‘What if there’s a worst-case scenario?’ he growled. ‘What if the contraception fails and you end up pregnant?’
‘It’s unlikely,’ she said. ‘You’ve managed not to get anyone pregnant before, right?’
‘You’ve thought of everything.’ Whereas he’d been consumed by pure lust. Barely able to think of anything else all day.
‘But here’s the biggest problem.’ She put her hands on his chest as if to steady herself. ‘I want more, remember?’ She gulped. ‘I don’t want one night, I want every night that you’re here.’
Every night? For the first time the prospect of more than one was undeniably arousing. Because this was Merle—shy, wary Merle, saying exactly what she wanted. And it was him.
A shocking possessiveness surged, shooting satisfaction through every muscle, but he couldn’t move. Couldn’t answer. It was the strangest sensation to be so transfixed. To be so tempted. To be so touched.
She gazed up at him—reading something in his face—and began to backpedal. ‘You don’t have to...you can just forget it. I’m sorry. You were probably just bored and—’
He kissed her. It was the only way to smash away her defensive barrier. It was the only thing he wanted. He could no longer resist the need howling inside him. Never had he been as conflicted about, as fascinated by someone.
But suddenly all that indecision inside was burned off by the far more important need to coax her sweet, sultry response. To his pleasure, it took the merest moment. With the softest of moans her soft, yielding body pressed against his. Satisfaction sluiced through him. He had no doubts now. He’d give her what she wanted. All that mattered was her satisfaction.
Merle couldn’t catch her breath. She could feel his energy coil and passion build in his kisses. Her heart thundered as her doubts remained. He’d looked so surprised, so conflicted...she didn’t want him doing this from pity. But as the dominance deepened in his kiss he held her with more assurance, more purpose. As if sensing her final concerns, he pressed her against the hard evidence of his arousal so she could make no mistake. He wanted her. His barely contained energy washed away the sting of rejection she’d felt only moments earlier.
‘I have to go back on Sunday. So I will give you a week,’ he promised slowly, his eyes glittering. ‘But you have to give me time too.’
She frowned, still dizzy, not understanding.
‘The days,’ he clarified, possessively running his hand down her spine and pressing her more firmly against the steel wall of his body. ‘You’ll take the rest of the week off work and spend every moment with me.’
His request shocked her. While she wanted all the nights, somehow the days seemed more intimate. More intense. More terrifying.
‘I have work to do.’ She licked her dried lips.
‘You worked all weekend.’ He watched her intently from beneath lowered lids, his usual easy amusement veiled. ‘I bet you’re already ahead of your contractual obligations.’
‘But—’
‘Leo will be sued for flouting health and safety rules if you don’t take days off like you’re supposed to. He’ll get done for providing an unsafe work environment. And Leo, I know, is a stickler for the rules.’
A flash of fear gripped her. He wanted everything.
Relax, fool. It’ll just be a holiday fling.
Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted? All Ash was doing now was tweaking this new game. Raising the stakes, out to win what he wanted. The gleam in his eyes intensified, the curve of his sensual mouth deepened and he bent his head to brush his lips across her cheekbone. And that was the point at which she surrendered.
She could barely think for the way his fingers slid over her, for the heat in his gaze as he studied her mouth, for the way temptation was unfurling fronds of anticipation from deep in her belly. She didn’t know why he’d hesitated before. Maybe she’d misread that—her own doubt demons amplifying what had merely been a moment of surprise. Honestly? It didn’t matter any more. Not when he was touching her like this.
She breathed out slowly. ‘You want...’
‘Your company.’ His lips roved. ‘All week. If this is what you want, then we’re going all in.’
All or nothing.
It was up to her whether to take it or leave it. That was when she realised Ash Castle would always win, whatever the game he was playing. He had that intense, focused determination to make the play as perfect for himself as he could. But Merle couldn’t walk away from what he could make her feel. She didn’t want to. So she finally uttered the one little word she’d been biting back since the moment she had first set eyes on him.
‘Yes.’
His lips met hers again—luscious kisses that were intoxicating and everything she’d wanted. Yet the need burning through her body wasn’t soothed. Until with infinite, terrible, wonderful slowness he unzipped her coveralls.
‘Merle...’ He muttered so low, his words almost slurred together ‘...do you have any idea how beautiful you are?’
‘Don’t—’
‘Speak the truth?’
‘Flatter me.’ She closed her eyes as he caressed the skin he’d exposed.
‘Is it so hard to believe I might be being honest?’
‘Can’t you just kiss me? We don’t need to complicate—’
‘Not complicate,’ he corrected with a smile. ‘Communicate. I want to know what you like, sweetheart. What you want. What you need. Be honest with me.’
She stared into his eyes—dazed, confused, aching. Hadn’t she just been honest? Hadn’t she just asked? She didn’t know what else to say...
His hand swept across her shoulder and up her neck. His fingers splayed and he cupped the back of her head, holding her so he could see into her eyes, so he could lean so close she could feel his breath, so he could tease... But that burn within her was too strong. She glared at him.
‘Okay.’ He chuckled and, drawing her close, pressed his mouth to hers again.
Such a contrasting, delicious mix of hot and soft and hard and irresistible. She leaned into him as with sure, bold strokes he fanned the flames igniting inside her. Her yearning built as he created sensations she’d never experienced but wanted so much more of. Her toes curled as he nibbled her earlobes and then gently sucked them into soothing submission. It was the most shockingly erotic, intimate thing.
‘Sweetheart.’ His sigh was tense as she shuddered. ‘You’re making a mess of all my good intentions.’
‘What intentions?’ she breathed shakily.
‘To do what I’ve been dreaming about for ever.’ He toyed with the silky slip of a bra she wore.
She shook her head, unable to speak. But he’d not been dreaming about her for ever.
‘Pleasing you,’ he muttered. ‘I ache to please you.’
His mouth was on hers again, so she couldn’t answer, while his fingers had slid south and were wreaking havoc on her most secret places. Teasing, exploring and so infuriatingly, magically wicked, he brushed against the soft fabric of her panties and she was so glad she’d been too hot to bother with anything but her underwear beneath her coveralls today. The slide of his tongue in her mouth matched the slide of his fingers against her aching, hungry core. She moaned at the insistent, playful pleasure. Oh, he was big and strong and wicked. She clutched at his shoulders, barely able to stay upright, gasping as it suddenly sneaked up on her.
‘Like that, Merle.’ His rough growl of approval sent her over the edge.
‘Ohhhhh.’ An orgasm. The orgasm. So easy—from so little. But it was hard and quick and almost unbearable in its sudden impact and delight.
She closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest while she caught her breath. With her coveralls slipping from her shoulders and her legs trembling like those of a newborn deer, walking was impossible. Ash laughed delightedly and picked her up as if she were littl
e more than a feather. Truthfully, she was a lot more.
‘Seriously?’ she half spluttered as he carried her inside and up the stairs to the second floor. She needed to provoke a little tease, to hear his voice so she could be reminded that this was just for fun. Just for now. ‘You want to flex your superior strength?’
‘Oh, I plan to flex everything, darling.’
Her little laugh faded as he placed her on the centre of his bed. She paid scant attention to the room or its stunning view across the bay. The view she couldn’t ignore was right in front of her. The focus in his eyes ignited her senses even more.
He stood back and studied her supine on the bed before him, trying to suppress the desire to squirm her hips. His lips twitched. But then he glanced about, his energy almost crackling as he moved. She rose up onto her elbows to watch as he pressed a button and blinds closed out the rest of the world. He went into the en suite and returned a moment later with one of the gorgeously lush candles that were artfully placed everywhere.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
‘Making it perfect.’ He lit the candle and placed it on the table by the bed.
He didn’t need candles to make it perfect. He just needed to touch her.
Amusement flickered in his eyes, dancing like the flame of the candle he’d just lit. ‘You don’t think you’re worth going to any trouble for? Taking time for?’ he teased very gently as he slowly removed her shoes. ‘Because you couldn’t be more wrong about that.’
She didn’t know how to answer him. And then she simply couldn’t, as with care and heat and wicked intent he slowly pulled the zip of her coveralls the rest of the way down to reveal her body to him.
He leaned over her and cupped the side of her face, regarding her with impossible seriousness. ‘If you don’t value yourself, sweetheart, no one else will.’
‘You sound like an inspirational social media meme,’ she said in a small voice.
At that he laughed. ‘You’re so defensive. Don’t be shy, Merle.’
Easy for him to say. But she was more than pliant, she was willing and helpful as he peeled her coveralls from her.
‘Accept nothing less than you deserve,’ he muttered. ‘You should be satisfied every time you allow a man near you, that’s the bottom line—the minimum of what you should get from your lover.’
She didn’t want to think about being with someone else in the future.
He, too, suddenly looked serious. ‘Your body is for savouring, for worshipping,’ he muttered, and the lowest of growls escaped him. ‘It’s for me.’
The determination in his gaze, that glittering assurance of so much more, melted her.
‘I’m going to kiss every inch of you, Merle.’ It was half seeking permission, half savage promise.
She could barely nod, she could only enjoy as that tension swirling inside built. More than curiosity, more than yearning, it became hunger. Fierce, impatient hunger. Unclipping her bra, he tossed it to the side to leave her clad only in her plain black briefs. He returned to kissing her—teasing one tight nipple with his tongue while torturing the other with the tips of his too-clever fingers. Then he slowly pushed the panties down her legs, until she was completely bared. Despite that overwhelming heat, now there was vulnerability and her shyness returned. She’d never been naked in front of a man before. She wanted to pull up the sheet to cover her. But the only covering she received was Ash himself. He lay beside her, one leg across hers, his hand splayed across her stomach. His fingers loosely skittered over her skin, helping to ground her. Yet still rousing her. She looked into his eyes and knew what he wanted to do. And she wanted to let him.
With infinite patience he kissed her. Starting again. Melting away every one of those last inhibitions and shreds of self-consciousness. Slowly he kissed every speck of her skin, gently, hungrily working his way to her most private places. Until she was no longer shy, until she was aching for him to reach the destination that was now slick with anticipation for his touch. For his tongue. For the gorgeously wanton way she knew he’d make her feel. Where before she’d thought she wanted a sheet to cover her, now she didn’t care. She was so hot, writhing in pursuit of more of the ecstasy he’d given her before. She was suffering such wicked delight beneath the ministrations of his hands and lips and teasing hot breath. But she trusted him with her body. With every intimacy.
He kissed her until she moaned, breathless and hot and aching in all those secret parts he’d stirred to life. Her hips lifted and his hands swept over them—heavy and sure, and kisses followed. Merle closed her eyes. Even the flickering candlelight was now too much to handle. All she could do was focus on the sensations as he licked and nibbled her with the most torturous slow rhythm that was utterly relentless, utterly rapacious. She gasped as the tension within—the tension he’d roused—finally snapped, tossing her once more into shuddering, fantastic ecstasy. Longer this time. Sharper. She had to scream through it.
He gently kissed her back to calmness. And then he pulled her past it to a place where she was restless again, where there was an ache, an unfinished sensation. This wasn’t enough. Not yet.
He looked into her eyes and obviously saw the silent wish. He moved off the bed and shoved his swim shorts down. Finally. Even all those hours she’d seen him in little else had not prepared her for the impressive, erotic vision of him before her now. His skin was smooth and glittered slightly as the sheen of sweat caught the candlelight. That time beneath the sun had tanned him and it emphasised the fabulous bulges and dips of every hewn muscle. She began to tremble as her whole body ached with recognition and longing. He caught her gaze, held it—and her—transfixed. A half-smile curved and he returned to brace himself beside her on the bed.
‘You’re sure about this?’ His fingers teased up her thigh.
If she hadn’t been before she certainly was now. ‘Yes. Please. So sure.’
He was as breathless as she and he held her with such reverence. As if there was nothing in the world he wanted more than this. Thoughtful, teasing deliberation preceded every touch. He was so damned careful, so responsive to her reactions. She shifted beneath him restlessly as he took his sweet, savage time to stir her all over again. She didn’t want him to be restrained, determined to make it special for her because of her inexperience. He probably wasn’t, of course. He’d be this considerate with any lover. Because it was the way he was. His innate courtesy lay beneath the teasing playboy persona. He was multi-faceted—with depths he didn’t usually like to display. That realisation peeled away something else within her. He’d bared more than just her body. He had her heart in his hands too. Suddenly she was so vulnerable, so exposed, so much more than physically.
He paused. ‘You okay?’ Somehow he’d sensed the shift within her. ‘We can stop any time. If you change your mind...’ He puffed out a difficult breath. ‘Just say.’ His whisper of reassurance was more of a groan.
His awareness, his concern, undid her even more.
‘I don’t want to stop. I don’t want you to stop.’ She wanted this more than she’d ever wanted anything. More than an ache. More than desperation. She shivered as that trust surged and the truth escaped. ‘I just want you. As amazingly out of control as I feel.’
Something flared in his eyes. A satisfaction. A hunger. But then restraint swept in and his jaw clenched. ‘Later.’
‘Now.’ A whispered, heartfelt command.
He stared into her eyes and she saw then his internal, then physical shift. Instinctively, she slid her legs further apart as he pressed close. She was so focused on him she forgot everything but what was happening in this moment. Ash with her. Ash holding her. Ash sliding inside her, finding his way into her tight-held confidence. He moved slowly, but with a heated strength and a powerful surety that made her shiver even as she welcomed his penetration. It was shockingly real, shockingly good as he gently rocked into her.
‘Oh,’ she groaned. She could hardly breathe. Hardly believe.
‘Okay?’ he muttered through clenched teeth. ‘You need me to go slower?’
She shook her head and drew in a shuddering breath at the pleasure-pain, the overwhelming sensation, of his first possession. ‘Don’t stop.’
She wanted this. She liked this—she had the dawning feeling she was about to love this.
She sighed as he pushed deeper still, then ebbed, allowing her a chance to breathe. To adjust. And then he slowly pressed again—pushing closer to her. He smiled as she gasped again at the pure sensation. All she could do was curl around him, her hands sliding across his muscular back to find purchase and hold him closer still.
‘Ash...’ It was so sensational, she was so enraptured, she’d lost her speech.
His gorgeous smile quirked. ‘Too gentle?’
It was a blissful, sweet torture. She wanted it exactly the same, yet he was right. She wanted a touch more. So gentle, so fierce, she felt so full. Somehow he worked his hand between them, teasing her to slipperiness to ease his occupation. Patience and confidence in his touch, in his relentless, claiming rhythm. It overpowered her again—sudden and hard. She convulsed in spasms of pleasure as the orgasm smashed through her. He growled as she came apart. She clutched him passionately, the fierce power and strength of her own body a surprise as she clamped about him, locking him inside her.
‘Merle...’ he breathed rawly, almost a warning.
Pressed deep into the mattress by his strong body, she was breathless, almost broken, floating on a current of bliss even as aftershocks made her tremble. Yet he still hadn’t had his release. The breathlessness she’d sensed in him before was under control now. Why was he so in control? Didn’t he want to finish? Doubts rivered through her even as she felt the hard hunger of him still inside.
‘Isn’t this good for you?’ she asked. She had to ask now. ‘Ash—’
‘Don’t worry about me.’ He rested his forehead on hers briefly, his eyes looming close but still so alert. Then a smile tore through his tense expression. ‘Demanding woman, aren’t you?’
Stranded For One Scandalous Week (Mills & Boon Modern) (Rebels, Brothers, Billionaires Book 1) Page 9
