Kissed by You

by Sophia Knightly

  What a paradox. He rarely had a problem seducing a woman. It wasn’t conceit, but reality. Most women he met were only too willing to throw themselves at him, even the married ones, which he rejected automatically.

  He’d been single for a long time, but tonight he felt weary of the mindless hook-ups. Not that the women complained, they always knew from the beginning that he wasn’t interested in a committed relationship.

  Georgiana’s sweet curves molded to the hard planes of his body, which were getting harder by the minute. She was singing sexually provocative lyrics, but his sole thought was that he would not take advantage of her, not when she was getting over someone who had made her cry just this afternoon.

  He wasn’t going to be the rebound guy, and he sure as hell wouldn’t make love to her when she’d been drinking on par with him. He felt a mild buzz, but given her dainty size and the uninhibited way she was acting, she was feeling a lot more.

  When the song ended, she looked up at him with such soulful eyes, he lowered his head and kissed her cheek. The downy softness of her skin beneath his lips sent a zipping jolt of pleasure, lightning hot and fast, through his charged body. She turned her face upward and parted her lips expectantly. Alex didn’t hesitate to angle his mouth over hers and lightly rub his lips against hers.

  “Just as I thought,” he murmured huskily. “Soft as velvet and sweet as honey.”

  “Thank you,” she whispered, eyes half-shut.

  He pulled back with a wry smile. “What are you thanking me for? The dance or the kiss?”

  Her eyes opened and a dimple deepened next to her enchanting smile. “Both.”

  “You’re welcome.” Alex shook his head to clear it from the spell she was weaving on him. Holy smokes. If he didn’t watch out, she’d have him wrapped around her little finger.

  One kiss…and he was ravenous for her.

  Chapter 6

  Flutters of excitement stirred deep in Georgiana’s belly at the sensual blaze in Alex’s black gaze as he watched her hungrily. She swallowed a husky sigh and wondered if he felt it too, the intense, all-consuming pull of sexual attraction. Her breathing quickened and her mouth grew dry just thinking how formidable he would be at lovemaking.

  She abruptly shut her mouth when she realized she was gaping at him. It wouldn’t do to drool over Alex so blatantly. Be mysterious, Piper had once told her, though ironically, her best friend wasn’t mysterious either. It had to be obvious to Alex that Georgiana thought he was the hottest man alive.

  He was making her feel incredibly sexy and desirable. If it were up to her, they would be making love now instead of talking. She hid a guilty smile as her body heated up with eager anticipation.

  But why should she feel guilty? Bill had never made her feel sexy and desirable, only cute. He always told her how cute she was, but he kept his feelings in check, always cool, always in control. She craved spine-tingling romance and crazy, wild lovemaking with someone who made her feel like he couldn’t live without her. Bill had never made her feel anything remotely like that.

  He certainly hadn’t made her feel like the earth moved when she was in his arms. Now, Terremoto here was a different story. Gazing into Alex’s seductive dark eyes, she knew one thing for sure—heaven and earth had moved when he took her in his arms.

  His muscular body was strong and sturdy, and it made her shiver to imagine how powerful it would be when he made love. Power tempered by tenderness—the very thought filled her with excitement and sensual hunger.

  The song’s lyrics, so blatantly seductive, yet honest, emboldened her. She could sure use some sexual healing tonight, she thought, gazing at him with her heart in her throat. She was suddenly scared at how vulnerable the sharp ache made her feel. What would she do if he didn’t want to see her after tonight?

  Being held by Alex sent quivers of pure lust whooshing through Georgiana. The mere brush of his lips against hers had her panting for more. She tried to catch her breath, but his arousal pressed against her—hard and insistent—making her lose the last shred of self-control. As if she had any with him. It was crazy and breathtaking, this teeming attraction to the hottest man she’d ever met—who made her toes curl and her pulse thrum out of control.

  Alex’s warm lips trailed her neck, leaving gooseflesh on her sensitized skin. She closed her eyes as soft moans of pleasure escaped her. Lower, she urged silently. She didn’t dare say it out loud, but she longed to feel him kiss her breasts and take her achy nipples into his mouth.

  Alex released his hold on her and she felt a moment of loss until his hands slid up her sides and over her shoulders in a languid caress. His thumbs slid under the neckline of her sweater and traced the fine bones of her clavicle before his hands gently held her face.

  “Kiss me again,” she breathed.

  He hunched forward as his broad hands slid down her back and cupped her buttocks. Lifting her up against his hard body, he supported her weight easily. He nuzzled her neck and a sensual tremor snaked up her spine. “You smell like flowers,” he murmured, skimming his lips along her jawline.

  She swallowed a shivery breath as he captured her mouth in a deep, soul-stirring kiss that left no part of her mouth untouched. The possessive way his hands firmly held her bottom sent hot thrills whizzing through her, and she was glad he was holding her up or she would have slid to the floor in a helpless heap.

  She moaned in between his deep kisses, ragged, breathy moans leaving no doubt that she wanted him to make love to her like his tongue and lips were doing to her mouth. The rough velvet pad of his tongue languidly stroked hers, fuelling simmering flames of passion that rushed through her bloodstream. Her body quivered with arousal as his tongue and lips pleasured her mouth, mimicking lovemaking.

  A hiccup suddenly escaped her and her face flamed.

  Alex released his hold on her and let her slide the length of his hard body, making vividly aware of the ridge of his arousal straining at his jeans. He straightened from the kiss and made a low, growling sound, his face tense as he struggled to contain his lust.

  Georgiana watched him, confused and disappointed. Unprepared for the abrupt withdrawal of his drugging kisses, her breath came out in agitated spurts. “Why did you stop?” she asked, disturbed by his turnabout.

  Years ago, she had learned a hard lesson from one impulsive act that had changed her life, and ever since, caution was her motto. She would not leap into life choices. But tonight she was eager to take the plunge with an open heart. Fascinated and irresistibly drawn to Alex, she wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone in her life.

  Warily, she watched him drag a hand through his hair, leaving it sexily rumpled as his jaw clamped down. Leaning his forehead against hers, he grated, “We should slow down.”

  Why? Hadn’t he liked kissing her? She stared up at him, disgruntled. “Doesn’t the girl usually say that to the guy?”

  “She might,” he conceded as he straightened and held her arms lightly. When her chin jutted defiantly, he said, “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  His willpower was stronger than hers. “You’re not taking advantage of me.”

  “Don’t you know that I want to pleasure every inch of you?” he asked, his face taut with constraint. His hands closed around her arms and squeezed gently. “But I want you to remember it when I do.”

  Georgiana’s eyes shot open, heartened that he planned on it.

  “But we’ve had a lot to drink tonight,” he added, squashing her hopes that it would be tonight. “We polished off a bottle of wine between us, and that was after the whisky.”

  “I can hold my liquor,” she declared mutinously, but her body betrayed her with another hiccup.

  He raised a mocking brow and shook his head. To her deep disappointment, he walked to the coffee table and began clearing it. A crooked grin tugged at his lips as he turned to her. “It’s time for dessert. I spied a chocolate cake earlier.”

  She joined him in clearing the table and togeth
er they carried everything back to the kitchen. When she lifted the fudge cake out of the container, he whistled softly. “You sure know the way to a man’s heart.”

  She grinned and pretended to hoard the cake for herself. “Are you admitting to being a chocoholic?”

  “Guilty. If there’s anything I can’t resist it’s chocolate.” He leaned forward and dipped his finger in the frosting. With a gravelly sigh, he sucked it off, the motion so erotic it made Georgiana quiver with desire. “Ganache frosting,” he said, licking his lips. “Delicious.”

  Never mind the frosting, his lips were delicious. Georgiana forced her gaze away from his sexy mouth and glanced at her watch. “It’s already midnight. Let’s open the bottle of champagne I brought.”

  “Are you sure you can handle more liquor?”

  “Of course. I’m no lightweight.”

  He chuckled. “Could have fooled me. I’ll open it, but first you have to drink a glass of water.”

  “Why?”

  “So you won’t get dehydrated. You’ll thank me in the morning when you don’t have a bad hangover.”

  “Okay.” She filled a glass with water and drank it fully. “Satisfied?” At his nod, she smiled. “Let’s have that bubbly now.”

  Alex opened the champagne bottle and froth spilled over his hands before he filled two champagne flutes and handed her one.

  They made short work of devouring the rich, moist chocolate cake and toasting each other with champagne.

  “This is the best Christmas Eve I’ve ever spent,” Georgiana said dreamily. “Now that we’ve danced and eaten, there’s one thing I’d like.”

  “I can hardly wait to hear it,” Alex said dryly.

  “Let’s play a game. You tell me the first thing that pops into your mind, and I’ll tell you what pops into mine.”

  “I don’t want you to leave tonight,” he said automatically. “Your turn.”

  “Good, ‘cause I’m not going anywhere.” She snuggled up to him and yawned. Patting her mouth, she murmured. “I’m just going to close my eyes for a bit and then I’ll help clean up the kitchen.”

  “You do that,” Alex rubbed his cheek against her hair and caressed her back with circular strokes.

  “Mmm, feels good,” she purred. “So good.”

  Within moments, Georgiana was asleep and Alex was hard as granite.

  After contemplating the last embers of the fire with warring thoughts messing with his mind, he carefully disentangled himself from her tantalizing body. He smiled when she turned on her side and stretched languorously. Gazing at her for a long time, he wished he could make love to her tonight, to pleasure her until she was limp with satisfaction. But he wasn’t going to go there, no matter how irresistible she was.

  Heaving a deep sigh, he covered her with a chenille throw, making sure to tuck in the sides all around her. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on her plush, velvety mouth, and a stab of lust made him pull back.

  Desire tore through him like a tornado. How could someone so beautiful and tempting be off-limits tonight? Damn, he sure could use some sexual healing. Worst of all, he was the one putting constraints on his libido, and she wasn’t too thrilled with his decision.

  As he turned away, he noticed Georgiana’s cell phone light up and buzz with a text message. Alex glanced at it and his jaw tightened with distaste as a stirring of jealousy rankled him.

  Happy Birthday, darling. Sorry you were disappointed by my surprise, but I’m sure we can come to an agreement. I want to spend today with you. Call me as soon as you are up.

  Chapter 7

  Brightness shone on Georgiana’s face, rousing her awake the next morning. She opened one eye and was nearly blinded by the sunlight streaming in from the window. When she moved her head, a dull headache told her to move slowly.

  Gazing around her with mounting curiosity, she took awhile to get her bearings. She was in a living room, tucked under a throw on a couch in front of a stone fireplace that had large picture windows on either side overlooking the beach. She was in unfamiliar surroundings, but somehow felt at home.

  As her foggy mind slowly cleared, she tried to piece together everything that had transpired the previous day—and then it hit her. She was in Alex’s home, on his couch. She automatically checked to make sure her clothes were still on, and they were to her relief. But she couldn’t remember much about last night except for one thing—Alex Cortes was gorgeous, sexy and amazing.

  She sat for a moment, processing the enthralling scenes with him that ran through her mind like a movie she didn’t want to end. She had spent the evening with him, talking, eating and dancing. And best of all—he had kissed her. Not just any kiss, but several deep, passionate kisses that had left her helplessly clinging to him.

  Her heart raced, remembering how he’d held her firmly pressed against his arousal while his lips and tongue had plundered her mouth until she was mindless with pleasure and intense longing.

  So, where was the object of her desire this morning? Georgiana wondered, glancing at her watch. It was already 10 a.m. Was Alex still asleep? She was tempted to tiptoe to his room and peek inside, but decided against it.

  The sound of chiming bells drew her attention. Realizing it was her smart phone, she reached for it on the coffee table and answered when she saw the phone number on the panel.

  “Hello?” She broke into a wide smile when she heard her family singing to her.

  “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Georgie, happy birthday to you,” Mom’s cheerful voice rang out, joined by three rowdy baritones. When they finished, she heard her mother’s muffled voice say, “Okay, guys, let me talk to Georgie.” When she uncovered the mouthpiece, Mom said, “How are you, sweetie?”

  “I’m fine, Mom. Just missing all of you.”

  “I know, honey, we miss you too.” She paused. “Unfortunately, the airports are still closed. We got twelve inches of snow yesterday.”

  “Oh no. I wonder when I’ll be able to get a flight.”

  “Soon, I hope. I just spoke to the airlines and the agent said you’d get priority as soon as the flights start operating since your flight was cancelled.”

  “Oh, good. Thanks for calling them.”

  “You’re welcome. How’s the weather down there?”

  “The sun is shining brightly after the electrical storm we had last night. It’s crazy that you’re having a white Christmas and it’s supposed to go up to eighty degrees here.”

  “That is crazy,” Mom agreed with a chuckle. “Did you get your car problems resolved?”

  “Not yet, but I don’t need my car today. I’ll deal with Bertha when I get back.”

  “What about Bill? You haven’t mentioned him.”

  “He’s fine, but he won’t be coming up with me after all. He was called away on business.” It was off-putting to lie to her mother on Christmas morning, but Georgiana didn’t want to distress her.

  “During Christmas? Oh, Georgie, I’m so sorry.”

  “Yeah, me too, but it couldn’t be helped. Now don’t start worrying. I’m fine with it. I’ll let you know as soon as I get a flight out. I gotta make some calls now.”

  “Okay, dear. We’ll be thinking of you and missing you. Can’t wait to see you soon. Love you.”

  “Love you too, Mom. Hugs to Dad. Bye.” Georgiana hung up quickly before Dad got on and started asking about Bill. He had told her early on that he had his reservations about him. Like Dylan, he didn’t think Bill was right for her.

  She checked her text messages next, smiling at the many sweet birthday wishes from her friends and family. Try as she might, it wasn’t possible to keep Bill out of her mind because his text messages and voice messages had begun shortly after midnight and were all over the place.

  Scrolling through them, she saw he’d started out sounding regretful, but his messages had gotten progressively insistent. First he wished her a Happy Birthday and promised to make things up to her. Then he invited
her to Vegas on his private jet for New Year’s Eve. Evidently, he still thought he could buy her. This had been an ongoing issue. Bill was ridiculously wealthy and loved to use it to his advantage.

  He once told her he found it refreshing that she had fallen for him without knowing his net worth. She had just thought he was a nice, friendly guy jogging on the beach. Little had she known what a powerful real estate mogul he was. Unfortunately, his vast wealth and power had made him the most entitled guy she’d ever met—and the coldest.

  Rather than stick around and hope that with time he’d warm up, she should have run. Her phone buzzed in her hand with a text from Bill, jarring her peace of mind.

  She frowned at his curt message: Stop this nonsense and call me back.

  Her phone buzzed again. With a flash of annoyance, she wished she could disconnect from Bill entirely, but this time it wasn’t him. It was Piper, whom she’d promised to call in the morning.

  Piper: Hellooo? Are you okay?

  Georgiana: Yes, sorry for the delay. I’m fine. Merry Christmas.

  Piper: Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas! Can you talk?

  Georgiana: Not now – will call as soon as I can. Have a beautiful day. xx

  Piper: Thanks, you too. Can’t wait to hear how everything went last night. xx

  Georgiana put the phone down and contemplated last night. She still couldn’t believe she had spent the night in Alex’s house, or that he’d been so welcoming when she’d barged in on him. He’d planned on a gloomy evening nursing a bottle of Scotch and eating a frozen dinner. Yet he had warmed to her company through the course of the evening.

  Joy washed over her as she remembered his words. You’ve managed to turn this evening around. She’d been so moved when he’d said it.

  But that was last night…how would he feel this morning? she wondered with a flash of panic. Would she see him again after today? It seemed far-fetched that yesterday had meant as much to him as it had to her. Just when they’d started to get to know each other and get intimately acquainted, she would have to leave.