by Body, Heart
This was positively not a dream.
Chapter 3
Kira slept fitfully throughout the night, waking every few hours with the sheets bunched around her body and a heat consuming her body from head to foot. Erotic dreams plagued her, and in them, she’d done things she hadn’t even been aware she knew of before. By dawn, she was exhausted, frustrated, confused, and painfully aroused.
She’d been given a suite of rooms on the third floor, the garden suite they were called because of the view of the garden from the small balcony. Kira paced to the French doors, which were swung wide. The suite’s décor matched its name. Decorated in an English garden theme, it was a beautiful room and terribly and—unfortunately for Kira’s new predicament—romantic.
The sun was rapidly burning off the morning mist. Kira poured a cup of coffee from the tray that had been delivered about a half hour ago and snuggled down into one of the two love seat which hugged a large stone fireplace.
Slowly sipping the hot brew, she went over last night in vivid recall one more time. She’d never felt anything like this before and wondered if it were this place, or the man, who’d cast some sort of spell over her. The more she remembered, the hotter the ambient room temperature seemed and the more flustered she got.
She’d wanted to touch herself, make herself feel again what Devlin had made her feel last night. She’d even reached for herself a few times in the night, but embarrassed, she stopped, refusing that pleasure for herself.
She knew from friends and magazines that it was supposedly no big deal, but a lifetime with her conservative mother had her feeling differently, and Kira always felt guilty when she did for herself what she knew someday a man would do for her. She couldn’t imagine it would change, but then again, if she had a man, she wouldn’t need to…do that, for herself.
She blushed even thinking the word. Masturbation was not a word used in the Nestor house, and she respected her mother too much to criticize her. At the same time, she felt woefully naive about sexual matters, and after meeting Devlin, she thought a little education might not have been a bad thing after all.
Her need for release outweighing her inhibitions, she had just started to reach for herself again, when a knock on her door made her jump, coffee nearly sloshing right over the side of her mug. She felt guilty and she hadn’t even done anything.
“Yes?” She set the mug back on the tray, listening for whoever was at the door to speak.
“It is Yvette, mademoiselle. Are you ready for me?”
“Yes. Yes. Come in.” Kira was thankfully relieved. Not that she honestly thought Devlin would come to her suite, but the thought had crossed her mind, and considering what she’d been about to do.
She stood, excitedly greeting the petite brunette as she entered. One of the other perks of her job was the weekly pedicures and manicures in her suite. Yvette set right to work. As Kira sat quietly allowing her to buff away calluses that years and years of going barefoot had given her, she wondered if she’d have gone through with it, if Yvette hadn’t shown up.
“Zee lilac, or zee plum, mademoiselle?”
Yvette’s heavily accented voice interrupted her thinking, which was a good thing because in the hour and a half that Yvette had been pampering her, Kira had found it impossible to stop thinking about Devlin and last night. She looked at the dark-haired woman at her feet holding up two bottles of polish.
“The lilac. Thank you.”
As Yvette started her careful strokes, Kira wondered if a man like Devlin would paint a woman’s toes. She allowed herself to imagine a scenario where she lay in a peach silk covered bed, with him at her feet, smiling devilishly at her while painting each toe a daring color, not one she’d ever worn before.
Not red, that was too…expected, maybe copper, or gold, or blue, or fuck-me-now-striped—she’d seen that in an article once.
Her vision slowly came to life, Dev’s amazingly sexy hair hanging over his shoulders while he looked at her like he had last night, with desire. She knew instinctively that they’d been in that bed for days. That he’d made love to her repeatedly, and she reveled in every touch, kiss, and caress, but that was where the fantasy quickly went off on a path of its own.
Devlin had only painted a few of her toes when his gaze became primal. Putting the polish aside, he came towards her on his hands and knees, stalking her, never letting her go from the hold his gaze had on her, and she knew what he planned. A shimmer of excitement lit a fire in her blood as he grabbed her ankle and pulled her down the bed until she was splayed for him.
Dev’s wicked grin disappearing only when his slowly ran up her calf. She felt it as if he were in the room with her, hot and wet against her skin. Kira sucked in her breath as her imaginary Devlin’s tongue worked its way over her knee, stopping to lick behind it before moving up her thigh. He locked his gaze with hers the entire time as if daring her to move away, but she couldn’t. She was paralyzed, both with need and nerves, and growing wetter by the second.
Her breath caught, as in her mind, Devlin’s tongue slowly slid over her wet folds…
“Merde!”
Kira’s mind jolted back to the present, where apparently, she’d jerked her foot, causing poor Yvette to spill lilac colored polish on Kira’s foot, Yvette’s hand, and the fur rug that sat beneath the sofa.
“Oh, God! Yvette, I’m so sorry.”
“Not to worry, mademoiselle.”
Yvette, composed as always, disappeared into the connecting bathroom to grab some towels. Kira’s cheeks were still burning both from the heat of her fantasy as well as the embarrassment from the destruction it had caused. Hands over her heated cheeks, she reprimanded herself. Kira Kimberlynn Nestor, you’re simply not cut out to be a bad girl.
Or sadly, even a mildly naughty one.
The knock at the door gave her a minute’s reprieve. As she pulled on the glass knob, a woman Kira didn’t recognize stood on the other side of the door.
“Miss Nestor.”
Her buttoned-up, professional look told Kira she was part of the immense staff, so she smiled a greeting and waited.
“Ms. Worthington needs to speak with you.”
Looking down at her almost-painted toes, wiggling them against the bare wood, Kira wondered how long it would take to finish the pedicure and dress. “Can you tell her I’ll be about fifteen minutes, please?”
The woman nodded her head, and Kira closed the door, hoping she’d given herself enough time and admitting that all the time in the world wouldn’t succeed in getting Devlin Kiersen out of her mind. God, she hoped it wouldn’t be obvious on her face when she walked into Barbara’s office that she’d nearly lost her virginity last night.
She settled herself back into the sofa, presenting her nearly finished toes for Yvette.
Then again, why would Barbara care anyway?
* * * *
Devlin paced the perimeter of Barbara’s study like a caged jungle cat. He’d been anxious ever since his encounter last night. Nothing had eased the sense of need that girl had evoked in him, and he wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with that.
He looked out over the gardens from the study window, inhaling the scent of freesia and freshly mowed grass along with the unmistakable sea air. What exactly had happened last night? The girl was a sorceress. She’d bewitched him without even looking at him, because by the time he’d seen those unusual golden eyes, he’d already been hard and longing for completion.
His Italian-leather loafers sank into unbelievably plush jade carpeting as he moved back to Barbara’s desk. Waiting.
The antique desk was cluttered with things he couldn’t understand why she needed, and as he perched a hip on the edge, he picked up a large glass paper weight containing a rose, flipped it up, and looked through the glass backwards, then replaced it. His fingers next went to the long peacock feather Barbara had sitting beside it. He ran the length of it then shifted to a jewel encrusted octagon shaped box.
“Oh, for God’s
sake, Dev!” Barbara’s head snapped up from the stationery just as she slapped the pen she’d been writing with down. Green eyes flashing with irritation as she met Dev’s. “What’s wrong with you today?”
Dev scowled. He knew their relationship was an odd one, a series of one-upmanships, plagued by their mutual desire and insatiable appetites. Though Barbara was nearly fifteen years older than he, they both were well matched in the bedroom. He watched as her irritation evaporated, replaced with a slinky smile as she rose from the desk, coming to his side and running a hand over his cheek.
“Is my love in need this early in the day? It’s no wonder after you refused to let me pleasure you last night.”
Usually, the sound of Barbara’s husky voice sent shivers right to his groin, but not this morning. He pushed her hand away, straightening from the desk. “No.” His tone masked all emotion. Barbara pouted and reached for his cock. The second she made contact, Dev’s icy exterior melted just a bit. As she pressed and stroked through the fabric of his slacks, he began to harden and a picture of Kira formed in his mind.
Dev reached out and grabbed Barbara by the neck, pulling her lips against his with a growl. Her silky laugh dissipated as Dev covered her mouth with his, plundering its depths, wishing it was that damn sorceress instead.
* * * *
“Yes, Barbara, what is—” Kira’s tread stopped short as she realized she should have most definitely knocked. “Oh, Barbara, I’m so sorry.”
“No, no.” Barbara stepped back, her fingers wiping her mouth. “Now, don’t be silly, I sent for you.” She held her hand out to Kira, but Kira barely saw it. Her eyes were focused intently on the man standing behind Barbara, the one who’d been locked in a very intense show of affection when Kira had walked in. The same man who’d been kissing her exactly like that not sixteen hours ago.
“I want you to meet my fiancé, Dev Kiersen.”
Barbara latched onto one of Kira’s hands and dragged her across the carpet to where Dev stood, not looking ashamed, or guilty in the least. If anything, he looked…dangerous.
“Miss Nestor. It’s a pleasure to see you again.”
Dev held his hand out and Kira mindlessly took it. The shivers his touch sent over her skin were ridiculous but there all the same. She pulled her hand back, pressing it into her forehead, feeling lightheaded and nauseated all of a sudden as she put distance between them.
“So you two met last night?”
Barbara asked with indifference in her tone as she moved back behind her ornate desk. Kira thought if she knew what had happened between herself and the woman’s fiancé, she’d be a little more than indifferent, and Kira would most likely be out of the best summer job a girl could get.
“Yes. We did.” Dev practically purred. Something in his tone caused Kira to snap her focus to him. His stare scorched her from head to foot, and she found it difficult to draw a breath. “I found Miss Nestor very—” the sexy grin spread over his face, deepening his dimple as he seemed to be enjoying every minute of this, “accommodating.”
“Wonderful.”
Barbara ran her hand slowly over her throat from her chin to her collarbone, watching. Kira felt humiliated, confused, broken hearted, and furious. She refused to look Dev in the eye and wondered how long it would be before she lost this great job because as soon as Barbara found out what she’d done with the woman’s fiancé, she was sure she’d be sent—without the new wardrobe—immediately back to the mainland.
“Kira, dear…” Barbara picked up her pen and began to write as if nothing she was about to say was all that important. “I want you to spend some time with Dev. I’m likely to be very busy for the next few weeks, and I don’t want him feeling neglected.” She ran a long line over the correspondence her head was bent over, then she looked back up to Kira. “You won’t mind, will you, dear?”
Kira swallowed hard, reminding herself to continue breathing. She tried a smile but couldn’t get her lips to work the way they were supposed to. She wanted to speak but was afraid the only sounds that would come out would sound less than eloquent—something along the lines of ‘uh’, ‘huh?’, or ‘duuuh’.
“I’m sure Miss Nestor and I will get along famously, dear. Once again, you’ve chosen remarkably.”
Dev’s gaze never left Kira. She knew it because though she refused to look directly at him, she could feel the heat of his stare burning her all the way to the soles of her feet. She started to feel like a cow at an auction and—new wardrobe and island getaway not withstanding—she had no intentions of spending another minute alone with one Devlin Kiersen.
“Barbara, I’m not sure I’ll be able to.” She took a step forward, caught Dev’s look, and stopped herself. “I, uh, I was hired to be your assistant.” She fumbled with the silver chain around her neck. “Babysitting your fiancé wasn’t a part of that job description.”
She hated the bitterness that had crept into her voice, but she was reeling and needed to be away from there so she could think. Images of last night kept flashing into her mind, only instead of having the affect of arousing her and making her want, now they only made her feel used and cheap.
“Dear, you were hired as my assistant.”
Kira’s eyes snapped to her employer. Never had she heard Barbara be so curt with her. The woman who had befriended her a month ago, now seemed distressingly annoyed, but if she knew why, certainly then she wouldn’t want Kira to be spending alone time with her fiancé.
“Your job description is whatever I want.”
If she told Barbara what happened, would he remain her fiancé? Would she remain her employee? Her traitorous mind started following that path, wondering if he was no longer her fiancé and she was no longer an employee, would Dev still want her? Still come after her?
“Barbara, I—”
“I’m not interested in your excuses, Kira.” She went back to writing her letters, not sparing Kira another glance. “I selected you specifically with Dev in mind. I knew I’d be very busy over the summer and he’d need a companion. If you aren’t interested, I’m sure you can be replaced, although at this late date, it will be very inconvenient.”
Kira was stunned silent. She wanted to cry and could feel the tears welling in her eyes. Humiliation complete, she thought.
“Barbara, I’m sure Miss Nestor and I will work everything out.” He reached over the desk, touching Barbara’s hand in a comforting gesture. “Not to worry about us.” He turned his cold, predatory smile on Kira, and she simply wanted to dissolve into the floorboards.
“Fine. There’s nothing else now, Kira. Go to your room until I send for you.”
Kira blanched at the continued cold tone of her employer and the obvious fact that she’d just been dismissed like a disobedient child, but seeing as tears were imminent, she didn’t argue and quickly left the room.
* * * *
Dev folded his arms over his chest, one finger touching his lips, his mind filling with questions as he waited until the door closed behind Kira. He felt an odd feeling of helplessness slinking up his spine towards his heart. It had been torture to be so near her and not be able to touch her. “She can’t possibly be as innocent as she seems.” He continued to stare after Kira.
She left the room obviously near tears and he’d half wanted to hold her, assure her, half wanted to shake her and tell her she was carrying the act too far.
“She’s good at what she does, I suppose.”
Dev’s gaze moved over Barbara, who was bent over her rose-covered stationery, writing the Thank You’s for last night’s ball.
“Barbara?”
“Mmm?”
Dev scrutinized her. After twelve years in this woman’s company, he knew her well—and something wasn’t adding up.
“She’s not innocent. Is she?”
Dev wasn’t sure which answer he wanted more. An innocent would be off limits, no second thoughts. In fact, he’d have her sent away this very afternoon. Part of him wanted her to be innocent,
wanted what had happened between them last night to have been special for her, but his dick just wanted her, and if she were truly innocent, he wouldn’t ever have her. He felt a strange ache envelope the area in his chest where his heart was supposed to be.
With an exasperated sigh, Barbara put her pen down and came back around the desk, aligning her body intimately with Dev’s, successfully derailing all of his thoughts.
“She’s a gift.” Her hand slid over his cheek. “Don’t you know it’s impolite to question a gift?”
Dev grabbed her hand, applying pressure until she winced slightly.
“Does she know why she’s here?”
“Of course.”
His eyes narrowed, the pressure to her wrist intensified infinitesimally.
“Does she?”
Barbara pressed herself against his cock, sliding her body over his in hopes of distracting him, he knew, but he wanted answers first, then a good fuck. A long hard fuck that would obliterate the remaining visions, tastes, and scents from last night, which still lodged within him. He took his free hand and ran it up her thigh under her loose skirt, finding—as he knew he would—her slick pussy and nothing else.
“Does she?”
Barbara gasped as he slid three fingers inside her.
“Yes. She knows.”
Dev still wasn’t entirely convinced, but in all the time they’d been together, he’d never known her to take advantage of an innocent, and she rarely lied to him. Still, there was something about Kira that wouldn’t let him be completely at ease with using her over the summer.
Barbara started to moan, then the zipper on his pants rasped, and before he’d even been aware that she’d moved away from him, she had him in her mouth.
Dev was a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. She exposed herself when she went for the blow job. She was covering something, but was it about Kira or not?