Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2

by Maisey Yates

  They walked toward the lake, which shimmered darkly against the soft lights of the street lamps on the trail. Her hand remained tucked in the crook of his arm.

  “I continued with the lessons for years because I wanted to prove to my mother that I could do it. I never became a good rider. When my horse was too old to ride and retired, I was so happy. My father offered to buy me a new horse, and my mother simply turned to me and said, ‘Tell him.’”

  They walked alongside the lake. The night was rapidly cooling. Ethan put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She didn’t resist, grateful for the warmth and the feel of his solid body against hers.

  “My mom knew all along that I hated riding, but she didn’t say a word for ten years.” She stopped walking and turned to stare at the lake. There was just enough light to see the reflection of the trees. Ethan remained quiet beside her.

  “It’s a lesson I’ll never forget. There’s a word in Hindi, ghamand. It doesn’t have an English equivalent. It means pride, arrogance, vanity. It’s being so stubborn that you cut your nose to spite your face.”

  Ethan turned to face her, and her heart raced. He kept a hand on her arm and stood so close that all she had to do was stand on tiptoe and she could kiss him. His hand moved up and down her arm and she felt the goose bumps, but her body was far from cold.

  “Divya, I can’t even begin to tell you how many times people discouraged me from moving forward with Deal Catcher. Amazon already existed and the market was flooded with apps. You have to believe in yourself. You can easily be Tina Roy one day.”

  She put a finger on his lips and felt him suck in a breath. Then she brushed her finger across his lips before retracting her hand.

  “I’m not giving up on my singing. I loved being onstage. But that’s precisely why I don’t want to ruin it for me. I don’t want to be like Tina Roy. I remember listening to some of her early works and they were nothing like what she performed today. I don’t want to write songs that appeal onstage and end up hating music.”

  “It doesn’t have to be that way—”

  “Ethan! I have a law degree, a career, a family. I have a lot going for me. Music will remain my hobby, something I enjoy.”

  “But you’re so talented you can do anything you want.”

  Was it her imagination or had he stepped closer to her? She could almost feel the rise and fall of his chest. She put her arms around him and he closed the distance between their lips.

  This time, he didn’t hold back when he kissed her. He pulled her close and she gave as good as she got. Their lips were in perfect harmony as they explored and tasted each other. She pressed her body to his and fire licked deep in her core. She molded herself to him, and felt his attraction, hard against her belly.

  He stepped back from her, his breath heavy.

  “There is one thing I really want to do that I’m not sure I can.”

  His lips twitched. “What’s that?”

  “I want to seduce you.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Do not kiss her again. Ethan wanted to tell the inner voice ringing alarm bells in his head to shut up. She lifted her chin, her eyes challenging him to take another taste of her wet lips. He could handle an affair with her, couldn’t he? He knew where she stood on the topic of marriage; there’d be no expectations between them, just a physical relationship. He looked into her eyes and his heart jolted.

  “It’s getting late. Let’s go back to the hotel.”

  She raised a brow but didn’t say anything. They retraced their steps back to Fifth Avenue and caught a taxi back to the hotel. They were at the lobby elevators when one of the front desk clerks came rushing up to them. “Miss Singh!”

  “Yes?”

  “Mr. Mehra needs to speak to you urgently. He’s on his way. Please wait right here.”

  Rajiv appeared a few minutes later, his suit still perfectly pressed, despite the late hour. “Divya! I didn’t know how to reach you.” He sounded frantic.

  “What’s happened?”

  “The show you were at tonight, someone recognized Ethan.” His gaze flicked to Ethan. “Arjun is tracking all mentions of Ethan on social media. He and Vivek are on a plane from Vegas.”

  “Vivek? Why is he coming?”

  Rajiv shrugged. “Arjun didn’t get into the details, but I think Vivek wants to talk to you. Maybe he feels he can convince you to get married.”

  Divya sighed. Rajiv gave Ethan a pointed look, then lowered his voice, as if doing so would exclude Ethan from the conversation. “I think you should be honest with your brother. Running away is not the way to handle things.”

  Divya glanced at Ethan. He should nod, tell her Rajiv was right, because he was. She needed to confront her family, not hide from them. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to do more than blink at her.

  “I can’t, Rajiv. I’m not ready to face my family yet.”

  Rajiv pressed his fingers to his lips. “Then, I need you not to be here when Arjun arrives.”

  Divya placed a hand on Rajiv’s arm. “I’m so sorry. Of course we’ll get out right away.”

  “I’ve arranged a limo for you. A friend of mine has a house in the Hamptons where you can hang out until you’re ready to go home. I’ll arrange whatever you need.” Rajiv gave her a pointed look and it wasn’t hard to understand the subtext of his words. Divya didn’t need to rely on Ethan. There was no reason for him to hang around anymore.

  Once again, Divya looked at Ethan. It was probably best that they parted ways. The more time he spent with her, the greater the chance that he would lose his heart to this girl who was very much unavailable.

  “Thank you, Rajiv, but I don’t want to involve you more than you already are. I know your friendship with my brother is important.”

  “Divya…”

  Ethan took a step forward. “Don’t worry, Rajiv. I’ll take good care of her. I can have my jet ready to go in an hour.”

  Rajiv looked between Divya and Ethan, then spread his hands. “Good luck to you.” Then he turned and said something to Divya in Hindi. Her eyes widened and Ethan could’ve sworn he saw her blush. She responded in Hindi, then hugged Rajiv. Without a glance at Ethan, she pressed the elevator button.

  Ethan didn’t ask what Rajiv had said and Divya didn’t volunteer. They didn’t have a lot of stuff, so it didn’t take long to pack. Ethan made arrangements for the jet and called the valet to bring the Mercedes.

  “Are you sure you want to keep running? I’d be happy to wait and take you wherever you want to go after you sort things out with your brother.”

  Divya began shaking her head before he even finished the sentence. “I’m not ready for this to end yet. I’m enjoying my freedom.”

  “Why does it have to be an all-or-nothing deal, Divya? Why can’t you tell your brother that you’re ready to be your own independent woman?”

  “Because that’s not how things are done in my family.”

  The valet brought the Mercedes, and he loaded the luggage and opened the door for her. The night was cold, so Ethan didn’t drop the top on the convertible. As he eased out of the hotel driveway, he turned toward her. “What’re you so afraid of?”

  “I’m afraid of how much I love my family. Arjun has a way of convincing me that he’ll work something out to get me what I want. But it’s never exactly what I want.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “After I finished law school, I wanted a job. I was even offered this great position with a law firm, but my parents didn’t want me to take it. They didn’t understand why I wanted to work, given that we have plenty of money. My mom wanted me to be a socialite like her so I could find a nice husband. Arjun brokered a deal with my parents where I could work, but for the family firm. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it was a big battle for him to get me that concession, but the whole reason I wanted a job is
to have some independence from the family.”

  “I still don’t understand why you didn’t just take the law firm position. It’s not as if your family would’ve locked you at home.”

  She blew out a breath, but Ethan wasn’t going to let her off the hook. Divya didn’t seem like the type of woman who had been cloistered all her life. She was confident and self-assured enough to get what she wanted. Including me. There was something she wasn’t telling him.

  “No, of course not. We’re not that type of family. It’s more that they worry and care about me, and once I see my brother again, he’ll remind me of all the reasons why I should come home.” She looked out the passenger-side window, clearly hiding her face from him.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “It’s complicated, and now’s not the time. Let’s discuss where we’re going.”

  He wanted to know more, but clearly, she didn’t trust him enough to share what was really going on.

  “I have something you should add to your bucket list.”

  She grinned at him. “What do you have in mind?”

  “Trust me?”

  She leaned back in the car seat. “I’m all yours.”

  If only that was true.

  CHAPTER NINE

  It was past midnight when they arrived at Teterboro, but Roda was waiting there. She handed Ethan several shopping bags and took the keys of the Mercedes.

  Kathy greeted them warmly when they got on the plane. They ordered coffee and dinner.

  He took a seat in one of the reclining chairs that faced the back of the plane and Divya sat opposite him. They were quiet until Kathy returned with their food. “We’re waiting for clearance from the tower. It might be a while before we’re ready to take off. The pilot is expecting a bumpy ride because of a weather system coming in from the south. I’ll be in the jump seat. Ring the call button if you need anything.”

  They dug into their food, both of them famished. The hot dog at Madison Square Garden had been hours ago.

  “You want to tell me where we’re going?” Divya finally asked.

  He smiled. “Let’s just say we’re going to go do something that’ll help you face your fears.”

  “Please, don’t tell me we’ll be in a tank full of sharks.”

  He laughed. “Now, why didn’t I think of that?”

  She leaned over until her face was inches from him. Her breath smelled of coffee and her vanilla lip gloss, and all he could think about was pulling her onto his lap and kissing her until he didn’t have any air left in his chest.

  “You told me to trust you,” she said.

  He swallowed, trying to remember what they were talking about. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and gently pushed her back into her seat. He couldn’t have her so close to him.

  “You want to tell me what’s going on between us?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You kiss me like you’re going to swallow me whole, and then you pull away. What’s going on?”

  He sighed, not sure if he loved or hated Divya’s straight talk.

  “I’m attracted to you, Divya, but just a few days ago I broke up your wedding. What kind of man runs away with the wrong bride, then gets involved with her? I don’t want to get into something messy and make you feel uncomfortable.”

  “How chivalrous of you. First of all, I decide what’s comfortable for me, and second, why do you assume it’ll be messy? I’m an adult and so are you. I enjoy sex. I hope you do too. Why can’t we enjoy it together?”

  Damn. When she put it that way, he had a hard time coming up with a coherent answer. How did he explain to her that he felt a connection to her? Perhaps it was real, or maybe it was his traditional pattern of falling for women who were unavailable. He knew their chemistry was real, and he was afraid to find out just how explosive it could be.

  He stared at her, and the fire in her eyes ignited something deep and powerful in his core. For the first time in his life, he wanted to fight his impulses. A loud warning blared in his head, but he was having a hard time hearing it. Divya’s glossy pink lips were calling out to him.

  “Look, there are no expectations between us. I don’t think you’re taking advantage of me, we’ve clearly got chemistry. Why not enjoy ourselves for the short time we have together?”

  Because I may not just want you for a short time.

  * * *

  Of all the men she’d been with, none got her as hot and bothered as Ethan. Maybe because for the first time in her life, she wasn’t looking at someone through her family’s eyes. He wasn’t a man to be evaluated for marriage. He was a man she could just be with. No expectations, no boundaries. Total freedom.

  It wasn’t a question of attraction. She’d felt his attraction hard and clear when they kissed. Does he think I’m too inexperienced to understand what sex means?

  She left her seat, leaned over and pressed her lips to his. His eyes darkened and she knew she had him.

  “I’d like to add the mile-high club to my bucket list.”

  She gave him her most sultry smile, then turned her back to him, took her shirt off and let it drop to the floor. His eyes were glued to her, but he sat frozen in his seat. She took off her lacy bra and flung it at him, then crossed her arms over her chest. She stood for a second and looked over her shoulder at him. The sharp intake of his breath made her smile. She walked to the bedroom at the back of the plane.

  As expected, he wasn’t far behind. She’d barely stepped into the tiny bedroom when she felt his arms around her, his chest to her bare back. The bed took up most of the space in the room. There was a mirror opposite the door. She saw their reflection as his hands crisscrossed her waist. He kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder, and a delicious quiver coursed through her body.

  He met her eyes in the mirror. “You’re a dangerous woman, Divya, but I’m no slouch in the seduction department.” He ran his hands over her narrow waist and flat belly, then worked upward and cupped her breasts, running his thumbs over her sensitive, taut nipples. Her core melted and she moaned. She reached back and weaved her fingers into his hair, tugging at it to let him know he was driving her crazy as his lips worked their way up her neck to nibble on her ears.

  She moved her hands down and found him hard and ready. She caressed him through his jeans and smiled as he groaned. He loosened his arm and she turned around and tugged his shirt off. His chest and hard abs had a sexy smattering of hair that was just right. She ran her hands over him, noticing the darkness of her skin against his paleness. “Wow, you are really white.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll work on my tan.”

  She ran her hands down his pecs, over his belly, following the trail of sandy-brown hair from his washboard abs to the top of his jeans. She popped the button, and he shook off his shoes while she tugged his jeans off.

  “Hmm, I like a boxers man.”

  She touched his velvety hard-on, tentatively at first, but then she took it firmly in her hand.

  “Divya!” He breathed her name in a begging moan. She moved her hand up and down until he placed his own hand on hers, stilling her. She looked at him questioningly, but he moved her hands to her own waistband. He undid the button on her jeans and she slid them down. She was wearing one of her new purchases, the red lace panties. His appreciative moan told her it had been a worthwhile purchase. He touched her core through the soft fabric and she melted. She was hot and swollen and wet and she wanted him hard and fast.

  She hooked her fingers in the waistband of her panties to take them off, but he stopped her.

  “Not so fast.” He worked his fingers over the outside of her panties, circling her tight bud, pushing his finger slightly inside.

  They felt the plane gain speed as it began to taxi down the runway.

  Enough. If he was go
ing to drive her mad, she was doing the same to him. The bed was behind him. As the plane rose in the air, she gave him a hard push and he stumbled backward. She pushed him again until he was sitting on the bed. She straddled him. Her panties were wet and she ground against him, enjoying his moan of pleasure. His mouth found her breast, and his tongue licked and teased while he cupped the other in his hand, his fingers rubbing her nipple until she felt intense pressure in her core.

  It was tempting to give in to her release, but she knew it would be so much better with him inside her. When he came up for air, she got up, reached into her jeans for a condom and tore off the outside packaging. She’d been prepared for this moment. She took off her panties while he watched, his sky-blue eyes as dark as hers. Then she touched herself.

  “Take off your boxers.”

  He complied immediately, then reached over and took the condom from her. He quickly sheathed himself, and she stepped back toward the bed, spread her legs on either side of his knees and straddled him as she took him inside her in one slick motion.

  He filled her just right, and the feeling was so intense, so perfect that she clutched him with her muscles, dug her fingers into his shoulders. She rocked and shuddered and shattered violently against his arousal, her climax so powerful that she screamed. He vibrated inside her and that brought a new wave of heat and pleasure coursing through her.

  She rested her head on his chest, too blown away to speak. He circled his arms around her as she slid off him, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around his chest and inhaled the scent of his soap and sweat and felt her core twitch with desire.