Pretend Mistress, Bona Fide Boss

by Yvonne Lindsay

  He’d love to see her sunbathe naked. To see her lithe body stretched out on a lounger. To smooth sunblock all over her—paying special attention to those parts of her skin that were the palest.

  If they didn’t have to take their guests back to Auckland tomorrow, that’s exactly what he’d be doing instead. In the meantime, he’d satisfy himself with this.

  He tongued a spiral from each nipple to the outside edges of her breasts, nuzzling the soft curve of the underside where her skin was softest. Each touch from him elicited another sigh, another moan from Lainey, and she twisted in his hold, straining for more.

  He took his time outlining her rib cage, then followed the line from the centre of her body down low to her belly button.

  Adam was grateful Lainey wasn’t one of those stick-thin figures, with bones protruding from her skin. Instead, she was unashamedly curvy with legs that were long and made for wrapping around his waist.

  But, he reminded himself, the time for that was not now. That time would come. For now, he would concentrate on giving her the layers and levels of pleasure she’d already given him. Then, and only then, would they scale the heights of their mutual passion together.

  Lainey’s fingers tightened on his as he painted a fine wet line from her lower belly to the indentation at the topmost point of her thigh. Beneath him, her body coiled, tighter and tighter, in anticipation of his next move.

  In keeping with the symmetry of his exploration so far he retraced his path back to her lower belly and moved down to the inside crease of the top of her other leg, then hesitated.

  Every muscle in her body stiffened. Waiting for him.

  A fine sheen of perspiration had begun to build up on her skin. Her eyes were shut tight. With a tiny smile, he blew warm air over the finely trimmed nest of curls at the junction of her thighs and was rewarded with a moan—the sound low and guttural.

  Then, he lowered his tongue to her, stroking her heated flesh over and over, parting her and stroking even deeper. Her body arched against his mouth, her hips pulling up off the bed in a movement he knew was instinctual, wanton.

  The taste of her was exquisite. The heat of her body and her responsiveness almost tipping him over the edge of reason and away from his determination to drive her over the brink. He fought to control the shudder that started to ripple through his body, to control the urge to simply quit with the foreplay and get straight down to the business of intense mutual pleasure.

  Somehow he found the reserves to control himself. To hold back. He breathed in the scent of her skin, and focused on Lainey—only Lainey.

  He traced his tongue over her moist skin again, moving closer to the hooded bundle of nerve endings he knew would send her screaming over the edge of control and into the realms of pure unadulterated bliss.

  His lips closed over his target, his tongue stroking in small firm movements even as his lips pulled and teased at her skin.

  The pitch of her breathing changed, the temperature of her body soared, and if he thought she’d been bowed with tension before it was nothing compared to the tautness in her now.

  He stroked again, firmer and firmer, until suddenly with a gusty cry, she let go, her body pulsing with the power of her orgasm, her thighs trembling with the waves that shook her over and over again.

  Adam gently lessened the pressure of his mouth, slowing his tempo, slowing hers, until the final crescendo. He fastened on her once more, this time not building from a slow gentle assault on her but going straight for the full on treatment, and again her body bucked in the throes of a second climax—a startled cry of completion wrenching from her lips.

  He disentangled his fingers from hers and moved up higher onto the bed, lying next to her as his hands skimmed in reverse over the path his mouth had earlier taken. Muscles which had been so taut before were now limp, sated, beneath his touch. He smiled as Lainey opened her eyes and looked at him.

  Usually a sharp emerald green, their depths were cloudy now, her pupils dilated like windows into the depths of her mind.

  Adam traced the shape of her brow with one finger, surprised and pleased when she turned her face into his palm and pressed a kiss there. The sensation of her soft lips against his skin sent a demand through him like a lightning bolt and he rolled toward her, taking her lips in a kiss that served only to drive him even further to distraction.

  “Hold on a second,” he ground out when he could pull himself away.

  He reached for the bedside cabinet and yanked open the drawer, reaching inside for protection. His hand shook as he ripped open the packet, his mind distracted by Lainey who trailed her fingers up and down his spine as he sheathed himself with hands that had suddenly grown clumsy. Finally he was done.

  He rolled toward her, pulled her under him, parted her thighs and settled within the cradle of her hips. Her heat enveloped him, beckoned him within her honeyed depths.

  Without breaking eye contact, Adam guided his length to her centre, allowing only the tip of him inside. Her pupils dilated even more as she accommodated him.

  He withdrew ever so slightly, yet maintaining that tenuous connection, before sliding back within her. Farther this time, deeper.

  She groaned and her hips rose against him, urging him, begging him for more. And he obliged. He slid all the way home, relishing the tight gloved sensation of her as she adjusted to his body inside hers. She flexed against him again, her inner muscles clenching around him, and he lost all sense of control—his only goal now to drive them both mindless with sensation.

  Again and again he thrust within her, each time feeling the power coil a little tighter within him, feeling the edge of pleasure verge onto the point of pain. Beneath him, Lainey met his every stroke, her hands tight on his shoulders, her legs now gloriously wrapped around his hips, tilting her hips and giving him deeper access.

  Her fingers clenched, her nails digging into his skin as her body tightened, bowed and began to shake, and in that instant he let go, allowing that coil within him to spring forth, to unravel in wave after wave of delight.

  Arms shaking, he collapsed against her, their bodies slick with perspiration, sliding together into one another. He rolled onto his back, taking her with him, draping her body over his torso, their legs tangling together as if neither could bear a square inch of their body not in contact with the other.

  And sleep claimed them both.

  Lainey woke and stretched languidly across the sheets as the sun breached the sky. Beside her Adam slept, oblivious to the slowly growing cast of light dappling across his skin. She smiled as she let her gaze drift over his body then back to his face.

  They’d made love several times through the night, forging new bonds, seeking higher planes of ecstasy. They’d talked a little, too. She, more about what it had been like growing up in her grandfather’s house, always trying to dodge the public eye—he, about his own childhood, growing up as an only child.

  She wondered how being an only son of high profile and high-achieving parents had impacted on Adam. How much of it drove him to be the best of the best. The most competitive of competitors.

  Adam stirred beside her, one arm reaching out to draw her back against him, before settling deeper into sleep again.

  Today was Monday. The day they went back home. Lainey wished she could preserve this moment for a little longer, but they had an early start back for the three and a half hour drive back to Auckland and then out to the airport to see the Czechs onto their flight back home.

  Life would intrude on their idyll as life was wont to do, she accepted reluctantly, and wondered what else would intrude on her happiness when they arrived home.

  She hadn’t said a word to Adam about her grandfather’s debts. Not when it was Hugh’s secret to keep and especially not when it was what had brought her and Adam together—the very thing that had seen her agree to accept an indecent amount of money for what had essentially been a weekend holiday. A holiday that had taken on a whole new twist with this burgeoni
ng relationship with Adam.

  At the back of her mind she reminded herself he’d expected her companionship this weekend. In fact had expected her to share a room with him from the start.

  But what they’d shared during the night went further than sex. At least it had for her. She’d been no shrinking virgin, but she’d also never experienced such a depth of passion with someone else before. She’d felt a link with Adam, a melding of spirit, she’d never found with another man.

  As they’d shared one another’s pleasure, in the shafts of moonlight that had strafed the bed with silver, she’d found a new closeness with him. One that went beyond the physical.

  She couldn’t accept his money now. No matter the amount her grandfather owed or how close they were to paying it off. Not with the way things had changed between her and Adam. Where would they go from here, she wondered, because they certainly couldn’t go back to the simplicity of the boss/secretary relationship they’d had before.

  Lainey nestled against him, and forced her mind to let go of the questions that plagued her. She didn’t want anything to mar this time together.

  Adam’s cut off expletive woke Lainey abruptly.

  “What’s wrong?” She blinked her eyes open.

  “We’ve overslept. We’re meeting the others in about fifteen minutes.”

  Adam shot from the bed and into the walk-in wardrobe where Lainey could hear him shove hangers back and forth on the rail. She rose from the bed wrapping the crumpled top sheet around her.

  “I’ll go and get ready in my room,” she called out, on her way to do exactly that.

  “Hold on,” Adam commanded as he came out of the wardrobe, his clothes hanging over one arm.

  With his free hand he reached out and tugged her toward him, sliding his hand up her bare arm and up the cords of her neck to cup the back of her head. He bent and kissed her thoroughly, his tongue sweeping into her mouth with a possessiveness that sent her blood singing along her veins.

  “There,” he said, as he drew apart from her, “good morning.”

  Lainey smiled. “Good morning to you, too.”

  Adam’s eyes darkened to midnight. “I wish to God we had more time.”

  “Me, too,” Lainey responded simply and went up on tiptoes to plant a chaste kiss on Adam’s cheek. “Maybe later?”

  “Yeah, later,” Adam replied.

  He gently touched her shoulder and turned her to face the door, giving her a teasing pat on her backside as she started to walk away.

  In her bathroom Lainey quickly showered, lingering a little as she dragged her sponge across the more tender and well-used parts of her body. She felt like a woman who’d been well loved and had loved well in return. She lathered up her hair and rinsed it out before smoothing through the conditioner, remembering the feel of Adams hands as he’d dried her hair last night before he’d sent her into the outer stratosphere of pleasure.

  Her body tingled, her breasts feeling full and heavy, her nipples tight. She squeezed her thighs together, her inner muscles clenching as the memory of his touch played in her mind. A sharp pang of need rose within her but she forced herself to concentrate on what the day ahead would bring. She could no more expand on the fiery craving she had for Adam than she could solve her grandfather’s financial problems at this point.

  Especially not now when she’d decided she couldn’t accept Adam’s money.

  She quickly finished rinsing off and stepped out of the shower to drag a towel across her skin, a tiny smile playing around her lips as she identified faint red marks on her body in the reflection of the mirror.

  It was a push, but Lainey managed to finish drying her hair and dressing by the time they’d agreed to meet the others. Adam was already in the dining room, checking the smorgasbord breakfast that had been prepared and set out only moments ago. Her heart skittered in her chest at the sight of him.

  Dressed all in black, he was a forbidding figure but the blue fire in his eyes told her he still burned for her despite his aloof exterior.

  “All ready to go home?” he asked as Lainey walked in.

  “I wish we didn’t have to,” she answered without thinking.

  Adam didn’t reply, instead fixing a gaze on Lainey that saw color flush across her throat and her eyes widen. He crossed the short distance between them, coming to halt just in front of her. Close, but not touching.

  Beneath the fine cotton knit of her pale pink sweater he saw the outline of her nipples and his hands itched to reach out, to cup her breasts in his hands, to abrade her nipples with his thumbs and to hear that little sigh she made as he brought her pleasure.

  Her breasts were incredibly sensitive and he had barely been able to get enough of her response to his touch as he reached for her again and yet again in the night. Nor enough of his own gratification as together they’d scaled height after height of satisfaction.

  Her sharply indrawn breath told Adam that she was thinking along much the same lines.

  His gaze flicked up to her face, to where the tip of her tongue moistened her parted lips, to where her cheeks flushed with the color of desire, to where her eyes made a silent entreaty.

  A sound in the hallway reminded him their time was not their own. He forced his raging libido back into submission and stepped away from her and turned to greet his clients who were being ushered into the dining room by one of Whakamarie’s staff, here to attend to them this morning.

  And as they settled down to breakfast Adam allowed himself an inner burst of satisfaction. Whether she realized it or not, he had Lainey Delacorte exactly where he wanted her.

  As his mistress he’d make certain she’d be well away from the temptation of selling any of Palmer Enterprises’ secrets to their competitors. It’d be expensive but she was worth it, at any price. And for as long as he kept it about the money, he knew he could keep that simmering need for more under control.

  Eight

  Adam flicked a glance in his rearview mirror, ensuring that Lainey’s vehicle followed behind. The weather, which had been so idyllic in Northland, had closed in with heavy rain on the outskirts of Auckland City and sheets of water sluiced the motorway as they drove through spaghetti junction on their way through to the southern link to the airport.

  She was a competent driver, he knew that, but it didn’t stop the niggle of concern that plagued him as he checked his mirror yet again. If he’d had his way, she’d be riding up front with him in his four-by-four, but that had been impossible.

  They’d leave her vehicle at the airport and they would ride back into the office together. He’d send someone out to pick up the other BMW.

  Satisfied with his decision, Adam let his mind wander to the success of the weekend. Lainey had behaved exactly as he’d expected her to—even so far as the initial outrage when he’d arranged for her things to be accommodated with his in the master suite of his villa. He knew she’d expected all the guests to stay in the one villa and his engineering to give each couple their privacy and space had surprised her. But she’d coped with that blip on her radar, as she coped admirably with everything that had occurred over the weekend.

  Yeah, she’d done exactly what he’d expected, all right—up until that kiss on Saturday night. He felt himself harden at the memory. She’d been so responsive, so damn hot and willing. He’d been forced to summon every ounce of control he’d ever had to walk away from her that night. But it had paid off. After last night he knew that the attraction he’d felt toward her the night he’d seen her at the casino hadn’t been some totally off the wall thing.

  She was a sensual creature. A woman who could delight in her carnal appetite and indulge him in his. And he couldn’t wait to explore just how voracious her appetite was.

  Adam and Lainey stood behind the barriers at the first-class check in counter as their guests completed their formalities. Once that was done they escorted them upstairs to the departure gate. Saying goodbye to the Schusters and the Peseks was accomplished with all the usual b
luster and handshaking. After waving the Czechs off, Adam and Lainey turned and walked back through the terminal to the car park. Thankfully the rain had stopped.

  Lainey could barely think straight as Adam rested the palm of his hand against the small of her back. The heat of his skin radiated out underneath the black lightweight blazer she’d teamed with taupe colored trousers and a cream blouse, and sent a tingling warmth through her whole body.

  As they reached the car park Adam spoke.

  “Get your things from your beemer and stow them in mine.”

  “But what about—” she started.

  “Leave it. I’ll send someone else to get it later. I want you with me. Now.”

  There was an edge to his voice that sent a spiral of longing through her. Was this how it would be between them? This constant simmering hunger? It would consume her, she knew it. Could she dare to hope he was similarly affected? This morning when she’d woken, with her limbs tangled in his, she’d been so certain that they had turned an imaginary corner in their relationship. That they could possibly even have a relationship that went beyond the office—beyond companionship.

  But his demeanor since breakfast had been the old Adam. Certainly not that of the man who had given her such hedonistic pleasure through the night, nor the man she’d felt quiver beneath her touch as she’d returned the favor to him.

  The journey back to the office passed in a blur of traffic and with a silence that stretched out between them as Lainey ruminated on what would happen next.

  At the office they zoomed skyward to Adam’s top floor corner office. Lainey dropped her bags behind her desk and settled in her chair. As she waited for her e-mail to download she flicked through her telephone messages and wondered whether she should call her grandfather and let him know she was back in Auckland. But something made her hold off.