by Penny Jordan
She felt exquisite, she realised, for the first time in her life.
She turned, desperate to see him, to feel him too. She pushed at his jacket, her hands clumsy in her haste.
‘Hold on. I’ve got it.’ He stepped back, shrugged off the jacket and pulled the shirt over his head, buttons popping.
Her eyes devoured his firm, muscled chest. A sprinkle of dark hair thinned over a taut mouth-watering six-pack and arrowed down to his groin. ‘You’re not bad yourself,’ she whispered.
His trousers did nothing to hide the strength of his arousal.
‘I want you inside me,’ she whispered.
Good Lord, had she just said that out loud? The blush burned into her cheeks.
He wrapped one arm around her, bringing her flush against him. Strong fingers ploughed through her hair, making the swatch of blue silk flutter to the floor and her curls cascade down. ‘I intend to be—and soon,’ he said, before his mouth covered hers in another bone-melting kiss.
His chest hair abraded her nipples while his tongue did devilish things inside her mouth. She writhed against the storm of sensations. Trailing unsteady fingers down the smooth, firm skin of his abdomen, she cupped him at last. The heat and length of him pulsed against her palm through the fabric. He groaned and shifted away. ‘Let’s get into bed before I embarrass myself.’
As he stepped out of his trousers and boxer shorts her eyes devoured the magnificent erection. Her gaze lifted back to his face. ‘I hope your condoms are extra large,’ she said, only half joking.
He laughed, pulled her against him and tumbled them both onto the bed. ‘Don’t worry,’ he whispered next to her ear, one powerful leg pinning her to the bed. ‘I’m practically a boy scout.’ His teeth tugged on the lobe. ‘I’m always prepared.’
He fastened his lips on hers, his tongue insistent, tangling deliciously with hers as his hand swept down her curves, kneading her breasts, caressing her hip. He moved away for a moment to pull the thong down her legs. As his lips came back to hers insistent fingers slipped into the swollen folds at her core.
She shuddered viciously as he probed, pushing his finger into the liquid heat. His thumb circled the burning nub of her clitoris and then stroked hard. She jerked and cried out, flooding into his hand.
‘That was amazing,’ he said, his voice thick with urgency. ‘You’re amazing.’ He leaned over her, fumbled in the bedside drawer and held up the foil package. ‘You want to do the honours?’
She took the condom from him with trembling fingers. ‘It would be my pleasure.’ She rolled the latex down the length of him, his penis twitching at her touch.
The intimacy of the gesture and the feel of him, so smooth, so strong, made the heat build again. She’d never felt so aroused, so desirable or so bold before in her life.
He cupped her face in his palms, his sensual smile as devastating as the fire in his eyes. ‘Thanks,’ he muttered and nudged her legs apart with his knee.
‘You’re welcome,’ she said on a shaky sigh.
His hands held her hips, angling her pelvis and forcing her thighs wider still.
The head of his penis probed gently and then in one long, slow thrust he lodged inside her. She moaned, the fullness bringing a surge of pleasure so overwhelming it was almost pain.
He began to move, the sure solid thrusts taking him even deeper.
She sobbed, gasped, unable to control the waves of ecstasy crashing over her as he touched a place inside she had never known existed.
He stopped. ‘Are you okay?’ he asked, his voice strained but tender, his whole body shaking with the effort to hold back.
‘Yes, it’s just it feels so incredible.’ She choked the words out. She’d never climaxed so quickly before or with such intensity.
‘You’re telling me.’ He groaned. ‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘It’s about to get better.’
She didn’t believe that could be true, but as he began to move in an exquisite, unstoppable rhythm she realised she was wrong. The orgasm gripped her in a fevered fist and hurled her over the edge, only to pull her up and hurl her again.
He stiffened above her and shouted out her name as the final shuddering wave seized her and flung her over into the abyss.
‘Kate, are you all right?’ Zack’s heart stuttered as he watched her eyelids flutter open.
Thank God—he’d thought she’d passed out there for a minute. Hell, he’d almost passed out himself. He’d never felt anything so incredible. He rested his palm against the damp skin of her cheek. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, brushing his thumb across the crest of her cheekbone.
He ought to be, he thought, he’d just taken her like a man possessed.
Her small hand came up and covered his. The sweet smile that curled her lips made his heart rate slow. ‘What are you apologising for, you dope?’
He rested his forehead against hers. ‘That was kind of fast and furious.’ He lifted his head, looked down at her. He’d never taken a woman with so little sophistication before in his life, even as a teenager. It was embarrassing. ‘You didn’t get much in the way of foreplay.’
She pressed a fingertip against his lips, silencing him. ‘Well, now, Boudreaux.’ Her eyes twinkled and her smile became more than a little smug. ‘I like foreplay as much as the next girl. But a guy should never have to apologise for giving a woman her first multiple orgasm.’
He laughed, relief washing over him. ‘How many did you have?’
‘Honestly?’
He nodded, the surge of pride surprising him.
‘I lost count.’ She sat up suddenly, holding the sheet to her breasts as she beamed down at him. ‘Zack, I think you found my G-spot.’ Her voice bubbled with excitement. ‘And to think, I always thought that was an urban myth.’
‘You did, huh?’ He slipped a hand under the sheet, found the soft swell of her butt. ‘Well, I nearly blacked out, and that’s a first for me, so I guess we’re even.’
‘No, we’re not.’ She laughed. ‘I’m pretty sure I did black out.’ She pursed her lips and held her finger against them in a deliberately comical pout. ‘Oh, dear, does that mean I owe you one?’
‘You know what,’ he said, incredulous at the renewed rush of blood to his groin. ‘Seeing as you lost count, I figure you owe me more than one.’ He whipped the sheet out of her hand, grabbed her wrist and hauled her out of the bed with him. ‘And I know a great way to make you pay up,’ he said, dragging her giggling and squirming towards the bathroom.
Forget the thrill of the chase, he thought, the thrill of the catch was going to be a whole lot better.
CHAPTER FIVE
‘YOU’RE AN EARLY RISER. I guess I didn’t tire you out enough last night.’
Kate’s fingers slipped on the package of Pop Tarts at the sound of the deep, sleep-roughened voice. She turned slowly to see the man she’d had the wildest night of her life with leaning against the kitchen doorway, a cocky smile on his face. He’d pulled on a pair of sweatpants, but otherwise he was gloriously naked. All tanned, leanly muscled male rumpled from the bedroom, his short hair sticking up in sexy tufts.
Her mouth watered and her stomach clenched at one and the same time.
Kate was no expert in morning-after etiquette. Contrary to her wanton behaviour all through the night, she’d never slept with a guy on a first date. Until now. What exactly did you say to a man who’d brought you to unspeakable pleasure too many times to count but whom you hardly knew? She had no idea.
‘It’s the jet lag,’ she said, brandishing the box of breakfast treats. ‘I found these in your cupboard. How do you feel about coffee and a sugar rush for breakfast?’
He yawned and stretched long arms above his head, arching his back. The play of muscles across his torso drew Kate’s eyes. His arms dropped to his side. The bottom dropped out of Kate’s stomach.
‘Those are Joey’s.’ He nodded at the package as he scraped his fingers through his hair bringing his hand to rest briefly on the back of his neck. ‘He’l
l be mad if we finish them.’ He walked towards her, his bare feet padding against the smooth granite tiles of the cavernous and luxuriously appointed kitchen. He smiled, a dimple appearing that Kate hadn’t noticed yesterday.
The cold marble work surface pressed into the small of her back as he stopped a few inches from her. His big body radiated heat. He lifted the Pop Tarts out of her hand and leaned across her to put them down on the surface. ‘Anyway,’ he said, his hands resting on her hips. ‘I’m sure we can do better than that.’ He pulled her against him, his thumbs stroking the silk of her dress. The light caress sizzled through her, making her toes curl.
‘I could cook, or we could call room service,’ he murmured, dipping his head to lick the pulse point in her neck. The sizzle flared into her breasts and her nipples hardened. ‘They do great maple pecan waffles, if you’re in the mood for something sweet.’ He wiggled his brows at her lasciviously. ‘I sure am.’
She took several shallow breaths, placed her hands on his chest and eased him back, her brain engaging for the first time since she’d spotted him in the doorway. ‘Who’s Joey?’
Did he have a son? Goodness, he might even have a wife? She’d seen no trace of a woman’s presence when she’d done a little tour of the penthouse after waking up, but, still, he could be married. It horrified her to realise she didn’t know for sure.
He straightened and let her go, studying her face. ‘Don’t look so scared.’ He rested his butt against the kitchen’s central aisle, folded his arms across his chest. ‘Joey’s my five-year-old godson. He sleeps over sometimes when Stella and Monty, his mom and dad, need a babysitter. Who did you think he was?’
‘I just wondered,’ she said, looking down at her toes, faint with relief. She forced a smile. ‘You don’t strike me as the babysitting type.’
‘There’s not a lot of babysitting involved.’ He smiled, the dimple winking at her again. How had she missed that yesterday? ‘I’m a total pushover. Joey calls all the shots. Hence the Pop Tarts. If Stella knew about those we’d both be toast. She’s like the sugar police.’ As he spoke his face softened and his voice deepened with affection. He obviously adored the little boy and his parents.
This was a facet of him Kate never would have imagined. It made him seem almost as sweet as the Pop Tarts all of a sudden. Why the discovery should make her stomach tighten and her breathing become even more rapid she couldn’t guess.
‘So how about I order waffles?’ He arched an eyebrow, looking more dangerous than sweet. ‘We can get to the deadly sins we missed last night while we wait.’
She laughed, feeling pretty dangerous herself. ‘Did we miss any?’
He stepped back to her, his enticing male scent enveloping her as he brushed a knuckle across her cheek. ‘I bet I can find a few.’
‘Hmm.’ She considered him, holding her tongue between her teeth. ‘I’d love to take that bet,’ she said.
His hand dropped from her face as he grinned. He looked so delicious, it was almost indecent how much she wanted to take him up on his offer. Disappointment covered the fire in her belly like a wet blanket. ‘But unfortunately, I’ve only got fifteen minutes before I have to meet with your housekeeping manager, Mrs Oakley.’
To think she was going to be making beds all morning when she could have been tearing up the sheets with Zack Boudreaux. She’d had her one night of bliss, and now reality was back with a vengeance.
A line formed across his brow. ‘Why are you meeting Pat?’
‘I think it’s just a formality.’ She shrugged, turned to pour herself a cup of coffee. Looking at his bare chest was only adding to her misery. ‘I filled out the forms yesterday afternoon.’ She put the pot down, recalling the brief phone conversation she’d had with Patricia Oakley and the reams of paperwork that had been sent to her suite.
‘What forms?’
She pulled a cup out of the cabinet, placed it on the surface with a sharp click. ‘I couldn’t find any milk—will black do?’
‘I said, what forms?’
She looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes widening at his flat tone.
She turned round. ‘The employment forms, all two thousand of them.’ Cradling the mug of coffee in both hands, she blew on it, inhaled the delicious coffee scent. ‘Mrs Oakley’s going to sort out my social security number for me. It’s a good thing Andrew didn’t take my American passport with him. Or I really would have been up the creek.’ She took a quick sip. It might smell like coffee, but it tasted like water. She wrinkled her nose. ‘No offence,’ she said lightly, ‘but American coffee is disgusting.’
‘Why were you filling out employment forms for Pat?’
She frowned. Why was he behaving as if she were talking in a foreign language?
‘Because I’m going to work here—why else?’ She narrowly avoided adding a Duh! It didn’t seem appropriate any more. The teasing mood of a moment before had disappeared.
His brows drew together in a forbidding line.
‘We talked about it, yesterday in your office, remember?’ Kate prompted. ‘You said you were going to ring her about it.’
‘Yeah, but I didn’t call her.’
‘I know you didn’t,’ Kate said, shifting uncomfortably against the hard marble.
She’d felt pretty foolish the day before when she’d mentioned his name to the housekeeping manager. He owned the hotel, for goodness’ sake, of course he didn’t concern himself with trifles. Still, she’d been oddly hurt when Mrs Oakley had told her she hadn’t been contacted by Mr Boudreaux, especially after getting his dinner invitation.
‘It’s all right,’ she said with a brightness she didn’t quite feel. ‘I sorted it out myself. Turns out two of the maids quit last week so Mrs Oakley was more than happy when I—’
‘You’re not working here.’ He interrupted her.
‘I..? Excuse me?’ Had she heard him correctly? She couldn’t have.
‘Kate…’ his voice softened a little ‘…I’ve got a strict rule against sleeping with women who work for me.’
‘Oh.’ The flush working its way up her neck made her feel foolish and more than a little hurt. She hadn’t realised how much she’d been looking forward to continuing their fling. She blinked, determined not to let her sadness at the dismissal show. Of course he’d only been looking for a one-night deal. So had she. When had she started thinking it could be anything else?
‘I understand,’ she said, concentrating on a space above his shoulder. She noticed the clock on the wall behind him and saw her get-out clause. She needed to leave before she embarrassed herself any further. ‘Well, it’s been fun, Zack,’ she said, putting her mug down on the counter. ‘But I really should be going. Mrs Oakley will be waiting.’ She gave him what she hoped was an unconcerned smile. ‘I don’t want to be late my first day on the job.’
She went to walk past him, but his fingers closed over her arm, stopping her dead.
‘You’re not listening to me, Kate. You’re not working here.’
She gawped at him. ‘Yes, I am,’ she said carefully. What was he on about?
‘No, you’re not,’ he said, the definite edge to his voice starting to worry her. ‘You don’t have to now.’
‘Of course, I do. I need the money.’
His jaw went rigid. ‘I gave you five hundred dollars. If that’s not enough, say so.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous.’ She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hold back her own temper. ‘I don’t want you to give me any more money. The more I take, the more I’ll have to pay back.’ Why was he being deliberately dense? ‘I left four of the hundreds you gave me in the living room, by the way. Mrs Oakley was nice enough to say she’d sort out a proper advance in a couple of days. When I—’
‘What are you talking about?’
She stiffened. Why was he so irritated?
He twisted away, shoving his fingers through his hair and combing it into unruly furrows. Frustration snapped in the air around him before he gave
a long-suffering sigh and turned back. ‘You say you need money.’ He said the words slowly, surely, as if he were talking to a dim-witted child. ‘I gave you money. Why are you giving it back to me?’
‘Because it’s not my money,’ she shot back, annoyed at having to state the obvious. ‘It’s yours.’
‘So what? It’s only five hundred bucks. I don’t want it back.’
‘But I thought that was the advance we’d talked about.’
‘What advance?’ he said, holding his palms up in exasperation before slapping them down on the sideboard.
Realisation suddenly dawned on Kate. With it came the grinding feeling of helplessness, of inadequacy, she’d fought throughout her childhood.
‘Wait a minute,’ she said, carefully. ‘You mean you gave me five hundred dollars. Why would you do that?’
She’d thought the money was an advance, but if it wasn’t…? The events of the previous night came reeling back to her. Without the glow of sexual excitement, the romance of the moment, what she’d done took on a whole different hue.
She pressed her thighs together, felt the lingering tenderness and was suddenly ashamed of all the times he’d been buried deep inside her.
What had he been thinking when she’d flirted with him, when she’d thrown herself at him, when she’d come apart in his arms? She covered her mouth, scared she might throw up.
‘I’ve got to go,’ she blurted out, desperate to get away.
Zack couldn’t believe his eyes as the colour drained out of her face and she turned and ran out of the room. ‘What the…?’
It took him a minute, but he caught up with her in the hallway, snagged her arm. ‘What’s wrong with you?’
She shot him a disdainful look, but he could feel her shaking. Something had really upset her, but what?
‘I thought I told you yesterday,’ she said, the tears hovering on her lids. ‘I’m not a prostitute.’
‘What? Who said you were a prostitute?’
‘You don’t give someone five hundred dollars for nothing.’
So that was it. They were back to the money again. Damn, the woman had more issues than a daytime chat show. ‘You were in a fix. I helped you out. It’s not that big a deal.’