by Sun Chara
A tense beat, then he tossed back his head and laughed.
“Get away from me.” She hobbled backward, bumped into the sofa and groped behind her for the armrest to regain her balance. “I’m getting changed.”
“I’ll help you—”
She held up her hand.
“—with the zipper,” he huffed the words out.
“No, thank you.” With a toss of her head, she glided out, the silk swishing upward, giving him a glimpse of the gold thong decorating her derriere.
Cade muttered an expletive that would’ve made even his construction crew cringe. This was not going well. Every cell in his body was stimulated and his muscled length throbbed…for her. He seized his hardhat off the carpet and stomped after her, detouring to the counter.
“Okay then, finish the wrap job.” He plunked the hat on the counter and drummed his fingers on it, ignoring the rumble in his chest. He’d like her wrapped in deep purple satin sheets, pulsing beneath him— “And wrap the red in a separate box.”
Silence.
He rang the bell. “I’ve paid plenty for that scrap of nothing.”
No response.
He kept his finger on the buzzer.
A gold slipper sailed over his head.
“I want—”
“Go to—” The second pump came flying, and he ducked in the nick of time. It crashed in the display window and knocked down a mannequin
draped in a multitude of sensual delights.
She dashed out of the dressing room, wiggling into her dress which still rode high on her hips and skidded to a stop. “What have you done?”
“Moi?” Face all innocence.
She pulled the dress down her thighs, but the hem snagged on her bracelet. “O-o-oh!”
For a moment, he watched her wrestle with the material, then his gaze strayed to her most vulnerable places; curves he touched, tasted, hungered for—his chest grew tight, reflecting a lower part of his anatomy. He wanted her…more of her…all of her.
“May I?” he offered.
“No!” She yanked at the crepe cotton and when it tore away from the gold chain at her wrist, she hurried back, returning a second later with the negligee bunched in her hands. She stuffed it in the giftbox, slammed on the lid and marching fast-forward, shoved it at him. “I hope you’ll be very happy.”
“That was the idea.” He scratched his head, and his lips twitched.
“Especially since she’s already married to m—”
“She’s married?” Nina stuttered, her emotions fried. Oh gosh, she was going to die. Pass out right in front of him. And she mustn’t. At least, not until after he left. She clutched the counter before her legs gave out and she slithered to the floor. “Have you no morals?”
“Apparently not in your opinion,” he muttered, his words a splinter of sound, eyes glinting hard.
“Arrivederci,” she murmured, swallowing the quiver in her voice. “I’m done.”
“I’m not.” He swept up the gift box and stomped to the exit. “I’ll pick up the red tomorrow.”
“No!”
“Actually, yes,” he bit out. “I’ll come and claim what I paid for.”
Blinking angry tears away, Nina spun around so fast she stubbed her toe on the leg of the glass-topped table in the corner. “Ow!” She dove to save the vase toppling onto the floor, missed, and knocked over the display rack. Sprawled flat on her face on the carpet with an array of sensual accessories—frilly bikinis, embroidered thongs, lacy garters, soaps, scents, lotions, creams, glosses, glitter, toys strewn about her, did nothing for her dignity.
“You all right?” Cade dumped the gift box on the settee by the exit and hurried to her.
“Go away.” An embarrassed flush sheathed her body, her heart careering down a precipice, and her only reprieve, the ceiling fan sending a current of cool air her way.
“Nina?” Cade touched her shoulder, and when she didn’t move, fear whipped through him. “Hey, are you okay?”
She went ballistic; swinging her arms and kicking her legs, silks and soaps flying every which way. “Go!”
“Hold on, now.” He dodged her flailing hands and lifted her to her feet.
“O-o-o-h,” she squealed, pushing him away. “What kind of man are you?”
That did it. He tightened his jaw. Exhausted after a grueling day at the site, he’d come to her, hoping that maybe … a reality check, man. She’d driven him from the heights to the depths and every level in between since he arrived. Enough. What kind of man was he?!
“This kind.” He hauled her into his arms and kissed her with a fervor that left her breathless and, him panting for more.
When finally he broke the contact, they swallowed heaps of air, arms interlocked, eyes at a tug-of-war. That lasted for a nanosecond, and then he plundered her mouth, his tongue mating in a frenzy with hers, swirling, licking, tasting … peppermint candy.
A rasp of sound deep in his throat. He curved his hand on her nape, his fingers caressing her skin, his mouth sliding across her cheek, a hush of a breath in her ear, his teeth tugging at her earlobe; and then he kissed his way to her chin, down her neck, his tongue flicking the pulse point at the base of her throat.
“Cade?”
“Shh,” he murmured, working his way back to her mouth.
She locked her arms around his neck, fingers weaving a fevered tempo through his hair, her foot brushing his leg.
“Little darlin’.”
“Mmm, big guy.”
He smiled against her lips and slipping the crepe fabric off her
shoulders, exposed her breasts. A dip of his head, and he took a shadowed crown into his mouth, his tongue courting the nipple to erection. A guttural sound in his throat pulsed in sync with her purr of pleasure. In a fever, he unzipped his jeans and pushed her dress above her hips.
“Cade .… ”
“Shh, honey. Almost there.”
He lifted his head and pillaged her mouth, his hand fondling her breast, his thumb grazing the nipple. Downward he traveled, across her abdomen, his hand bumping the trinket at her navel, then sliding lower, his fingers gliding over her moist core.
Bracing himself against the counter, he hoisted her up and anchored her against his hips. She locked her legs around him, and he plunged inside her, her warm folds enfolded him; he thrust into her again and again.
Sweet, sweet pleasure.
He caught her moan of desire in his mouth, his tongue creating a mating cadence of its own, and rode her deep and fast and high. Digging her hands into his shoulders, she cried his name, but his tongue swept it up. He held onto her on the climb, suspended for a moment, sweet little death … .
She burst into multiple sensations, as he exploded.
Surfing the pulsing wave with her, he dropped his head onto the crook of her shoulder, humbled. “Dear God, Nina.”
“Oh, Cade,” she murmured, sliding her limbs down his length until her toes touched the carpet. Brushing moist curls off his brow, she slid her fingertip down his temple and across his cheek, the stubble rough beneath her touch; but she didn’t care, moving to his mouth. She outlined his lips, and he nipped…she drew in a sharp breath, and he pulled her finger into his mouth, licking, stroking, suckling, making her gasp with delight.
He pressed his lips to her palm, cupped her buttocks, and pulled her smack against his hips. The impact knocked her off balance, and she tumbled with him onto the carpet behind the counter, her muffled giggle mingling with his muted chuckle.
Nina curled her toes into the carpet, and placed a kiss on his neck, tasting the salt of his sweat-damp skin. Her hands traveled down his body, unbuttoning and spreading his shirt open, her mouth following the hot trail of her fingers. She skimmed the fuzz on his chest with her lips, and his cologne—the hint of cool spice—rocked her heart off course. Her fingertips tormented one flat nipple, then her mouth settled over it, her tongue teasing it pebble-hard. A growl echoed in his throat, and she smiled, pleased.
/> Her hands toured down the stream of dark hair to his navel and beyond, until his prize filled her palms. She stroked, flirted, fondled. A breath, and her mouth traveled lower, wanting to love every inch of this man who was her destiny.
With a gut-wrenching groan, he squeezed her shoulders, putting a check to her desire. Her hand stilled. He lifted her face to his, gold flecks glittering in his brown gaze, reflecting the firestorm inside him. “There’s no going back.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs and an air pocket caught in her throat. “I-I know.”
He surged in her hands and, blasted a breath that came out a heavy groan. “Who am I to you?”
She curved her lips in a timeless smile. “You are…”
He tightened his hands over her shoulders. “Say it.”
“My husband.”
He chucked her chin with his knuckles. “And don’t you forget it.”
Joy welled up inside her, then everything flashed through her mind, and she turned quiet, her elation dimming. A thousand questions bombarded her brain even in the heat of passion.
“What’s wrong?”
“You were shopping for a bride…in my boutique.”
“Sure was,” he confessed, grinning. “The sexy one was for you, and the red for my mother…the other woman I love.”
“Another con, Cade?” she murmured, but there was a lilt to her words.
“I had to do something drastic to get a reaction from you.”
She smiled. Somehow she’d known, but had resisted against it. But no more.
“I had to know, to confirm what I’ve believed.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking the corner of her mouth.
“And what did you believe?” She splayed her hand across his chest, his heart pounding beneath her palm, her fingers flirting with the sprinkle of hair on his chest, his nipple.
A torrent of air rushed from his lungs, a tense beat and, “You…uh…feel me deeply.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “Yeah.” He bent his head, his mouth a hair-breadth from her own. “Say it, wife.”
She kept her counsel, her hand rerouting down his torso…his muscles flexed…a tickle at his navel, and she inched lower, spiking his desire.
“Nina, admit it,” he demanded, his words a low rumble.
“Let’s see…”
And so, Cade had no choice but to go on the offensive. His fingers feathered her inner thigh, and his mouth settled over her breast, his tongue coaxing the nipple to a hard nub. She sucked in a mouthful of oxygen, exhaled a blissful sound, and held his head to the spot. His hand dallied at her bosom, then strayed to her midriff, sensitizing nerve endings and toured her belly button on approach to a lower landing.
She shut her eyes. “Mmm, good.”
“You have something to confess?”
“I do.” She peeked at him from beneath her lashes, a pixie smile on her mouth. “I’m craving a tall mocha cap.”
“You’re what?” Astounded, Cade spanned his hand across her abdomen and heard her indrawn breath. Okay, she must be feeling him with that reaction…good, he was still in control.
“You can have one too.”
“Gee, thanks.” He chuckled. “But I’ll trump your offer, lil’ darlin’.”
“I don’t see how.”
“A Broadway show after—”
“The Lion King?” she was quick to insert.
“Sure, why not?” He brushed her bottom lip with his thumb and
tenderness nicked his heart. He wanted to give her the world but only if he came with it.
“Oh, Cade,” she sighed. “You are the love of my life.”
“Bout time,” he grumbled and smiling against her mouth, closed the sweetheart of a deal.
The End
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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2013
Copyright © Sun Chara
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Ebook Edition © October 2013
ISBN: 9780007555321
Version 2013-09-26
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
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