to touch a thigh, she couldn’t help but groan out loud. She needed to get laid and bad. The hot ache between her thighs was all but demanding it, and the mouth planted firmly on her breast seconded that motion.

  “We’ve reached the Waldorf Astoria, Mr. Kane.”

  The sound of the driver’s voice was a colder blast than the one she’d felt when they’d walked out of the restaurant. Why now, when she’d been so close to her body fragmenting in one sensuous explosion? Talk about lousy timing.

  She looked up and met Xavier’s gaze and knew he was thinking the same thing. She also knew what else he was thinking…

  Farrah drew in a deep breath and watched as he palmed delicately over her breasts before he began refastening her bra. “Circle the block one more time, Jules,” he said.

  “Just one block, sir?”

  “Yes.”

  By the time the vehicle began moving again, a semblance of Farrah’s common sense had returned. But the part still lurking out there in Blissville had her worried because she was fully aware just what an orgasm at the hands and mouth of Xavier Kane could mean. She would sleep well tonight and wake up tomorrow probably craving even more.

  She knew she had to regain control and not succumb to a weakness of the body nor a deep addiction for him. When he had buttoned her sweater and pulled the lapels of her coat together, he met her gaze. And then while she was still nestled snugly in his lap, he lowered his head and kissed her again.

  This kiss had all the intensity of the last, probably more so, and she could only kiss him back while shudders shook her from head to toe. When he finally released her mouth moments later, it was on the tip of that same tongue he’d just ravished to ask him up to her room for a nightcap, although they would both know the true intent of the invitation.

  But a part of her kept from doing so. It was the part that couldn’t forget or let go of the pain she’d felt the day Dustin had asked for a divorce to marry another woman.

  “I got my bottle of wine and you have yours,” Xavier said softly close to her moist lips. “How about if we…”

  “Drink them separately,” she finished for him.

  He leaned back, lifted a brow and was probably as surprised as she that she wasn’t inviting him up to her room. She would probably hate herself later, and the area between her legs would probably protest something awful, but that area of her chest where her heart was planted would eventually thank her for sparing it from further damage. It had finally gotten repaired, and she refused to let it get broken again.

  “You sure you want that, Farrah?”

  She decided to answer him the only way she knew how. Honestly. “No, that’s not what I want, but I know that’s what I need to happen, Xavier. For my sake, you’re going to have to trust me on this.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, and then as if he thought better of it, he clamped his mouth shut. He brought her hand to his face and gently rubbed against it. “Leaving you alone tonight isn’t going to be easy, Farrah,” he said in a low, sexy voice.

  “And having you leave me alone won’t be easy, Xavier. But for my peace of mind, I don’t have a choice. Please say you understand, or please try to.”

  He met her gaze and held it for a long moment. And then a slow smile of understanding tugged at his sensuous lips. “I’ll try, but only if you agree to see me again while you’re here.”

  “What’s the point?” she couldn’t help but ask.

  He cupped her chin in his hand. “To prove I’m not a bad guy.”

  She shook her head. “I never thought you were a bad guy, Xavier. If I had thought that, you would not have shared my bed. In fact, I think you’re too good to be true and that’s what scares me.”

  “Too good to be true?”

  “Yes, both physically and emotionally. I could end up getting hurt. You wouldn’t hurt me intentionally, but I could get hurt just the same and I can’t let that happen.”

  She knew she had said too much, had let her feelings become raw and exposed, but he needed to understand and accept what she was saying. He was becoming the one weakness she had to do without.

  When Jules opened the car door for them, he slid out, and before her leg could touch the sidewalk, he had whisked her into his arms again. “Xavier!”

  Jules raced ahead to open the glass door to the hotel, and Xavier didn’t place her back on her feet until they stood in the hotel’s lobby.

  “I need to get my items from the front desk,” he said. “But first I’ll walk you to the elevator.”

  He tucked her hand in his and they walked toward the elevator. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Farrah. I’d like to take you to a Broadway play while you’re here.”

  “Xavier, I—”

  He placed a finger to her lips. “At least think about it. It will be just two friends going out. No big deal.”

  She drew in a deep breath. No big deal? Yeah, right. She’d assumed going to dinner with him tonight would not be a big deal either, but it turned out to be one anyway. “I’ll see if I’m available.”

  “All right.”

  He leaned down
and brushed a kiss across her lips when the elevator door opened. She stepped inside and glanced over her shoulder at him. “Good night, Xavier.”

  “Good night, Farrah.”

  And as the elevator carried her from the lobby up to her room, she couldn’t help wondering how she was going to turn him down when he called her tomorrow.

  Chapter 5

  “Good morning, Mr. Kane.”

  “Good morning, Vicki. Hold my calls for a while. By the way, you look nice this morning.”

  Xavier entered his office thinking his secretary’s attire, a beige pantsuit, looked more appropriate for the office than those sexy outfits she’d been wearing. He was glad she’d taken his advice.

  He eased out of his jacket and then sat down in the chair behind his desk. He was ready to roll his sleeves up and get some work done. He hadn’t been sure he would ever get to sleep last night, but when he had finally done so, he had basically slept like a baby. But that hadn’t kept visions of a hot and ready Farrah out of his mind. At least that’s how she used to be. This overly cautious Farrah would take some getting used to.

  His cell phone rang and he leaned forward to pull it off his belt. “Yes?”

  “When are you returning to Charlotte, X?”

  He smiled at the sound of Uriel Lassiter’s voice. Since he and his five godbrothers had been kids, they’d shortened each other’s names to just the first letter. “Why you want to know? You miss me, U?”

  “No. It’s Ellie.”

  Xavier chuckled. “Your wife misses me?”

  “No, and stop being a smart ass. Ellie’s having a New Year’s Eve party and wants to make sure you’re coming, especially since no one knows your schedule for the holidays.”