by Love, Lust
She smiled in response, and even in the low lighting, he caught the lightest trace of a blush. He held out the single gardenia bloom he’d plucked off one of his bushes from home.
“I’m a cheap date, but its simple beauty and sensual fragrance reminded me of you.”
She took it, smiled in delight as she inhaled its heady fragrance, then tucked it behind her ear. Reaching for his hand, she beckoned him, “Come on in. It’s just the two of us tonight. Hope you don’t mind.”
She led him down a hallway to the right of the front door. Pictures of sunsets and uninhabited shorelines hung on both sides. The hallway ended at an open room. She led him down the three steps to the center. The room was light, decorated in mauves and lavenders, with more artwork depicting the sea. It seemed like her. He wondered briefly if the artwork told of her personal tastes or was merely mimicking its location.
A white marble fireplace took up one complete wall. A small flame flickered within, and there was a glass blown vase sparking off the candlelight, with swirls of color setting in the center of the mantel. Where he assumed were usually glass doors, the wall was entirely opened into the dark. The salt laden night air flowed into the room freely along with the sounds of the waves.
She’d set a low table with candles, flowers, and linens in wine and gold. He could smell the rich aroma of food coming from beneath the covered dishes. She’d even set out a bottle of wine to breath. Soft music played in the background. Tchaikovsky, he thought. All in all, it was a scene made to seduce, and he was oh so willing to be seduced.
“Take off your jacket and your shoes. Get comfortable. I hope you don’t mind I set things up down here. I like to sit on the floor and eat.”
He handed her his jacket, slipping off his shoes and socks. It was a strange sensation getting so comfortable in front of a woman he barely knew. His brothers had drilled appropriate behavior and manners into him as long as he could remember, especially Dev and especially where women were concerned. He couldn’t imagine how Dev would respond to this, but for Darius, he was going with it.
When she returned, she handed him a glass of wine—a deep red with a fruity body that was almost as heady as the woman.
“Here. Mind if I take this, too?”
She started to pull on his tie, releasing the knot, and moving onto the top buttons of his shirt. Her nails grazed his throat, her lips so close, he felt her breath along the line of his shirt. Without her shoes, she stood about four or six inches shorter than he, the top of her head coming equal with the tip of his nose.
“I like to be comfortable. You don’t mind, do you?”
Her gaze met his and it occurred to him he hadn’t said a word to her since he entered her house. She must think him an idiot or simply the rudest man on the planet.
“Comfortable’s good.”
Well, at least he’d moved up to rude.
“Dinner’s ready whenever you are. I haven’t cooked in a really long time, so it might not be the best meal you’ve ever had, but I enjoyed cooking it.”
She turned for the table. He caught her hand at the last moment, tugging her softly against him. She seemed soft, warm, and everything he ever imagined. A part of his brain remained in awe over the fact this was Ashley Williams, the first woman he ever thought he loved. The rest of his brain wanted to take care of her, protect and shelter her from whatever concerns she might have, but he knew that was laughable. She’d never want it.
Maybe it was the baby in him, the fact he was the youngest of the three Kiersen boys, the only one who never had someone to look out for, that made looking out for Ashley now so appealing. However, a deeper part of him knew that wasn’t all of it. He wanted to kiss her but held back. Prolonging the moment, he held her as long as possible.
“You’ve shocked me senseless from the moment you opened the door.”
He could smell the gardenia he’d given her mixing with the scent of her perfume. He wanted so desperately to say dinner and business later, but he wouldn’t. He brushed his nose along her ear, whispering, “Thank you so much for inviting me.”
He felt her tremble beneath his hand where it lay gently against her hip. Her breast brushed the linen of his shirt, but he held himself in check. When he knew neither of them could stand it another minute, he pulled away and escorted her to the table.
She took a spot on the floor, easily tucking herself beneath the table. He took the spot beside her rather than the one she’d set for him across the table. His large frame had a little more difficulty fitting beneath the small table, but he managed it, then moved the dishes and settings with graceful movements that hid the underlying nervousness he felt.
“You don’t mind?”
“No.” She smiled with one side of her mouth. A knowing smile told him she knew exactly how much power she held over him, but at this particular moment, he didn’t give a damn.
She removed the covers from the plates in front of both of them. It wasn’t what he expected, and he laughed without thinking. It occurred to him a moment later she might have taken that the wrong way and he could have bruised her feelings, but when he caught her mischievous grin, he knew he hadn’t.
Beneath the covers was the best meal he’d seen in his life, barbeque ribs, corn on the cob, and the largest steak he ever saw. There were baked beans and a green salad, another basket on the table held crusted bread. He noticed that alongside the wine, she’d set a few bottles of beer in an ice bucket.
“I think I should marry you.”
She smiled again, placing a napkin over her lap. He noticed her plate was different. She had what looked like chicken and spinach salad and one rib.
“I love to cook.”
She shrugged and poured what looked like a vinaigrette over her salad. He watched her for a moment while she plucked up greens and a grape tomato with her fork, placing them in her mouth. A look of sheer heaven washed over her. Eyes closed, he even heard a small groan of satisfaction.
“You like rabbit food, do you?”
* * * *
Ashley looked up, almost surprised to find him there. She’d lost herself in the food. She normally didn’t eat this much, but it was a special night. She chewed once more, swallowed, and smiled guiltily. This wasn’t Gabe, this wasn’t Myra, so what had he meant by that comment?
He touched her hand. She fought off a strong urge to grab him. The last thing she needed was for him to think she was easy. Of course hadn’t she invited him over to have sex without even knowing the man an hour? She cringed and held back a groan of despair. Maybe she was easy.
“I’m just teasing you, sweetheart. I’m feeling a little guilty with this king’s meal over here.”
She laughed. “Guilt, I understand, but you needn’t feel guilty.”
She pulled a bottle of beer from the ice and plopped it on the table in front of him. She didn’t know why, but he seemed like a beer guy to her, so she’d gone out of her way to find out what was good. She hoped she’d done right.
“I never get to cook for anyone, so please eat and tell me what you think.”
She watched him from under her lashes as he sliced and bit into his steak. Preparing food for him tonight had been a very unique experience for her. She’d gone to the store herself, wandered the aisles, and picked foods she thought he might like. It was very domestic, and in a way, she felt very like a twelve year old playing grown up.
Then she’d spent hours in the kitchen, wanting everything to be just perfect. It was laughable, really. He already knew she was a sure thing and she supposed anyone knowing they had a sure thing waiting with ‘Ashley Williams’ probably wouldn’t even notice the food.
In fact, she’d be surprised if he even tasted it. A part of her wondered if she shouldn’t have just greeted him at the door naked and done it with him in the foyer. Maybe then they could have enjoyed their meal.
“What happened?”
She blinked up at him. “Huh?”
“Somewhere after ‘Eat and enjoy,’ I lost you.”
<
br /> She laughed softly, dragged her fork through her greens, and tried to pretend it was nothing. “So you said we’d talk business over dinner.”
“All right.” He cut off and chewed another mouthful of steak. “This is quite good, Ashley. I’m not sure anyone other than the servants have ever cooked for me before.”
“Thank you.”
She shifted her position on the large cushion so she faced him more directly. She wasn’t sure why she felt so comfortable explaining this to him. She really didn’t know him, yet a part of her was convinced he could be trusted. After propping her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her palm, she broke into her sappy story of woe and breast implants, hoping she didn’t come off sounding too much like a spoiled starlet.
“I didn’t want the implants to begin with. It was my mother and Morey’s idea. I was seventeen at the time and…well let’s just say, whatever my mother wanted, she got.
“They make me uncomfortable, always have. In an emotional sense, not physically or anything.”
She chewed on her lower lip and averted her eyes. She had no idea why his answer to this next question was so important, only that she needed to know what he thought.
“Do you think I’m being ridiculous? Do you think I should just keep them? You know, what’s done is done and all that?”
She couldn’t look directly at him but glanced up discretely. He looked dumbstruck. When he took her hand, the move was so tender, she felt tears bead in her eyes.
“I think it’s your body.”
“That’s a cop out.”
He laughed. He had the most incredible laugh, and that smile put Jeff Probst to shame.
“Okay. What I really think is that no one should have forced them on you in the first place. What I really think is that you are incredibly brave. What I really think is that you must want this very much to have gone to all the trouble to seek me out. So in summary,” he tipped her chin up, placing a soft, sizzling kiss to her lips, “I am one hundred percent behind you and will handle your PR as if it were my own.”
He didn’t question her, didn’t ridicule her, and didn’t tell her she didn’t know her own mind. It was a very surreal moment for her. In total honesty, she felt a bit numb.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, but you shouldn’t care what I think, either. I’m damn good at what I do and I’d represent you expertly regardless of whether I agreed with you or not. That’s my job. However, it just so happens that I do agree with you. Now, have you scheduled your surgery yet?”
“My doctor says he can get me in day after tomorrow.”
“And you trust him?”
“Yes.” She second guessed herself for a minute, but realized it was her mother’s voice not her own. “I do. He’s very discreet, does a lot of work in this town, and wouldn’t get it if he wasn’t.”
“Okay.”
He took more steak, then started on a rib. Ashley felt slightly bereft at the loss of his touch but went back to her salad, mindlessly chewing and not tasting a thing.
“Ashley.”
He grabbed a roll and slathered some of her homemade cinnamon butter on it. It felt good to watch him indulge in all the things she made for him.
“I don’t mean to be indelicate, but I need to know what the procedure involves. What you’ll be looking at recovery-wise, possible complications, things of that nature.”
She squirmed, not really wanting to think about it. Her doctor assured her there wouldn’t be as much pain involved in the removal as there had been for the original procedure. But she was sort of a wuss when it came to pain and was more than a little nervous about the whole thing.
“All right, but can we do it later?”
He gave her that killer smile again, popping the last bit of roll in his mouth.
“Not exactly dinner conversation?”
Not exactly pre-sex conversation.
She didn’t want him over absorbed by her unnaturally large breasts.
“I guess.”
She suddenly lost her appetite. The entire day, she’d been telling herself all she had to be was herself. Well, not her real self, but the she everyone thought she was. How difficult could that be? She’d dressed, oiled, and perfumed herself. She’d bought every candle in a fifty-mile radius, had the florist rush a special order. She bought new sheets, a fur coverlet for her bed, and thank God, because this had been her house from before she’d met Gabe, he’d never been in that bed.
All very important, yet she was crumbling now anyway. She could feel the Ashley Williams façade slipping and little Ashley Bensen coming out.
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart. I’ll take care of all of it. You’ll just have to focus on your recovery. And don’t worry about my taking over. I’ll run the entire plan past you before I initiate anything.” He took her hand again. “I really am very good at this.”
She just bet he was. She also bet he was very good at a few other things, as well, and before she lost her nerve, she decided to get the ball rolling. For once in her life she wanted to be with a man who wanted to be with her. While she had to admit Darius may not be real clear on whom he was with, he was definitely getting more of her than anyone else ever had and he still seemed interested.
She pushed aside her plate, licked her lips, and tried to summon Ashley Williams, sex goddess. It was difficult because she realized she wanted Darius more than she’d ever wanted any other man or any part she’d ever gotten. This seemed like the real deal. The most important role she’d ever play. The most important audition she’d ever go on.
“Darius.”
“Hmm.”
He looked up from his plate and froze. She felt a little thrill of success spiral through her.
“Maybe we could finish dinner later?”
“And business?”
She smiled and took the fork from his limp fingers. “Much later.”
Chapter 4
Darius leaned closer, inhaling deeply to let her exotic scent go straight to his cock. He brought his lips close enough to touch hers but held back. He practically shook with desire for this woman, but something kept screaming at him to go slow. To wait. As if that were possible. Still…
“Ashley, are you certain?”
“I am.”
At first, she wouldn’t meet his eyes and when she did, he saw desire, he saw need, but he also saw trepidation and he’d never forced himself on a woman in his life. He wasn’t about to start now no matter how loud his body screamed for completion.
He brushed the bangs lightly from her eyes. Something about the way she held her head in the candlelight caused him to realize the most amazing thing. That incredible aqua eye color she was so famous for wasn’t hers. They were contacts.
He kept from smiling, but just. It felt like suddenly being shown that Niagara Falls was fueled by a really large hose. At moments like this, he and his brothers would have said “Duh” when they were young. He wondered why he hadn’t known that color wasn’t real before this. At the same time, he realized how much about this woman he really didn’t know. She may have grown up in the public eye, her every move tracked and photographed, but he was suddenly realizing that beneath the Ashley Williams façade, there was a lot to learn.
For starters, he wanted to know her real eye color, but the more he thought about it, the more he knew he had to discover her slowly like an exotic flower or rare gem hidden away for centuries. He wanted to dig beneath her Hollywood profile, to the real stuff, the real woman.
Had she loved ponies or puppies as a kid? Did she paint? Where on her body could he touch her to get the most effect? A wicked smile crept over his face immediately before he captured her mouth in a delicate assault. He maneuvered them both from the table and pulled her body closer, then beneath him. She was so soft. He thrilled when she moaned as his hand wandered over her breast and his mouth discovered the curve of her neck, her collarbone, and earlobe.
He brought his gaze level with hers.
To tease or arouse, he wasn’t sure what he’d planned, but something in her eyes touched him and he knew whatever transpired between them tonight was exactly what was supposed to. For in the depths of her aqua contacts, he saw the same loneliness reflected back in his own mirror every damn day.
It was a loneliness he couldn’t ignore and he slipped his hands through her hair, pulling her mouth closer again.
“I’ve wanted you since I was fifteen years old. Tonight, I’m going to imprint myself on your skin, Ashley. There won’t be another day in your life when you won’t remember this night.”
* * * *
Ashley shivered at his illicit promise and sighed as his lips met hers again. She loved the way he tasted and swirled her tongue over his in an attempt to devour him.
If only it were really she he wanted.
Then again, she supposed she would be happy even if he turned out like all the rest. He wanted Ashley Williams, and tonight, she decided to give her to him. He seemed different from any other man she’d known. The way she wanted him felt different. It was more need than want. As if he held a piece of her somewhere inside him, a piece she’d been looking for all her life but had never found before now. If she could only get to it somehow, she knew she’d finally feel whole.
She wanted to please him, wanted him never to forget her, wanted her scent, her essence imprinted on his skin just as he planned to do to her. Even if all they ever shared was this one night, she hoped to live in his memory long after.
She pulled away from his kiss, pushed him gently backward and stood of the fur rug that lay beneath them. Her gaze never left his as she slowly undressed for him, teasing as she slowly raised the camisole above her naked breasts.
It was one of the few times she’d ever been grateful for the four hundred sit ups she was forced to do every day. When her top hit the floor, she stood confident, her gaze holding his captive. The power she felt was heady, she was getting drunk on it. She pushed the silk pants to the floor and stepped free, leaving her only in a black thong.