Red pasted what he hoped was a non-threatening smile on his face. “Leaving so soon?”
Piper sighed. “Well, that was my intention.” She studied him, curiosity flickering in her gaze.
“I’d like the chance to change your intention,” he told her.
Her eyebrows ticked up. “Would you.”
Red gestured to the chair next to him. “Join me?”
Piper hesitated. Her mouth twisted to the side as she thought about it, and he watched her chest rise and fall a couple of times. Yes. Deep breaths, he thought in amusement. I won’t bite. Right away, at least.
“All right,” Piper agreed finally. “Just for a minute. I want to run upstairs and change before we go out.”
She perched on the edge of the chair and desire flared through him. Red still wanted her like he wanted his next breath, it seemed. Yesterday was not an anomaly. Neither was this morning.
“Only a minute? Then I’ll have to work quickly.” Red stuck out his palm, mentally begging her to touch him, even if it was brief. “Red MacLellan,” he said. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Piper rolled her eyes at his clunky gambit. “Piper,” she retorted. “And we’ve met.” She shook his proffered hand firmly, then graciously let him hold on to it a moment longer. Red caved and brushed a light kiss across her knuckles.
“Your name,” she mused. “It’s funny, I just…” She fell silent, brow crinkling.
“What?” Red prodded. Damn, she was quick. He’d bet his company that Piper had already made the connection.
She peered at him, perhaps weighing the odds. “It’s quite a coincidence, but I just drank a glass of MacLellan bourbon.”
Red grinned at her. “Did you, now? Imagine that.” He indicated his own glass, sitting glittering on its paper coaster. “Same here,” he said.
“Hmm.”
Suspicious little thing, wasn’t she? “May I order you another?” he tried.
“No thank you,” she fired back. No pause there. Maybe she hadn’t liked it.
“Really?”
“Yes, really,” Piper said. “I’m quite aware of how much liquor I can drink and still retain my dignity. I have an entire meal to get through with you—I need to keep my wits about me,” she laughed.
Red did, too. There was absolutely nothing about this woman that was predictable. He’d like a few hours to unravel her prim librarian act and turn her into one of her own uninhibited characters. Hell, Piper had written how many scorching books, now? The pages nearly steamed with the heat they put off. The seeds had to be in her somewhere.
Drily, he said, “That’s important to you, I suppose?” As far as Red was concerned, her dignity could take a hike if it meant Piper would come for him like her world was cracking apart.
Proper Miss Fulham quirked an eyebrow at him.
“Retaining your dignity,” he clarified. Red did love how impervious to him she seemed.
“Of course, it is. Isn’t it for you?” Piper demanded.
Something was irritating her. He wanted to know what. He wanted to know everything.
“Well, I imagine that would depend on the circumstance. And possibly the company.”
She glanced down at his glass, then back up at him. “I see.”
Did she think he was drunk? Might be time to move things along. “So, if I can’t interest you in another, maybe you can tell me what you thought of the first glass.”
Her eyes followed the amber liquid as he raised his bourbon and took a long sip, then drifted down to his neck when Red swallowed.
Piper might want to pretend she was unaffected by him, but she wasn’t. Not by a long shot. Which made them even, he supposed.
“It was…hmm,” she murmured silkily. “Exquisite, I’d say.” She knew. She had to know.
“Ah. You enjoyed it then.”
“Very much.”
“I’m delighted to hear it.”
When she smiled, he grinned lazily back.
She rolled her eyes, adorable thing that she was. “Let me guess. MacLellan bourbon is somehow part of your exalted portfolio?”
When Red nodded, she went on, “How does one end up with boats, booze, and books—all under the same umbrella?”
“Don’t forget biotech,” he added. “And you do have a way with words.”
Piper shook her head, her soft brown hair shimmering. “That’s some crazy diversification, right there. Fingers in a lot of pies.”
He grinned wider.
“What came first?” she asked hastily, blushing a bit. “The signature bourbon? I know it wasn’t the books.”
“No,” Red laughed, then. “It was the boats. My grandfather was in shipping.”
“Of course, he was.”
There was that phrase again. Of course. Every time she said it, Piper managed to infuse the words with a special irony. He wondered at the breadth of things that Piper shrugged off as comical about him. He didn’t feel comical. He felt…hungry. Red wanted Piper Mae Fulham liked he hadn’t wanted a woman in years. He downed the rest of his drink and caught her assessing eye again.
“Red. Why are you here so early?” There it was. She’d let him have his fun for a while, at least.
He shrugged, “Wayne told me when your meeting let out. I thought I might run into you.”
Piper nodded. “And you wanted to run into me, because…”
“I wanted to see you again.” No need to tip-toe around it—it was the truth, and then some.
“You saw me yesterday, for hours. And you saw me today at lunch.”
“Yes, and it was great. I wanted to see more of you tonight.” A lot more.
“You were going to.” She glanced at her watch. “In half an hour, I might add.”
“That seemed like an awfully long time.”
“You might have called ahead,” she suggested.
“True.” Why hadn’t he? Did he expect to trip her up, somehow? Prove she wasn’t as beguiling as she seemed?
“I’m not going to invite you up, Red.” She said it firmly and calmly. Good girl.
Red shrugged. “I know. I didn’t expect you to.”
“Then what is this?”
“Can’t we just…sit and talk?” he asked. “For a little while longer?”
Piper shifted and made a show of checking her watch again, though the gesture was obviously a stalling tactic.
“Okay. Fine,” Piper agreed. “Let’s talk.”
“You don’t have to change, anyway. As long as you’re comfortable, you look perfect for where we’re going.”
Piper smoothed her hands down her thighs, and primly crossed her ankles to the side.
“Thank you.”
Red took a deep breath. Now that he had her, what was he going to do with her?
She had an early flight, he reminded himself. He was not going to do anything with her. What the fuck good was it to have control if he never planned to exercise it over himself?
PIPER WAS HAVING a very difficult time maintaining her belief that Red was buttering her up for the sake of the company. Everything he’d done that night had spoken to an actual romantic interest in her—from the way his large hand rested on her lower back as he guided her to the waiting town car, to the way that same hand had enveloped hers to lead her through the restaurant.
Red had hung on her every word, then fed her a bite of his crème brûlée. If he was acting, Piper was hard-pressed to see through it. He probably deserved a trophy for his efforts. Above and beyond the call of duty, and all that.
Now, they found themselves back in the hotel hallway outside her room. Red held himself back while the elderly woman who’d shared their elevator passed them by, laden with shopping bags. He winked at Piper in amusement when the woman took her time unlocking her door, peering at them warily the whole time.
Piper made a show of digging through her purse, hoping it looked convincing. The last thing she needed was for that woman to recognize her, or worse, ask why Piper was so obviously stalling
in the hopes of another mind-melting kiss.
Once Piper heard the other door slam shut, she looked up at Red. His hands cupped her face instantly, and then his mouth hit hers. His tongue parted her lips with the same kind of urgency that gnawed at her.
Piper dropped her handbag and hung on to his arms while heat and want arrowed through her veins. By the time Red broke away, they were both breathing hard.
She laughed unsteadily. “You know you don’t have to do this, right?”
His heavy brows knit together. “Do what?”
“Kiss up to me, so I’ll sign that contract.”
Red’s mouth fell open for a moment before he snapped it shut. “Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“Isn’t it?”
“I am obviously not doing this kissing thing correctly.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.”
He looked around in consternation, before staring down at her again. “Piper, open that door.”
Oh, sure. She’d already tried that last time, and they’d both seen how well that had worked.
“You do know that my suite still has the same layout as it did yesterday?” she asked tartly. “Still has a bed. You may recall your opposition to its existence.”
“Oh, I recall, little dove. Let’s just say I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Is that so?”
“Open the goddamn door, sweetheart.”
When Piper smiled and told him, “Your wish is my command,” Red’s growl was everything she’d ever longed for.
She didn’t know what had gotten into her. Red made her feel like she’d stepped inside one of her books, and for some crazy reason, she wanted to go along on the ride. For once, she didn’t want the real Piper to fall short of Antoinette Corelli’s considerable mystique. She wanted to live up to the hype, and Red—Red looked at her like that might actually be possible. How could she turn him down?
Piper’s body snapped to attention, even though her lust-drunk brain still trailed sluggishly behind. She fumbled for her room key, took a few tries to jam it into the slot, and waited for the green light to appear. While they stood there, Red leaned down to kiss the bare skin of her shoulder.
As on edge as Piper was, the click of the lock disengaging sounded as loud as a dropped encyclopedia in the empty hallway. She pushed quickly into her room, expecting Red to be hot on her heels. Instead, he lingered on the threshold with one arm holding open the door, waiting for permission like a damn boy scout.
Piper grabbed him and yanked him inside. Belatedly, she remembered to say, “Please come in.”
Red stalked toward her, one steady step at a time. “This has nothing to do with you working for Trident, Piper,” he rumbled. “And it has zero to do with my company buying yours.”
“Okay, then what does it—”
He reached her, and his gentle touch belied the strength behind his words. “It has everything to do with the unholy things your heels do to your legs, and the way all your nervous little laughs make my dick come alive. It’s about your skin and your hair, your mouth and most of all, your mind.”
Red loomed over her and ran a thumb across her lower lip. “I want to taste the moans in your mouth, Piper. You make me feel like a starving man that someone’s put a juicy steak in front of.”
“I see.”
“How do you feel about that?”
Easy question. “I want that, too. So much.”
“Because I’m your boss?”
“No. For every reason except that one.”
“Including the money?”
“What money?”
Red kissed her again. His apparent fascination with Piper had to be because of the books she wrote. But so far, he’d been too much of a gentleman to mention them, and Piper certainly wasn’t going to bring them up. Still, for the first time in recent memory, she didn’t mind quite so much. She wanted to play the role for Red.
So, she smiled and stepped out of her heels, then edged toward the bedroom door.
“Piper, if we go in there…” he warned.
She’d already made her decision, though. With the way this man kissed, the choice hadn’t been difficult.
“Yes,” she said. “This is my clear and unequivocal yes to all of it.”
“I do like the sound of that.” Red advanced on her, yanking his tie loose and tossing it aside.
“The jacket, too,” Piper instructed, getting into the spirit of things.
He paused a moment before complying, his gaze growing more intent. Piper wanted to experience all that intensity everywhere.
Red shrugged out of his blazer and handed it to her with a smirk. She hung it on the nearest doorknob and backed a couple more steps toward the bedroom. He followed her, crowding close enough to hook his fingertips under the hem of her dress.
As a delicious shiver ran through her, Piper was abruptly glad that she’d run her last pair of stockings in her rush to get ready that morning. She’d gone with bare legs all day, figuring that the artsy types on Trident’s design floor wouldn’t care one way or the other.
She hadn’t counted on Red MacLellan, though. Those long fingers were skating right up her thigh, like a heat-seeking missile on a collision course with home base.
“Not yet, Mister,” she breathed, and pressed a restraining hand against his stomach. Beneath the starched white cotton, Red felt firm and taut.
He moved back easily. “You seem to be the one with all the bright ideas,” he teased. “Lead the way.”
“Lose the shirt,” Piper told him. “And whatever’s under it.”
His fingers flew down the placket, deftly releasing buttons and yanking the material free of his waistband. His pristine undershirt followed half a second later, and then he was standing there bare-chested and as beautiful as a Roman statue.
Piper caught her breath. Unlike a lot of guys with his kind of height, Red wasn’t slim or reedy in the least. His torso was a sight to behold—with wide shoulders and a chest and stomach packed with lean muscle. A large tattoo wrapped around one bicep, intricate and colorful.
He looked more like a superhero than a denizen of the boardroom. Piper managed to resist the urge to bend forward and lick him all over—but only barely.
Red took her by the hands, pulling them up and placing them against his chest. He slid them up over his heart—jackhammering under his skin—and then brought one to his mouth. He slipped two of her fingers into his warm, wet mouth, and sucked hard.
Piper couldn’t help it. She moaned.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured. “Come here, you.”
Red wrapped her in his arms and lifted her until their faces were level, then carried her the rest of the way into the bedroom. The faint lingering fragrance of Piper’s shampoo still lingered in the air. His kiss was deep and hungry—incendiary. Red still tasted like the after-dinner mint he’d eaten at the restaurant.
He dropped Piper in the center of the hotel mattress, pushed her hairdryer and cosmetic bag off the side with an impatient swipe of his arm, then propped himself over her and resumed kissing her silly.
His hands were everywhere. Before long, he’d managed to hike her dress up over her hips and dispense entirely with her panties. Piper shuddered again when Red dragged his fingers through the slick heat between her legs—and that was before he brought them to his mouth so he could taste her. His eyes rolled toward the ceiling, and he let out a deep groan.
She whimpered, the sound rapidly grabbing his attention again.
“Forgive me, Ms. Fulham. Was there something you wished to add?”
She shook her head. “I’m confident in your ability to take it from here,” Piper told him.
“Oh, good.” Red reached for the wallet in his back pocket and dropped it beside them, flipping it open with one hand to find the condom tucked inside. “Because I am dying to be inside you.”
Piper clung to his ribcage and stretched up to kiss his neck, breathing in the warm cedar scent of Red’s co
logne while he kicked off the rest of his clothes. Even from close range, she could tell that the rest of him definitely lived up to the hype of her first impression.
“Piper?”
She looked back at Red’s face to find him studying her, waiting for her assent.
“Please,” she managed. “Please, yes.”
He nodded. “Then let’s get this dress off you.”
Red pulled her into a sitting position, then reached around her back to unzip her. Piper lifted her arms so he could tug the dress over her head, then unhooked her bra herself and tossed it somewhere stage right.
Red’s mouth was on her breasts in the blink of an eye, kissing and licking her fervently. Soon, he guided her to lay back again. He sat back on his heels and ran one fingertip straight down the center of her body, from her chin to her belly button.
“Look at you, sweetheart. You’re a goddess.”
Piper flinched. Had she written that exact line on one of her books? She thought she might have.
This was no time to dwell on it, though, because Red had grabbed the condom and was tearing it open determinedly. He took himself in hand to roll it over his length, gazing at her with laser focus all the while. Damn, he was big.
If Red was acting out a fantasy he’d pulled from one of her own stories, Piper was totally going along for the ride.
Red set his hands beside her head, stretched over her, and pushed a scant few inches into her. Too soon, he pulled out again. His biceps bulged and flexed. Piper didn’t think she’d ever been so aroused in all her life.
“Hurry,” she begged.
Red entered her once more, going only a fraction deeper than before. “I can’t, dove,” he muttered. “I don’t want to hurt you.” His expression was tight with strain.
“You won’t. I’m—”
He pushed in deeper that time, stealing her breath away.
Piper let out a shaky laugh, and assured him, “See? We’re fine.”
Red shook his head, withdrew almost completely, and thrust impossibly deeper—until he was seated completely inside her body. Piper gasped.
He held himself still while she tried to relax and adjust to his size. Oh, God. She really had to learn to be careful what she wished for.
The Titan Was Tall (Triple Threat Book 1) Page 8
