Sinful Rapture

by Alexandra Ivy

  Her eyes flared with a sudden fire. “It never occurred to you that I might love him?”

  Liam tensed, his chest tightening to the point he could barely breathe.

  “Do you?” he snapped, his voice suddenly as cold as the Artic.

  Dammit. He was tired of Theodore Wentworth Junior being used as a weapon against him.

  Her defiant expression faltered. “I—”

  “The truth,” he warned.

  “I…I cared about him,” she at last hedged.

  “Christ.” He gave a short, humorless laugh. “I would almost feel sorry for the bastard if he wasn’t such a grade-A asshole.”

  She scowled at him. “Why?”

  “You would have made him as miserable a wife as he would have made you a husband.”

  “You don’t know that,” she retorted. “We had a lot in common and we enjoyed each other’s company. That’s a far more intelligent basis for marriage than sex.”

  “It’s at least safe, I suppose.” His hand stroked over her cheek before following the line of her neck. Then, almost absently, he traced the prominent thrust of her collarbone. His brief annoyance disappeared as he felt her tiny tremble beneath the soft caress. This woman had spent her entire life trying to earn the love of a man who had no heart. “And to be honest, I get it.”

  “Get what?”

  “Your father taught you at a young age not to offer your heart to a male.”

  She snapped her lips together, but it wasn’t anger that darkened her eyes. No. That was pain. A lingering gift from her father’s betrayal.

  “I don’t need your psychoanalysis,” she snapped.

  “No,” he instantly agreed. “What you need is a man who isn’t afraid to bust through your walls with a good fucking and some painful honesty.”

  She made a sound of disbelief at his blunt response. “Nice.”

  He lowered his head to seal her lips in a kiss that held no hint of apology.

  There was no more pussyfooting around.

  “I don’t want to be nice,” he snarled against her mouth. “Or proper. Or pre-approved by Vigo Angeli.” His hand cupped her breasts, his fingers tugging at her nipples with a sharp urgency. “I want to be the man who makes your heart race and your knees weak. The man who challenges you to take risks. And to believe in your own self-worth. Ted would have chained you to mediocrity.” His head lowered to capture one of the tightened nubs between his lips. “I intend to help you soar.”

  She shoved her fingers into his hair, her back arching in invitation.

  He’d already learned her breasts were incredibly sensitive.

  “Liam,” she groaned.

  “Let me in, princess,” he husked, moving to tease her other breast with tiny bites.

  Her fingers tightened in his hair, giving it a painful tug.

  “What do you want from me?”

  He allowed one hand to slide down her body, slipping between her legs.

  “You.”

  She released a shaky sigh. “My body?”

  “Oh, I definitely want every inch of this delectable body.” His tongue traced the tip of her nipple as his fingers dipped between her folds. “But that’s not nearly enough. I want your thoughts. Your hopes. Your heart. Your soul.”

  “Good…god,” she groaned as he thrust his finger into her damp channel.

  Instinctively she spread her legs, offering him full access to her sweet honey.

  “Most of all I want your future.” He kissed a path back up her throat, nuzzling just below her ear. “Does that frighten you?”

  “Yes,” she muttered, at last speaking the truth.

  Liam lifted his head to meet her passion-darkened gaze. “Then I’ll take what you’re willing to give.”

  “And if it’s only tonight?”

  He forced himself to shrug. It’d taken a year to get her into his bed. No need to frighten her away with the fact that there was no way in hell he was going to be satisfied with anything less than her complete surrender.

  “I’d say we’d better make the most of it,” he assured her.

  Just for a second she seemed to hesitate. As if she was torn between the trembling need of her body and the realization that this night was destined to alter their relationship on a fundamental level.

  Liam choked back a curse, forcing himself not to plead.

  Dammit. His pride had taken enough of a beating.

  Then, almost tentatively, she reached down to wrap his aching cock in her fingers.

  “You’re right,” she told him.

  He groaned, pleasure exploding through him as she started to explore him with growing assurance.

  “That’s a first,” he teased, leaning his forehead against hers. “You never think I’m right.”

  Shit, that felt good.

  “Hush,” she chided.

  He arched a brow. “Did you just tell me to hush?”

  “Tonight is a fantasy.” Without warning she was pressing her hands against his chest, insistently urging him to roll onto his back so she could perch on top of him. “Just let me play.”

  His breath exploded from his lungs, excitement clenching his body at the sight of Holly straddling his waist, her hair tangled around her flushed face and her eyes darkened to a smoldering gold.

  God. She’d never looked more beautiful.

  His heart clenched with a stark male need. Mine, a voice whispered in the back of his mind.

  This woman was meant to be his.

  At the same time a sudden fear pierced his heart.

  What if she discovered the truth?

  Would she understand why he’d felt compelled—

  “Is there something wrong?” Holly broke into his dark thoughts, her brow furrowed as she regarded him with a sudden uncertainty.

  “Nothing,” he growled, shoving aside his brief hesitancy. Tonight was about the future. He slid his fingers over her thighs, lifting his hips to press his cock against the liquid heat between her legs. “I’m putty in your hands.”

  “Good.” Holly leaned down to press her lips to his chest, just above his pounding heart. “Don’t move.”

  “Christ,” he breathed as she stroked a trail of kisses to his beaded nipple.

  He gave a low groan, the sensation of her satin hair brushing over his skin nearly sending him over the edge.

  It was all the encouragement she needed.

  Clearly enjoying her power over his body, she tasted the nipple with her tongue even as her fingers continued to explore the hard length of his erection.

  He jerked beneath her touch, his fingers digging into her ass as he struggled not to simply plunge his aching length into her body.

  “Do you like that?” she husked.

  “I…” He struggled to swallow. “Harder.”

  “Patience.”

  With a wicked chuckle, she skimmed her fingers back to the tip of his cock, finding the tiny drop of moisture. She rubbed it lightly, circling the broad head before returning downward.

  She repeated the caress twice more before he released an explosive sigh.

  “For the love of god, Holly, don’t torture me.”

  She shifted so she could kiss him with the same hunger that pounded through him.

  “Show me what you want.” Her voice was low, throaty.

  With a choked groan, Liam reached to wrap his hand over her fingers, pressing them tight against his cock. Then slowly he urged her to stroke up and down the shaft, his breath hissing through his teeth as his hips surged forward.

  His teeth clenched as she quickened her pace, feeling his balls tighten as his climax loomed.

  “Wait, Holly,” he ground out, his hand tugging her slender fingers from his cock.

  He was too damned close for any more play.

  “Party pooper,” she taunted, her chuckle turning into a soft sigh as the broad head of his cock pierced the entrance to her body.

  Liam squeezed his eyes shut, the pleasure almost overwhelming.

  Slo
wly he sank into her welcoming heat, groaning as her flesh wrapped tightly around his arousal.

  Paradise.

  Sliding his hands up her body, Liam cupped her breasts, his fingers tugging at her nipples at the same time he began to pump his cock deep inside her.

  She gave a choked moan, leaning forward as she met him thrust for thrust, their movements growing more frantic as they hurtled toward completion.

  At last Liam gave a shout of joy, his seed exploding from his cock in tiny pulses of bliss.

  “My princess.” Liam tangled his fingers in her hair, tugging her toward him to capture her lips in a kiss of sheer appreciation. “All mine.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Holly remained silent as Liam’s Mercedes sports car zipped smoothly through the early morning traffic.

  She didn’t know why she’d so easily agreed to his insistence that he take her home. Of course, she didn’t know why she’d spent the entire night having the hottest, most intense sex of her life with a man she claimed to hate.

  Not that she regretted a second of their time together, she ruefully admitted.

  Liam had not only managed to make her forget that it was supposed to be her wedding night with Ted, but he’d taught her just what she’d been missing when it came to desire.

  Who knew that she could come just by having Liam kissing her breasts?

  Or that a shower could offer so many possibilities?

  It’d sure been a hell of a lot more fun than a night with Ted.

  Still, a tiny voice in the back of her mind was whispering that she was acting wholly out of character. And that at some point, she was going to come to her senses and realize that she’d just spent a night having wild, crazy-ass sex with her boss.

  Surely nothing could ever be the same?

  Jerking herself out of her odd sense of unreality as the Mercedes slowed, Holly glanced out the window at the tan and black apartment building that was framed by large palm trees.

  In the morning sunlight the neighborhood looked neat, but modest. Nothing compared to where her father lived. Or even Liam. But it had been home for the past two years.

  And until this morning, she’d always felt a warm sense of comfort when she was here.

  But now…

  She gave a sharp shake of her head, refusing to acknowledge that her strange reluctance to leave the comfort of Liam’s car was due to an unconscious aversion to returning to her life.

  If anything, it was the sheer embarrassment at being seen in the short shorts and miniscule top that was emblazoned with the Playhouse logo, she told herself. When she’d called Sasha to send clothes to the room, she’d been worried about the walk of shame wearing a dress she’d obviously worn the night before.

  And of course, Liam had needed a shirt since his no longer had buttons.

  Unfortunately, the Playhouse merchandise wasn’t much of an improvement.

  “You can drop me off in front of the building,” she murmured, opening her purse to pull out her key.

  With his typical arrogance, Liam ignored her words, parking his car in the small lot at the side of the building.

  “A gentleman doesn’t drop a lady at the curb,” he informed her, turning off the engine. “He walks her to her door.”

  “Didn’t you say last night that you weren’t a gentleman?”

  He flashed a wicked smile. “I have my moments.”

  He certainly did.

  A hot flash seared though Holly as she recalled some of his finer moments. His head between her legs. Him thrusting deep inside her as he whispered how good she felt…

  Her face flamed.

  Thank god he was busy sliding out of the car and rounding the hood to pull open her door.

  By the time she was walking beside him, she’d managed to smooth her expression.

  Using her key she opened the security door, and then they climbed the stairs to the second floor. She was acutely aware of the man who moved just a step behind her. His presence seemed to overpower the hallway despite its generous width and the arched ceilings that gave the building a Spanish flair.

  She wrinkled her nose.

  That was actually the first thing she’d noticed about Liam Conner. His sheer presence.

  It was as if he carried a force-field around him that threatened to suck her in whenever he was near.

  The next thing she’d noticed was his devastating beauty.

  Even this morning, with his russet hair tousled and his firm jaw shadowed with a hint of a beard, he looked…edible.

  Disturbed by the knowledge, she halted in front of her apartment and sent him a wary gaze.

  She abruptly realized that she didn’t want this man in her apartment.

  Not because she resented the fact he’d bought the company she considered her own. Or because he was arrogant and annoying and far too fond of tossing out orders.

  No. It was because this was supposed to be her sanctuary.

  The one place she could go to put Liam Conner out of her mind.

  To have the image of him wandering through her rooms and lounging on her furniture that was chosen for comfort rather than fashion would steal what little corner of peace she had left.

  “You’ve done your duty,” she informed him. “Now go away.”

  He clicked his tongue, reaching to take the key from her hand and efficiently unlock the door.

  “Ungrateful brat,” he chided, urging her over the threshold. “You can at least offer me coffee.”

  She glared over her shoulder as he pressed a hand to her lower back, giving him enough room to step inside.

  “Do you ever take no for an answer?”

  His lips twitched, the gold flecks in the emerald eyes more pronounced in the sunlight that filtered through the high, arched windows.

  “That’s a foolish question,” he said.

  She sighed. It was. This man had created a personal empire out of nothing.

  No didn’t figure into his vocabulary.

  “Someday,” she breathed, at last turning her attention toward her living room that was decorated in soothing shades of turquoise and tangerine. Her gaze, however, was swiftly captured by the stack of boxes that were piled in the center of the tiled floor. Wrapped in white and silver with large bows, they consumed an amazing amount of space. “Shit.”

  Yesterday she’d informed the reception staff to deliver the unopened presents to Ted. He was the one who’d jilted her. Why should she deal with the unpleasant duty of returning the gifts?

  Now she could only assume that her ex-fiancé had used his spare key last night to dump them here.

  It was a childish act of vengeance.

  But why?

  It was his choice to abandon her at the altar. Why act as if he was the victim?

  The raw, savagely painful humiliation she’d experienced while she’d stood in the small vestibule with her father impatiently pacing the floor and her bridesmaids watching her with growing pity, seared through her.

  Oh…god.

  She pressed a hand to her stomach, suddenly feeling like she was going to be sick.

  Stepping forward, Liam stared at the stack of boxes with a grim fury, his hands clenched.

  “What the hell is this?”

  “Wedding presents.” She pointed out the obvious, inanely sensing he was even more disturbed than she was by the unexpected sight.

  “I know what they are, princess,” he snarled. “What I don’t understand is why they’re here.”

  She hunched a shoulder, unconsciously backing away from the unwelcomed reminders of her aborted wedding.

  Another failure…a treacherous voice whispered in the back of her mind.

  “Someone will have to deal with them,” she forced herself to mutter.

  Perhaps sensing her distress, Liam turned his head to study her pale face with a perceptive gaze.

  “Not you,” he gruffly said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and steering her out of the still open door. “And not today.”

/>   “What are you doing?” she demanded, instinctively falling into step beside him as they retraced their route through the hallway and down the stairs.

  “Taking you to breakfast,” he told her.

  A strange emotion twisted her heart.

  It wasn’t the anger she should be feeling at his assumption that she would meekly accept his plans. Or even the embarrassment that he’d witnessed yet another shameful reminder that she’d been so publically revealed as unworthy.

  It was fear.

  Fear that she wanted to go with him.

  That she was secretly thrilled at the thought that the night of mad pleasure didn’t have to end.

  “And it didn’t occur to you that you might actually ask me if I want to go to breakfast with you?” she snapped as they exited the apartment building into the sun that was already warming the crisp morning air.

  Liam came to a sudden halt, grabbing her shoulders so he could turn her to meet his scorching emerald gaze.

  “Do you really want to go in that apartment right now?” he demanded.

  She grimaced at the blunt question. “No.”

  “Do you want me to take you to your family?”

  And endure Luc’s outraged opinion of her former fiancé? Or worse, her father’s icy disapproval?

  She shuddered. “No.”

  “Friends?”

  “No.”

  “Then it’s me,” he ground out, tugging her toward the Mercedes.

  She silently crossed the parking lot and allowed herself to be seated in the car. Liam was swiftly behind the wheel and driving them west of town.

  Eventually Holly gave a slow shake of her head.

  Just twenty-four hours ago she would have claimed that she was an efficient, highly independent woman who had a clear understanding of what she wanted from her life.

  Now she had no idea what she wanted from her future, while the emotions she’d so proudly kept leashed were swinging from one extreme to another.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she mumbled.

  “There’s nothing wrong with you,” he growled, shooting her a fierce glare.

  She blinked, distantly puzzled by his smoldering anger. It didn’t seem directed at her. Still…it was odd.