He returned the cloth to the bathroom and came back again. Lying beside her, he slid an arm under her shoulders and brought her against him. “Juliana, you should have told me.”
“Why?” She was legitimately curious. Didn’t men like to be someone’s first? The guys at school sure bragged about it enough. Except… “I know I probably wasn’t very good. Obviously, I don’t have a lot of experience. Or any. But I can get better.”
He stroked her back, his fingers grazing the side of her breast. “Because I would have been more careful. Your first time should be special.”
“You don’t think making love under the stars, beside the Bay, in your castle tower, with you, is special? What could be more special? Thank you.”
“You’re thanking me?” He shook his head but kissed her anyway. And when they broke for breath, she could tell he was ready to make love again. Tentatively she touched him, feeling the shape, the broad head and long, straight shaft. So much pleasure from this part of him.
“Nothing could have been more special. I’ll always remember tonight.” Even if he didn’t want more, she’d try to live with it. But her heart might not survive.
“If not, I’ll be happy to remind you. Although sometimes it will be foggier, and we won’t always have the stars.”
“I love the fog. And the stars.” And he wanted to be with her again. “What’s it like here when it’s storming?”
“Outrageous. You’ll love it. Lightning shooting across the sky, dark clouds crashing together. Sometimes, when it rains hard, it looks like the building is under water.”
She watched his face, loving the play of emotions as he became animated talking about his home. “I hope you’ll invite me to see some time.”
“You’re always welcome.” He kissed her forehead then her nose, her lips, and rolled her on top of him. She perched, his erection perilously close to unsheathed entry.
“Do you have another ummm...condom?”
He stroked her thigh. “Juliana, are you sure? You aren’t sore?”
“A little,” she admitted. “But I want to try it like this. Is that okay?”
He groped for the night table. “So much more than okay.”
Chapter Seven
Juliana sat at the gleaming kitchen counter, swinging her legs from the high stool. She felt like a child, wrapped in a big terrycloth robe, delighted at the spread John laid out before her on the stainless steel top.
“Let’s see. Cold lobster, salad, pickles and olives, these little stuffed mushrooms…” John stood inside the open refrigerator door. “Anything else you would like? I would offer you champagne and orange juice, but I think we’ll wait until next week when you turn twenty-one so I don’t get arrested.”
“I have an MBA. I think I might be responsible enough to have a glass of wine,” she huffed, but then flashed him a big smile. He knew her birthday? “I’d rather have a sparkling water, anyway, if you have one.”
“I think…yes, right here.” He kicked the door closed and set a bottle of Perrier and the orange juice container on the counter. “Quite a breakfast we’re having. After everything, I still managed to deprive you of dinner.”
I’ll let you slide, since you didn’t eat either,” she said, popping a stuffed olive in her mouth and chewing with pleasure. “But if you sleep over at my house, I warn you I can maybe scramble an egg. And I’m pretty good at toast. I don’t know how to kill a lobster or stuff a mushroom.”
“If you will invite me to sleep over, I’ll make you pancakes,” he promised, flipping the switch to start the big copper espresso maker before joining her at the counter and picking up a stuffed mushroom.
“You know how to hit a girl where she lives. Can you stay tonight?”
“Yes.”
Just like that. Wow. “Wait! I don’t have any pots or pans. Shoot, what time is it?” She looked around for a clock.
“Nine, why?”
“The men are coming with my things any minute, and I have to be there. What will they do if I’m not?”
John lifted a phone from the wall next to the counter and made a call. She heard him speaking to a dispatcher, at least that’s what it seemed like, who was instructed to have the crew stand by until they heard from him. And, unlike when an ordinary mortal called with a request, when a billionaire told you to stand by, you stood by.
After he hung up, she eyed him with awe. “Can you do that with the cable company, too?”
“No. They’re pure evil. But I can send someone to wait for them, so that’s almost as good, right?”
She shrugged. “Not bad.” Fantastic.
They dug in and ate in silence for a while, Juliana savoring every bite. She was sure it was delicious anyway, but after making love nearly all night, she was starving. “Lobster is a great breakfast, isn’t it? Mmm.” She dragged a bit of tail through the butter he’d melted for them and placed it in her mouth. “You have a great cook.”
“I do. I only hire the best.”
It poured over her then like a thundershower. “Oh God. I slept with my boss. That’s never a good idea.”
He winked at her. “It’s okay. I broke my vow never to get involved with my PA again.”
“It’s like a sickness with you, isn’t it?”
“Sure seems to be.” He shuddered. “I can’t keep doing this. Falling in love with my assistants is a bad habit.”
“You shouldn’t do…what? Don’t even toy with me like that.”
“No rush. How about we take this one slumber party at a time?”
Placing her hand on his cheek, she looked deeply into the eyes of the man she’d written her thesis about, dreamed about working for so she could learn from the best. And, in the end, she’d learned things she’d never dreamed about. His reputation as a fair boss, a strong dealmaker, and a decent human being was accurate. But in two weeks, she’d learned he was so much more. He knew every employee by name and had her get each one on the phone so he could wish them a happy birthday or congratulate them on a new baby or give a personal condolence for a death in their family. Sure, HR alerted him, but at his request. He’d been so considerate of her and had a cordial relationship with Sarabeth when it had to have stung to have her leave the way she did. And he was hot. So hot.
“You asked why I didn’t tell you I was a virgin. I want to tell you why I was. Being so much younger than everyone at college and so focused on the streamlined program I was in, I didn’t really date. I wasn’t ready, anyway. I never even wanted to go to bed with anyone until you.”
He looped an arm around her neck and pecked her lips. “I’m honored. And I’d be lying if the caveman in me wasn’t very glad to be your first. And, Juliana, I want to be your only.”
Her heart soared, but she struggled to stay practical. “So did I get the promotion?”
“Huh?”
“Sex kitten…do I get the job?”
“Sure, but only at night. During the day I need your fine mind to help my business grow. I didn’t hire you because I thought you were the prettiest milkmaid I’d ever seen.”
“The prettiest what?”
“Never mind. I hired you for your mind, for your potential, but I’ve learned to care about your heart and, baby, you are as pretty as a storybook milkmaid.”
“I think we’re really mixing up our stories, but if a milkmaid can spend passionate nights with a caveman in his castle above the Bay, count me in.” This time, they did end up on the hallway runner. But she didn’t care. A little friction just added to the whole experience. “After I get unpacked, I’m going to go by the office. Now that I am your only assistant, I want to get my area decorated. I have this little china pig…”
“I’ll come with you and then we can go to lunch.”
“Okay, anywhere special?”
“Yeah. At the airport where I keep my hot air balloon fleet. I have one I’d like to show you.”
“Sounds like a perfect day.”
Epilogue
Margerie Fel
ix emerged from the town car in front of the Mercer Island home of her dear old school friend Katherine Anderson. When the driver held the door open, Katherine slid inside, and the two women hugged.
As the driver headed for the city, Margerie popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and poured glasses for them both.
Katherine accepted hers, and they clinked the glasses together. “Congratulations. And thank you for including me in your special day with your girls.”
“My girls. I can’t believe I’m even saying that. I thought Jim and John would never find someone to marry.”
“Without your help, they might not have.” Katherine shuddered delicately. “Or perhaps not found someone we could toast to. You know how children can be.”
“You were inspiration itself, as well you know. A year ago I was close to despair. And now here I am shopping for a wedding dress for Sarabeth Harvest, the woman who has swept my Jim off his feet after nearly breaking John’s heart.”
“Sarabeth certainly did a wonderful job helping you get John and Juliana together.”
“She loved it. She’s always had a soft spot for my younger son, although she was born to marry my elder. To think she nearly married the wrong one.”
“That would have been an utter disaster. They had no fire. What’s a marriage without passion?”
Margerie sipped from her glass. “They think we’re too old to have any. Silly girls. How could we have had such long and happy marriages, survived all the trials and tribulations we’ve faced without the passion and love we share with our husbands.”
Katherine held up her glass. “To your John and my Joseph.”
“Do you think you’ll be back soon for Juliana?”
“They refuse to tell me their plans, but my sources at John’s office tell me they are rarely apart, and I think it looks good. Maybe we can get Juliana to try on a dress or two at the salon. It might be inspiring. Otherwise, I’m sure it’s a matter of time. We had them to dinner the other night, and they were hardly aware we were there.”
“That’s a good sign. I can’t wait for the wedding. Joseph is calling it a romantic getaway.” Katherine set her glass down. “How did I get so lucky?”
Margerie squeezed her hand. “How did he? You’re two of the best people I know.”
“Thank you. Now, what else can we do to encourage Juliana and John to hurry things up?”
“Can you believe that in less than a year I’ve managed to find such amazing women for both my boys?” Margerie’s smile stretched her face so wide, she was afraid it would freeze that way.
“Maybe now we can relax. At least we don’t have to try to find our grandchildren perfect matches.”
“Although…”
About Kate Richards
Kate Richards divides her time between Los Angeles and the High Sierras. She would gladly spend all her days in the mountains, but she’d miss the beach…and her very supportive husband’s commute would be three hundred miles. Wherever she is, she loves to explore all different kinds of relationships in her stories. She doesn’t believe one-size-fits-all, and whether her characters live BDSM, ménage, GLBT, spanking, or any other kind of lifestyle, it’s the love, the joy in one another, that counts.
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Also by Kate Richards
Finally, My Love
Demons Love Cinnamon
Christmas Afternoon Delight
The Vampire’s Bard
Pirate Lady Holiday
Spanking Ms. Whitman
Dungeon Time
Switch, The Trainer
Confessions From the Carnivore Club, Dave and Nancy’s Story
Sierra Seduction
Sensual Delights: A Cookie Club Romance
One Night on the Beach
Avalon for Christmas
The Virgin and the Playboy
The Virgin and the Best Man
Two Men and a Virgin
Two Men
Virgin Under Ground
Gale Force Passion
Trail of Hearts
The Milkman Cometh
Madame Eve’s Gift
Frontier Inferno
An Apple Away (The Wiccan Haus)
It’s Just Love
Kimmy
For Ben (Corbin’s Bend)
Her Cowboy (Corbin’s Bend)
Roy and Teri’s Accidental Staycation (Corbin’s Bend)
Honey’s Sexy Surprise
Haunting Suspicions
All’s Fair
Lily in Chains
Terci in Chains
Felicia’s Chains
Sweet Christmas Kisses Anthology
Taming Marguerite
The Soviet Connection (Omega Team)
Spurs (Omega Team)
Shifters and Spice Anthology
Wolves and Bears and Foxes, Oh My! An Evening at Animals
NOLA Naughty Nine9 Anthology
Topaz’s Trials (Red Petticoat Series)
The Foreman and the Lady
Wheels on Fire (Dallas Fire and Rescue)
Melody Anne's Billionaire Universe: The Billionaire Stands Alone (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Mackay Destiny Book 6) Page 7
