His Little Black Book

by Heather MacAllister

  “Oh, good.” She shook her hair loose.

  She’d said “good.” Good was good, wasn’t it? Adrian’s head pounded with the effort to think about anything other than the male prime directive—mate with female.

  He needed to get Sophie from dripping by the front door to naked in the bedroom. He needed to get from dripping by the front door to naked in the bedroom.

  So he took off his navy chino shorts and kicked them out of his way. Reaching for Sophie, he saw her eyes widen as she stared at him.

  Admiration or fear? When she didn’t say anything, Adrian slid his hand down her arm and gently grasped her fingers. “Are you okay with this?”

  “I am beyond okay with this.”

  “Because we don’t—”

  “Yes, we do.” She drew his hand to her waist.

  “Good.” He should say something more. “Great.” Something pretty. Women expected to be romanced. He needed a romantic thought and he needed one now. He stared at Sophie and willed romantic thoughts. He stared at her mouth. He’d had his tongue in her mouth. He’d sucked her tongue into his. And then she’d sucked his tongue into—

  “Adrian?”

  Say something. “You—I—You’re…” He had no romantic thoughts. His basic, primal thoughts had crowded out the romantic thoughts. He swallowed and tried again. “You are so…” Forget romance. He’d go for the truth. “I want you so much, I can’t think. I can barely breathe.”

  She grinned. “Thinking is overrated. Concentrate on breathing.”

  “In a minute.” Holding his breath, he reached beneath her hair and unhooked the clasp of her swimsuit. Sliding the straps apart, he slowly peeled the wet suit down her body.

  As each sliver of skin was revealed, Adrian’s heart pounded harder, until he felt light-headed with anticipation. He pulled the suit over her breasts and stopped.

  They were natural. Round. Soft. Perfect. He wanted to tell her so. Mostly, he just wanted to touch them, to take them in his hands and feel their weight and their softness and run his thumbs over her nipples to see if they’d tighten even more.

  Sophie held very still, her eyes glowing an intense blue in the candlelight. “Breathe,” she whispered.

  “Okay.” He gulped air. “Thanks.” Breathing was good.

  The oxygen revived him and clarified his thinking. Why was he restraining himself when the suit was keeping him from holding a naked Sophie in his arms?

  In one movement, he stripped it all the way to her feet. Sophie gasped. Slipping an arm behind her knees, Adrian picked her up, feeling her cold, damp body and smiling when he imagined warming it.

  He waited while she kicked the suit off her feet and then strode across the tile into the bedroom.

  It was dark in the bedroom. There were windows, but the shutters and the stormy night blocked any light.

  He set her down by the bed. “Don’t move.”

  Adrian quickly retrieved a fat candle from the dining table and a towel from the bathroom. He took several steps inside the bedroom before the circle of candlelight touched Sophie’s skin.

  She hadn’t moved.

  They stared at each other in the flickering light, with the rain lashing the shutters and the wind humming and whistling in the background. Her skin gleamed a golden pink above intriguing shadows. She stood so still Adrian could have been looking at a painting or a sculpture. But she was a flesh-and-blood female. More important, she was Sophie. And she was waiting. For him.

  Naked.

  “Remind me to breathe again,” he said.

  “BREATHE,” SOPHIE TOLD HIM in a breathy voice because she was having the opposite problem—hyperventilation.

  Omigosh, the god of sex was about to make love to her. Wasn’t there already a god of sex? Eros somebody? Too bad. He’d been dethroned by Adrian, with his perfectly sculpted torso, and his muscled shoulders, and his strong arms, and his serious thighs. Serious thighs. The candle he held picked out every valley of muscle and skin, shading hollows and burnishing biceps. This is how she should have photographed him, but she wasn’t about to call a timeout now because a timeout would give her a chance to think and Sophie didn’t want to think. This was purely physical. A one-time indulgence due to the storm and Adrian was good to go. Yeah, he had the equipment; she hoped he knew how to use it.

  He didn’t say much, but his eyes told her he liked looking at her and liked what he saw. He focused entirely on her.

  This man was in the body-sculpting business, but Sophie instinctively knew that he wasn’t comparing her to anyone else. He appreciated her for who she was and how she looked right now.

  Heady stuff. Exciting stuff. To be honest, it was the stuff of fantasies. And as long as Sophie kept treating this as a one-time fantasy, she should have a, well, fantastic time.

  Setting the candle on the bedside table, Adrian wrapped Sophie in the towel and rubbed her skin, warming her, sensitizing her.

  A smile tugged the edge of his mouth. “This is for you,” he murmured. “All for you. I want to see you mindless with passion and know I’m responsible. I want you to trust that I won’t lose control. Because I won’t.”

  That didn’t sound right. Oh, sure, parts of it sounded really fabulous, but as a whole, no. “What if I want you to lose control?” she asked.

  “Sophie.” He pressed his forehead to hers.

  “What if I want to see you mindless with passion and know I’m responsible?”

  “Then we’ll need condoms.”

  “Did you look in the nightstand? Or in the bathroom?”

  He exhaled softly. “I didn’t bring any.”

  “Neither did I, but Jonathan stays here. He’s no Boy Scout, but he’s always prepared. Check the drawer.”

  She watched as Adrian tugged at the knob. The drawer was caught on something and when Adrian worked it open, they saw that the something was an unopened box of condoms. Next to it were dozens of individual packets, tubes and bottles of various oils and lubricants, and an energy bar. Not Adrian’s brand, but Sophie figured that under the circumstances, Adrian would give Jonathan a pass.

  “Can we get back to the mindless passion now?” she asked.

  “Absolutely.” Adrian drew the towel away and kissed her.

  It was a knee-buckler of a kiss. Yes, already. This was going to be good. So, so good. They’d get rid of all the tension and awareness between them and wake up relaxed and ready to get back to work on Adrian’s campaign. Sophie slipped her arms around Adrian’s waist and let her hands wander all over the deliciously defined muscles of his gluteus maximus, as he would say. And there was the little hollow on either side that people in good shape developed. She loved those little hollows. Later, she’d get to stare at the hollows. Maybe while he slept. He’d be magnificent in sleep, with the sheet bunched artfully around him. Or not. And maybe they could go skinny dipping in the ocean at dawn. A naked Adrian standing in the ocean at sunrise—

  “Hey. Where did you go?”

  Go? She wasn’t the one who’d stopped the kiss. She blinked up at him.

  He cupped her neck and combed his fingers through her damp hair, smoothing it away from her face, over her shoulders. All the while, his gaze was fixed on her eyes, mesmerizing her, pulling her into a place he was creating for the two of them. He was connecting with her, Sophie thought. Connecting emotionally and mentally.

  But not physically. She stood on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his lips to remind him. She’d intended it to lead to something more but, while he didn’t not kiss her back, he didn’t pull her closer or lean down, which left her standing on tiptoe. Slowly, she lowered her heels, keeping her head tilted, feeling her lips leave his.

  “Open your eyes.”

  He was breaking the mood. Irritated, she stared up at him and saw eyes dark with banked desire looking deep into hers. “I want you with me. And I want to be with you.”

  Uh-oh. He was telling her that he didn’t want merely a physical joining, he wanted it all—body, mind and heart. />
  And he was waiting until Sophie unwrapped her emotions, put them out there and engaged herself one-hundred percent. Until she connected with the man inside the body.

  She looked away. He wasn’t just passing the time; he was making this real, darn it. And once the fantasy became reality, there would be no sheepishly blaming the storm and going back to Sophie, the P&D employee, and Adrian, the client. She’d either be Sophie, the client’s girlfriend who slept her way into a Super Bowl campaign—assuming she’d even be allowed to work on it—or Sophie, who stupidly blew a huge opportunity and got her heart broken.

  Adrian was the perfect fantasy man and these were the perfect fantasy circumstances. Why couldn’t he leave it at that?

  “Sophie.” Just her name, said quietly as his thumb stroked her cheek, a slight smile telling her he knew she was holding back.

  She groaned inwardly. Did he have to be so…so fantastic? Why did she have to choose between a fantastic man and a fantastic career opportunity? Because no matter how they felt about each other, Sophie knew how their relationship would be perceived. If she ultimately worked on his Super Bowl campaign, she’d forever have an asterisk beside her name in people’s minds: Member of ad team, but sleeping with client at the time.

  She didn’t want a relationship. She wanted sex. And sex with Adrian would be great. Really, really great. Why couldn’t they just tumble onto the bed and get on with it?

  His thumb moved across her cheek making her think of Adrian first and the sex second. Making her think that with her heart on the line, the sex could be transcendent and how often did a person get the opportunity to have transcendent sex?

  “I changed my mind. I don’t want mindless passion,” he murmured. “I want memorable, unforgettable, momentous passion. I want you. Here. With me, not lost in your head somewhere.”

  Darn it. There would be other career opportunities, but there wouldn’t be another Adrian.

  Okay. She was tired of holding back. She wasn’t a holding-back kind of person. So, okay. She was all-in.

  She deliberately relaxed, feeling tension, both mental and physical, leave her body. And then she gazed into Adrian’s eyes.

  They warmed as his smile curved. “There she is.” And he kissed her.

  The kiss sizzled all the way to her toes shocking every part of her into full awareness. It was one turbo-charged kiss, kicking things into turbo speed, turbo intensity and turbo sensation.

  When Adrian’s lips moved against hers, Sophie wasn’t just aware of the movement; she noticed their texture, their warmth, and their firmness.

  When Adrian’s hands stroked her skin, she felt the contrast between the calluses on his palm and the smoothness of his fingers.

  When she ran her hands over his back, she noticed both the taut satin of his skin and the cords of muscle rippling beneath it. His touch stirred longings deep within her. The more they touched, tasted and explored, the more she craved. The sensations were both too much and not enough.

  A storm equal to the one outside strengthened within her. Within Adrian, too, she sensed. His hold tightened, his movements lost their finesse and she felt a tremor in his arms that excited her. She’d done this. She, Sophie, had made this man, this gorgeous, intense, driven, intelligent, thoughtful, honorable man tremble with desire.

  She trembled, too. It was the integrity that did it. Well, and the gorgeous, smart part, too, but there were lots of smart, good-looking men who couldn’t be trusted. Jonathan came to mind, but only briefly because Adrian dipped his head and ran his tongue over her nipple.

  Moaning softly, Sophie tilted her head back and tunneled her fingers into his hair as Adrian’s tongue made her forget everything but him. Every swirl of his tongue caused an increasing ache deep within her. She heard more moaning and wasn’t sure if the moans came from her or the wind outside.

  She was ready for him and slipped her hand between them, trying to touch him, but Adrian clutched her thighs and fit their bodies together, trapping her hand against his solid stomach.

  Sophie whimpered in frustration.

  Adrian kissed her forehead. Her forehead. She opened her eyes to find him staring at her.

  “Still with me?” His voice was so rough, she barely made out the words.

  “I’m trying to be!”

  He kissed her temple. “It’s the journey, not the destination.”

  “I can’t believe you said that.”

  He kissed her cheek, butterfly soft.

  She was going to scream. And not the good screaming, either.

  He feathered a kiss on her jaw.

  Sophie put a hand on either side of his face and raised it until she could look him directly in the eyes. “Adrian! I want the destination. We can sightsee later.”

  Pulling her hands away from his face, he kissed her palm, his tongue tracing a lazy circle that made her skin prickle. Raising his head, he gave her a scorching look. “Then let me drive.”

  “Okay,” she said, because that was some look.

  Drawing her arms over his shoulders, he bent his head. But instead of the long, slow kisses she expected, he planted quick, hard ones on her neck, her throat, her collarbone. Urging her backwards, he suddenly reversed their positions so that instead of Sophie falling on the bed, Adrian did, bringing her on top of him.

  He grinned up at her in the candlelight. “Here we are again. If you want to wiggle around, please feel free.”

  She was going to wipe the grin off his face. Slowly, she rocked her hips from side to side, forward and back over his hard length. Then, arching her back, she skimmed her breasts against his chest.

  His breath hissed between his teeth. He no longer grinned.

  Driving, ha. She’d show him driving. Sophie continued to rotate her hips as Adrian’s jaw tightened. Dipping her head, she licked along his jaw to his ear lobe in one long swipe. Then she retreated, dragging her nipples over him as she did so.

  And then she did it again, arching her back and grinding her pelvis against his.

  Before she could move away, Adrian clamped his hands on either side of her hips to hold her closer. Sophie couldn’t reach his mouth. Wiggling in earnest, she scooted up his chest until she could kiss him. He allowed her one deep kiss before flipping her over.

  “Hey!” Anything else she would have said was forgotten as one of his hands slid from her thigh to her breast while the other parted her legs.

  He began stroking her and the ache intensified to a degree she’d never felt before. This must be the transcendent part, she thought as she bucked against him and dug her fingers into his back. The house could have disintegrated around them and she wouldn’t have known or cared. There was just Adrian and his mouth and his fingers and the warm, heavy weight teasing her thigh.

  She shocked herself by biting his shoulder.

  Adrian gasped and moments later pushed into her. He’d barely moved before Sophie sobbed her relief as waves of sensation rolled through her.

  “Don’t stop,” she managed to gasp.

  “I never want to stop.” His voice was ragged in her ear. “I can’t stop. You’re it for me, Sophie.”

  His words squeezed her heart and the ripples of her earlier passion intensified. “You’re going to make me fall in love with you.”

  She hadn’t intended to say it aloud, hadn’t known she’d said it aloud until Adrian raised his head and whispered, “Good.”

  The look on his face made her a little dizzy or it could have been that the slowly increasing rhythm he set made her inhale too quickly until she held her breath as a climax rolled through her once again.

  Adrian rocked against her, prolonging her pleasure until at last, he shuddered, breathing her name, and touched the deepest part of her, claiming a piece of her soul.

  6

  “YOU CAN DRIVE ANYTIME, anywhere.” Sophie stretched contentedly. It was four-thirty in the afternoon and she was still in bed with Adrian.

  The storm outside had passed and earlier, she and Adrian
had raised the shutters which allowed them to open the windows and enjoy the gentle breezes. This was good since the power still hadn’t been restored.

  But Sophie didn’t care. She and Adrian had been awake all night talking and making love. At one point, when the storm had lessened, they’d stood naked outside in the wind and rain, cooling off since the inside of the beach house had become hot and sticky.

  Sophie barely recognized herself. Never had she indulged in such an orgy of pleasure, both receiving and giving.

  She’d risked her deepest emotions and her reward was Adrian. Looking over at him, she discovered him watching her, his eyes lazy and knowing. She’d never been so attuned to a man before. Sighing, she knew she’d never settle for anything less, not that she was going to have the chance. Adrian was The One. Oh, sure, they’d only been together a day, but it had been a heck of a day. The same as weeks for other couples. Still, she wasn’t going to do anything rash. They’d have to try out their relationship in the real world.

  And then she might do something rash.

  She propped herself on her elbow and faced him, idly tracing his sensational muscle definition with her fingers. Not as much fun as using her tongue, but they’d just awakened from a lovely nap.

  Adrian closed his hand over hers. “That tickles.”

  “You like tickles.”

  “Yes. But right now, I’m hungry.”

  “Mmm. So am I.”

  He laughed. “For food. I need my strength.”

  “Good, because I’m starving.”

  Adrian laughed again as he stood and pulled on his shorts. The late-afternoon sunlight caressed his skin and Sophie exhaled on a sigh. She’d never tire of looking at him.

  “Another thing—now that the weather has cleared, do you think the folks who were supposed to come last night might show up?” he asked.

  His words were like being doused in ice water. “Omigosh, you’re right!” Sophie leapt from the bed and searched for her underwear, last seen when they’d gone outside to work with the storm shutters. “I’ve just been so…” She slid a glance toward him in time to catch his self-satisfied smile. No need to finish her sentence. “But it would be awful if someone from Peck and Davilla caught us like this.” She pulled a tank top over her head. “Or if Jonathan caught us like this. What a disaster!”