She was a little chagrined to see their guests had already arrived when she came through to the living area but that feeling lessened somewhat when Adam stopped mid-conversation to send her a look that fairly burned up the air between them. Lainey inwardly preened a little. Obviously the time she’d taken choosing the sheer soft fuschia-colored blouse teamed with a matching camisole and silver-gray trousers had been worth it, even if it had made her too late to eat breakfast before they left.
The heli-flight to the Kari Kari Peninsula was exhilarating and the pilot chose a route that showcased the stunning coastline. The men were met by their caddies and golf carts at the helipad and were immediately whisked away, while Lainey and the other ladies were offered a light morning tea before heading out on their expedition. Lainey welcomed the opportunity to indulge in a light and flaky Danish pastry and a cup of deliciously brewed coffee.
While they enjoyed a second cup of coffee, Lainey spread some brochures out on the table before them and they discussed their plan of attack for the four or so hours the men would be tied up on the course. Once their plan was settled upon they were shown to their car and they were away.
The women oohed and aahed over the dry lake bed of Lake Ohia and its graveyard of fossilized kauri tree stumps which were exposed when the lake was drained early in the twentieth century for gum digging. Lainey found the site eerie—the prospect that a thriving kauri forest from thirty thousand years ago could have been decimated so thoroughly sending a chill down her spine. She was glad when her companions had had enough of the area and they could carry on to Kaitaia and the specialist kauri product stores there.
They’d taken a brief detour out to Ahipara, at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach, and began their drive back to the estate to meet their men for wine tasting and a late luncheon.
Lainey found herself hard pressed to hold back on her driving and keep to the speed limit. Now they were getting nearer to the estate she couldn’t wait to see Adam again—to see whether the look they’d exchanged this morning held its promise.
She wasn’t disappointed. The men had showered and changed after their round of golf and were out on the covered deck enjoying a glass of wine as the women rejoined them. The instant Lainey set foot on the wooden deck Adam’s head turned and his blue eyes burned a searing trail over her, from head to foot, as she walked toward the table.
Her body thrummed with awareness and Lainey thanked her foresight in wearing a lightly padded bra that went some way toward shielding the already hardened tips of her nipples. Heat bloomed in her cheeks as she realized how instant her reaction to him had become. One kiss and he could do this to her. What effect would he have on her if they indulged in more? She settled herself in the chair Adam pulled out for her and clenched her thighs together in a futile bid to halt the sudden intense tingle of desire that pooled there.
His hand lightly caressed her back before he resumed his seat beside her, casually letting his knee rest against hers under the table.
The afternoon passed in a blur of suppressed awareness. Every move he made drew her attention. Every word he spoke caught her ear. And later, as they flew back to Russell, she was in such a heightened state of awareness she wondered if she was broadcasting it like some gaudy neon sign. She scolded herself for a lovesick fool. Lovesick? Whoa, there, she warned herself. Lust-sick, maybe. Yes, she could live with that. She was very definitely in lust with the man.
Which raised a whole new set of problems. What about their working relationship? Would it be affected if they embarked on an affair? And what about an affair? What would its personal cost be to her? She, who had spent the past ten years of her life trying to be the girl who wasn’t there. Suddenly she’d be more visible to everyone.
Stop overthinking everything, Lainey Delacorte, she growled silently to herself as they circled Whakamarie before landing. Last night may just have been an aberration.
By the time everyone met again for dinner, Lainey had almost convinced herself that she’d imagined that consuming kiss last night. Adam was in perfect-host mode. Solicitous to his guests, who bemoaned the fact that tonight was their last in New Zealand let alone at their stunningly beautiful venue here in Russell.
Adam had opted for a relaxed traditional Kiwi barbeque for this, their final night, and as he flipped the sizzling pink prawns on the hotplate Lainey let her eyes devour him. His loose-fitting shirt enhanced the width of his shoulders and his stone colored pants tightened across his buttocks as he reached across a table for his beer.
Lainey was forced to gather her wits about her and get a platter from the kitchen so he could scoop on the cooked prawns for everyone to enjoy as an appetizer before he cooked the steaks which were marinating in a dish beside him.
“Enjoying yourself?” Adam murmured to her as she held the platter for him.
“It’s been a great day,” she concurred before indicating toward their guests with a faint nod of her head. “I think they’ve enjoyed the weekend, too, don’t you?”
“Yeah, thanks for doing such a good job with Mrs. Schuster and Mrs. Pesek.”
“It’s what you pay me for,” Lainey replied lightly, but even as she did she remembered exactly what he was paying her for.
Companionship, with some very blurry boundaries. Was that what last night had been about? It had to be. She’d be an idiot to imagine a man like Adam Palmer would expect anything more from someone like her. Yes, her grandfather was a national icon, but they lived modestly. She certainly wasn’t the kind of person who moved in Adam’s sphere naturally.
Which just left unnaturally. Bought and paid for.
Suddenly, her enjoyment in the evening faded a few shades. It would be good to get back home and back to reality. Back to the safety of routine.
She wondered how her grandfather had fared while she’d been away. Had he managed to stay away from the casino? He had very carefully skirted making an actual promise to her and she’d been so busy over the weekend that she’d barely given him a thought.
It was after ten when the evening broke up and, after the unobtrusive staff had cleared away the last of the dishes, Lainey and Adam were left on their own. She should be tired, Lainey acknowledged, but she knew if she didn’t rid her body of some of the pent up anxiety that had riddled her all evening sleep would be impossible.
“I think I’ll have a swim before I turn in tonight,” she said, rising from her chair.
Adam caught her hand and tugged her toward him. “That sounds like an excellent idea. I’ll join you.”
Lainey pulled away. “I’ll go and get into my swimming gear.”
“If you must,” Adam said with a hint of question in his eyes. When she didn’t respond he continued. “I’d better change into mine, too, then. Wouldn’t want to scare you out of the water.”
He flashed a crooked smile leaving her confused as to whether he’d been teasing or not.
In her room she pulled on her bikini and a robe and grabbed a towel, then hesitated, suddenly struck by self-consciousness. Yes, she knew he’d seen her in a bikini before, but they’d been surrounded by people. Suddenly she remembered his reaction to the boat steward’s attention to her and a small smile curved her lips. He hadn’t liked another man looking at her. That kind of possessiveness wasn’t the mark of a man who was merely after a paid companion, now was it?
And then there was last night’s kiss—and what he’d said to her about not hiding from him any longer. If he was merely about the money surely he wouldn’t have said what he had.
By the time Lainey was back beside the pool she could almost fool herself that Adam really wanted her for her own sake. The thought was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. There was only one thing for it, to take the plunge.
So she did, literally. Adam hadn’t returned yet so she shrugged off the robe and left it, and her towel, on one of the poolside deck chairs before diving cleanly into the water. She’d done a couple of leisurely laps of the pool when her scalp prickled i
n warning. She was being watched.
As she approached the end of the pool she slowed her strokes and drifted up to the edge. Adam sat on the edge of the pool, his long legs dangling in the water.
“Aren’t you going to swim?” she asked.
For a moment he looked at her in silence, then his gaze intensified before he pushed off and splashed into the water next to her.
“Among other things,” he replied enigmatically. “Tell you what, I’ll race you. Six laps.”
“Race me?” Lainey laughed. “And the winner gets…?”
“A kiss.”
“Ah, then who’s to say who is the winner and who the loser?”
“I’ll ask you after I’ve beaten you,” he smiled.
“We’ll see about that.”
Lainey shoved off the edge and powered away. She pushed herself to her limits, determined to be the absolute winner of their little challenge. It didn’t take Adam long to catch up to her, but instead of pulling away he stayed at her side.
Unaccustomed to the intense exercise, her shoulders started to burn and her breathing became more difficult with each stroke, and still Adam paced directly beside her. When they both reached the end on the final lap their hands slapped the wall simultaneously.
Lainey stood, taking a minute to catch her breath.
“You cheated,” she accused with a narrow-eyed glare when she could speak levelly again. “You could have easily beaten me.”
“I never cheat,” Adam replied.
The water lapped against her midriff as he glided closer to her and stood. His wet hair plastered to his head looked even darker than usual, enhancing the force of his blue gaze. His eyes burned with a concentration that made her blood start to pump faster through her body.
“And I always aim to win,” he finished.
He closed the small distance between them and pulled her to him. Instantly her body curved to fit his and red-hot need speared through her.
She lifted her hands to his head and, cradling it, pulled him down to her, initiating the kiss she wanted to claim for her own. His lips were cool and firm, but when she stroked her tongue against them he parted them and instantly she was lost in the heat of his mouth.
She felt a light tug at her neck and at her back, then her bikini top was floating away from her body. She gasped, losing possession of Adam’s lips, as her breasts brushed against his chest. Fire raced across her skin, igniting her, threatening to consume her.
He pulled away, but not before she felt the ridge of his erection in his swim shorts as he brushed against her. He held her at arm’s length, his eyes roaming her face, her throat, her shoulders, then—finally—her breasts. She felt them swell and grow heavy. Her nipples tightening even further until they ached with wanting his touch.
“Beautiful,” he said, simply.
And, for the first time in forever, Lainey felt beautiful. She should be embarrassed to be so exposed to him, but instead she felt like a woman desired. And when he bent his head and drew one puckered blush colored nipple into his mouth, her legs buckled beneath her.
Adam curled one arm around her waist, floating her against him in the water. She tangled her legs in his, avidly aware of his arousal as their bodies brushed together.
He drew her nipple deeper into his mouth—pulling, laving, suckling. Her hands clutched at his shoulders as sharp, sweet sensation spiraled through her body.
Beneath her fingertips she felt his muscles bunch and tighten. She drifted her hands over his shoulders and down over the hard plane of his chest, her nails scraping lightly over his nipples. Tiny goose bumps rose on his skin and she felt his breath hitch at her touch.
“Let’s take this out of the pool,” he growled, setting her upright on her feet and guiding her toward the ladder on the side.
She could feel the waves of heat radiating from his body as he closed the distance behind her, his hands on the railing right beside hers. Another shiver of anticipation ran through her as she watched his long tanned fingers wrap around the stainless steel and imagined them on her body. It wouldn’t be long now and there would be little left to her imagination, she realized. She could barely wait.
Adam guided her to the outside shower by the pool. He twisted on the dual mixers to a deliciously warm setting and directed one of the shower heads to flow over her body, and smoothed his hands over her breasts, again and again, cupping them, kneading them. Driving her crazy with desire. Then he slid one hand lower, cupping her through her bikini panties.
“I want to taste you there,” he said, his voice a husky murmur.
A pulse of need swelled through Lainey’s body at his words and suddenly she couldn’t wait.
“Me first,” she said huskily, reaching for him, smoothing her hands over his shoulders and down the long corded muscles in his arms then up again before moving over his chest and down over his abdomen. When she reached the waistband of his swimming trunks, she didn’t hesitate. She slid her fingers under the elastic and eased them over his hips and the straining flesh shielded by the wet fabric.
Lainey knelt down and, starting with his calves, began to work her way up his legs. Her fingers massaging deeply into the backs of his thighs, sliding upward to the taut muscles of his buttocks. Then, she trailed her fingers around to his groin, to the jutting evidence of his desire.
Her fingers wrapped around his length and she was instantly aware of intense heat. Heat sheathed in velvet. She ran her hand to his tip and back again and was rewarded with the sound of a groan from above her. Encouraged, she bent her head forward, the tip of her tongue darting out to lick the swollen head of his arousal.
She felt the shudder that ran through his body, felt the tension in his legs, his buttocks, as he strained to hold himself still.
She swirled her tongue around him before closing her lips over his tip and taking him deeper into her mouth. Fingers suddenly fisted in her wet hair and she felt another quake through his muscles. Lainey repeated the action, again and again, stroking his shaft with her fisted hand as she did so.
Adam fought to hold back the climax that pounded at the boundary of his restraint as Lainey’s lips, her tongue, her mouth did unspeakably erotic things to him. But instinct overrode consciousness and he gave himself over to the waves of pleasure that demanded release.
When his climax ripped through him, he felt it erupt through his body as if it had launched from the soles of his feet. Over and over again, sensation surged and ebbed and surged again. Finally spent, he leaned back against the wall of the shower cubicle and fought to control his breathing.
She’d blown him apart, mentally and physically.
Adam reached for her hands and pulled her up against him as the last of his climax ebbed away leaving him, unbelievably, hungry for more.
He splayed his hands across her back, relishing the feel of her soft skin beneath his palms, and stroked down toward her buttocks. He grasped the firm globes in his hands and pulled her against him, showing her he was growing ready for her again. His fingers tangled at the narrow bands at the sides of her bikini bottoms and dragged the material away from her skin, letting the tiny garment drop to her ankles. He felt her kick them away, and then a current of need swept through him as finally she was against him, full body, skin to skin.
Adam ran his fingers back up the line of her spine, to her wet hair, to the curve of her neck. He cupped his hands at the side of her head and tilted her face to his.
“Thank you,” he whispered before taking her lips and imbuing into his kiss a promise that he’d deliver equal if not more pleasure to her than she had for him.
As she opened her mouth to him he felt a connection with her he’d never experienced before. A connection that both felt right and scarily wrong at the same time.
He pushed the thought aside, instead focusing his attention on savoring the feel of her for a moment longer before reaching to snap off the shower heads. He grabbed the towels they put on the deck earlier and wrapped one firmly arou
nd her, before knotting the other around his waist. Then, scooping her into his arms, he carried her back into the house and to his bedroom.
“My hair, it’s dripping wet,” Lainey protested as he started to lower her to the bed.
“Here.” Adam set her on her feet and whipped the towel at his waist away before gently toweling the worst of the moisture from her hair. “Satisfied?”
A tiny smile curved her lips. “Not nearly,” she said with an embarrassed laugh.
Adam flashed her an answering smile. “Looks like I have my work cut out for me then.”
He walked her backward toward the bed until the backs of her knees hit the edge of the mattress. He coaxed her down onto the firm surface, then laced his fingers through hers and spread her arms out beside her. A sense of power poured through him as he hovered over her prone form.
She’d given him the most intimate pleasure—now, he could return the favor.
Seven
Adam bent down and lightly blew a soft line across her belly and was mesmerized by the fine goose bumps that rose on her skin. Still holding her hands at her sides, he leaned down again, this time tracing his tongue along the underside of each breast and following the trail with another fine breath of air.
She squirmed against him, trying to push her breasts up toward his torso. Her nipples were tightly bunched points of dark blush pink.
He flicked his tongue across each one and hesitated, feeling her body tense beneath him, before he blew across them, making them tighten even more.
Lainey let out a long soft moan—the sound making Adam’s gut clench tight and his body harden even more. He drew in a steadying breath of air. He didn’t want to lose control; he wanted to make Lainey lose it first. She’d ambushed him in the shower by the pool, not that he was about to complain, but it wasn’t how he’d planned the evening’s end.
But now? Now he had her in his thrall. Her body poised for his every touch, every nerve strung tight waiting for his next move.
A quiver ran across her skin as he bent down to rasp his teeth over her nipples, then lave them once more with his tongue. Her breasts were beautiful. Full and firm, and the most glorious pale cream, shaded slightly by the sun she’d caught over the weekend.
Pretend Mistress, Bona Fide Boss Page 6
