“I haven’t had time to have one since coming to work for you.” The honest truth, even if it was misleading.
“Just don’t forget that it’s only a fling. Women can be emotional about sex and if it’s been a while for you …”
She met his gaze, her heart pounding hard. “Gage, have I ever seemed like the kind of person who doesn’t know her own mind? Let me worry about it. I promise you, I don’t have one single repressed fantasy about love and happily ever after anywhere inside of me. I’m far too practical.” She stood from the couch, trying to keep her expression cool, trying to ignore her rapidly beating pulse. “And anyway, it’s only a fling. I’ll probably forget about it in a few years’ time.”
Gage crossed the room, his expression intense. He bent down and hooked his arm around her waist, bringing her into a standing position, hauling her up against him. “You won’t forget me, Lily,” he said, his voice rough.
He leaned down, his mouth urgent on hers. There was nothing slow about this kiss, nothing like the kiss they’d shared on the beach. This was fire and urgency. This wasn’t a slow tasting, this was a feast. She parted her lips for him, meeting his tongue thrust for thrust, lacing her fingers through his short dark hair, pulling him even harder against her.
His big hand cupped her bottom, bringing her tightly against his body, letting her feel the hard ridge of his erection pressing against her stomach.
He pulled away from her suddenly, his breathing harsh, his chest rising and falling. When he withdrew completely and stepped away from her she was afraid she might melt to the floor without his arms to support her.
She put a hand on her lips, feeling how hot and swollen they were.
“After the dinner, tell me what you want,” he said gruffly. “Be very sure.”
“I know what I want now,” she said with a boldness she didn’t feel. “Do you want me? I mean me, not just sex.” She didn’t know why, but that seemed important. She didn’t want him picturing one of his little blonde heiresses while he was in bed with her. That was a matter of pride.
He took hold of her wrist and pressed her hand against his chest, against his raging heartbeat. “Does that feel like I want you?”
“Yes,” she whispered. She looked down and saw, very clearly, the outline of his rigid erection pressing against his jeans. She swallowed. There was no room for her to be timid. He wouldn’t want a shy little virgin in his bed, that much was obvious from the type of women he chose to date. Which meant she’d have to be a confident virgin, a virgin who could fake more experience than she had. Well, experience she might not have, but she had desire.
She slid her hand down his chest, moved her palm to cover the hard ridge of his arousal. He let his head fall back, his breath hissing between his teeth. “So does this,” she said.
“Careful,” he groaned. “Or neither of us will be making it to dinner.”
A sliver of pleasure wound its way through her, along with a surge of adrenaline. This was a new kind of power, power she hadn’t anticipated. She’d assumed, because of the way her mother behaved, that when it came to sex, men held all the cards. But she knew now that wasn’t true. Right now, holding him in her hand, she was in control. She was the one driving him crazy with desire, pushing him beyond his control.
“Well, we can’t have that. I’m really looking forward to dinner.”
He leaned in, pressed a kiss to her neck, to where her pulse was fluttering rapidly. “I’m looking forward to dessert.”
The flickering light from the bonfire, the lingering heat from the day, combined with the slow, seductive music, made Lily feel like she was under a spell. Maybe she was, because she had no idea what sort of magic had bewitched her into thinking she could have a no-strings relationship with Gage. But even now she wasn’t afraid, not even after having time to reflect on what it would mean for her. What it might make her feel.
She wanted him. Why should her dysfunctional childhood keep her from having something she wanted? She’d never given it that sort of power in any other area of her life. In fact, she’d been determined to overcome it no matter what. But when it came to men, she’d let it hold her back.
It wasn’t as though there were any missed opportunities she regretted, no men she wished she’d been able to take the chance on. But if she didn’t find out what it was like with Gage, she knew she would regret that. It would be a holiday romance. Not even a romance, it would be nothing but holiday sex. She would find out what it was like, satisfy her curiosity, satisfy the flame that burned low in her body, and move on. And so would he.
They were adults, there was no reason they couldn’t be adult about it. No reason at all.
She looked at Gage, at the way the orange flames highlighted his sharp cheekbones and angular jaw. He was such a gorgeous man, and she’d kissed his perfect lips. Anticipation made her feel restless, edgy. Needy.
Soon she would know what he looked like without clothes covering his amazing body. Soon, every part of him would be hers. To explore, to touch, to taste.
“I think this is an amazing investment opportunity you have here, Mr. Forrester,” one of the board members, she wasn’t sure which one, said.
“It is,” she said, sitting up straighter. “And what Gage is doing here goes well beyond simple tourism. He’s offering a true, authentic experience, with as little or as much luxury as the guest would like to experience.”
The older man gave Gage a sly smile. “Not a bad idea, Forrester, getting your PR specialist so sweetened up.”
Gage scooted closer to Lily, looping his arm around her waist. “Lily has more professional integrity than anyone I’ve ever met. Myself included. Our relationship has nothing to do with the quality of her work. I’d recommend her business to anyone.”
Lily was shocked to hear Gage give her such an emphatic endorsement, and she said as much when the members of the board were either too intoxicated to pay attention, or had gone back to their rooms.
“It’s true,” Gage said, shrugging. “You’re great at what you do. My attraction to you has nothing to do with how well you do your job.”
“And when our relationship is over you’re planning on pawning me off? Professionally speaking, I mean.” She hated the insecurity in her voice, hated the slight quiver that made her sound weak. What did it matter if he was planning on letting her go? As long as her next job paid as well, it didn’t matter whether she stayed with Forrestation or not. She’d done a wonderful job for his company, and there was ample evidence of that.
“Not at all. I’ll have no problem working with you after things end, Lily. It’s never been an issue for me. I’m still on good terms with most of the women I’ve had relationships with, and if I’m not, it’s because of them, not me.”
“After we leave Thailand, it’s over,” she said, with much more finality than she felt. But it was vital, absolutely necessary that she put a limit on it. That this was madness brought on by a sensual setting. Madness that did not move into the office with them.
He raised his eyebrows, his mouth quirked in a sardonic half smile. “Shall we sign a contract?”
She sniffed. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I don’t see the point of bringing it back into the office, either.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Ford.”
“I learned from the best, Mr. Forrester.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, his lips warm, the feeling of comfort it brought her making a flutter of panic spring to life in her belly. He wasn’t supposed to make her feel things. He pulled back and ran his hand over her smooth, neatly tied hair. “You need to wear your hair down for me. It’s sexy.”
She searched for some witty, off-the-cuff reply, but she lost the ability to think when he leaned in again and kissed her, the pressure of his lips tender at first, then more urgent. She put her hand on her cheek, slid her tongue over his bottom lip. Yes, she was making the right choice. She wanted this. She wanted something beyond business, somethin
g just for herself. No one had to know. Actually, everyone would believe it had happened now, with their fake engagement making headline news, whether it happened or not. Which made it all the more tempting to indulge.
Just now the only thing she could feel was a throbbing urgency that started at the apex of her thighs and radiated out. Made her feel empty and excited all at the same time.
“I think we should go back to the room,” she whispered, kissing his neck, tasting the salt of his skin.
“I think that’s a very good idea.”
Now that Lily was standing in Gage’s room, looking at the big bed in the corner, she didn’t feel as confident as she had on the beach. As she had when he was kissing her. She still wanted him, but all of her insecurities were back. She wished she had something to help boost her confidence.
Sexy lingerie would have helped. Clothes always helped her slip into her role, helped her create the image she was striving to project. She used it for work to great effect and she needed it desperately now. Needed something to help her be that confident woman that she always tried to portray in the office.
But she didn’t have any lingerie. She hadn’t really been expecting to have wild island sex with her boss … or anyone, for that matter.
Gage came up behind her, put his arms around her, kissed her neck gently, letting her feel the evidence of his arousal against her back. It was very compelling evidence.
She let out a slow breath. “Turn the lights off,” she said.
He spun her around so that she was facing him. “I want to be able to see you. I’ve fantasized about how you might look. What color your nipples are. I want to see your face when I make you come.”
Heat flooded her cheeks and she knew she was blushing like the virgin she was.
“Does that bother you?” he asked, his dark brows drawn together, his expression tight.
She shook her head. “It’s … it’s okay. I liked hearing you talk like that.” She was surprised to discover that bit of information about herself.
Yes, hearing him say things like that was embarrassing in a way, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to give him anything like it in return, but hearing him talk like that … it was enough to help her get lost, to forget who she was, who he was, and just embrace the desire that was rolling through her in waves.
“But I would feel better with the light off,” she said.
He cupped her chin with his hand, ran his thumb lightly over her bottom lip. “Do you always make love with the light off?”
Make love. It was the first time he’d called it that. Maybe he thought it was too crude to call it what it was now that they were in the bedroom. Maybe that was his version of gentlemanly conduct. She wished he’d just stick to the basics and not muddle things. Not make her feel like they might be about to make love when she knew they were just going to have sex.
“I …” She tried to come up with something that wasn’t a lie. “I prefer the lights off.” There. She was being economical with the truth, but she wasn’t out-and-out lying.
He came back to her kissed her gently on the lips before walking over to the other side of the room and turning the main light off. The windows were still open, casting silver moonlight over the bed, but it was better than the full glare of a sixty-watt bulb.
Her heart thundered hard when Gage walked to the bed and started to unbutton his shirt, his movements quick. Now she understood why he’d wanted the light on. She wished she could see him. But then she would lose her covering, and she wasn’t prepared to deal with that.
He shrugged the shirt off and it fell to the floor. She could see the outline of his muscles, the moonlight highlighting the ridges and valleys on his body. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.
“Come here, Lily,” he said softly.
She moved toward him, heart thundering. She was shaking, with nerves, with need, with the enormity of everything. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. It was only sex. People had it every day, and then afterward, they walked away. She would do the same.
“Kiss me,” she said. “Now.” Because when he kissed her, everything made sense, everything seemed right.
He didn’t move, he only offered her a half smile that she could see in the pale moonlight, the rest of his handsome face hidden in the shadows. “I told you, Lily, you have to come to me.”
She sucked in a breath and walked toward him, putting her hands flat against his chest, his body hard and hot, so masculine. She slid her hands up to his shoulders, his coarse chest hair rough against her palms. She leaned in and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, a move she hoped would tease him, because it was teasing her.
He turned his head and captured her mouth with his, the kiss turning hungry in an instant. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts tightly against that hard, broad chest, the action helping to soothe the sting of her aroused nipples.
He moved his hands around to cup her breasts, to tease the hardened buds. She moaned into his mouth, the sound beyond her control, an expression of pleasure she couldn’t have held back if she’d been conscious enough to try.
He wrenched his lips away from hers, pressing a hot, openmouthed kiss to the side of her neck, the touch so erotic it made her knees buckle.
“I have wanted you,” he said, kissing her collarbone, “from the first moment I saw you.” He kissed the curve of her breast. “I’ve wanted you naked, in my bed, flushed with desire.”
“Now you have me,” she said, the words escaping before she could turn them over in her mind, before she could really analyze what she meant. What they might mean to him.
“Yes,” he said, his blue eyes glinting, “I do.”
He unbuttoned the top of her shirt then took care of the rest of the buttons with a practiced ease she was thankful for. He made it seem so easy, so smooth, that she forgot to be nervous when her shirt fell open, revealing her lacy bra.
He made quick work of that, too, both items of clothing falling to the floor. He moved his hands back to her bare breasts and teased her hardened nipples. Her head fell back, more uncontrollable sounds of pleasure coming from her mouth. All she could do was simply enjoy what he was doing to her, because she had no hope of doing anything else.
He replaced his hands with his mouth, sucking her nipple deep inside, before laving it with the flat of his tongue. “You taste as good as I imagined you would,” he said.
Kneeling down in front of her, he undid the closure on her shorts and pulled them down her legs, taking her panties with them. He leaned in then, his breath hot on her just before he claimed her with his mouth, his lips and tongue working magic on her clitoris. She gripped his shoulders trying to steady herself, trying to keep from dissolving into a whimpering puddle at his feet.
Tension started building in her stomach, so tight she thought her legs might buckle. She took a breath, trying to fight the growing sensation of pleasure. She knew what it meant. She was on the brink of orgasm, her whole body trembling with the effort to hold it at bay while he continued to subject her to an onslaught of pleasure.
She threw her head back, fought the rising tide that was threatening to overtake her, threatening to drown her. He’d brought her up so high that if she went over the edge, she was afraid of what might happen. Of what she might do. Of what he might make her feel.
“Enough,” she panted, desperate for respite, needing a moment to capture her sanity again.
“You don’t want it like this?” he asked, standing and flicking the snap of his jeans open and shrugging them off.
She shook her head, her eyes glued to his body, what she could see of it in the dim lighting. She’d never seen a naked man in person before. He was almost awe-inspiring. His body so different from hers. He was so masculine, muscular, his erection thick and tempting. It scared her how much she wanted him. How much she wanted to feel him inside of her. How necessary it suddenly seemed.
She sat on the bed, her legs shaking, her whole body shaking, insi
de and out.
Gage got onto the bed, leaned over her and moved his hands behind her head, unclipping her bun and weaving his fingers through her hair, spreading it out around her. “I fantasized about this, seeing all of your beautiful hair fanned over my pillow. It’s sexier than I could have imagined.”
Lily hadn’t imagined that there would be so much talking involved in sex, but Gage knew just how to say the right things to make her feel like her body was going up in flames. His words worked with his touch, bringing her to the edge again, making her feel like she might burn to cinders if she couldn’t have him.
And this time, there was nothing she could do to stop it. It was like her body belonged to him, like only he could control it. Like he had to power to elicit whatever response he wanted. She closed her eyes, shutting out the thought. Shutting out everything but the desire that was coursing through her.
“I want you, Gage,” she said. “I need you.” She slid her hands over his back, over his tight butt. His body was perfect, everything a man’s body should be. And he was all hers, for tonight at least, to explore and touch. To have his body joined to hers.
He reached over to the nightstand and rummaged for a moment before pulling out a condom packet, tearing it open and rolling the protection on in one swift movement. Then he kissed her, parting her thighs gently and settling between them.
She loved the feeling of having him over her, of feeling his naked body pressed against every naked inch of hers.
He nudged at her damp entrance with the head of his erection and she spread her legs wider, hoping it might help her accommodate him. He put his hand underneath her backside and lifted her slightly before thrusting into her.
The flash of pain shocked her, but it was over quickly and then she just felt full. So deliciously full. Never in her life had she felt so complete, yet so needy at the same time. Having him inside of her was wholly satisfying, while also managing to create a deep need in her that she knew only he could answer.
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