by Lori Foster
R.J. turned to stone. Dana wasn’t even sure he was breathing. “Dana?”
It was a gamble, because the likelihood that R.J. would ever really care about her was remote. He’d had beautiful, sophisticated women after him his entire life, so why would he fall in love with her? But she wanted him too much to keep resisting. At least she knew his feelings, whatever they might be, were sincere. And she assumed once his frustration was taken care of, there’d be no reason for him to fire her.
She smiled and kissed his throat. “I want you, too, R.J.”
He came to his feet in a rush, holding Dana close to his chest. “Right now.”
Clinging to his shoulders, Dana took one quick look around the kitchen at the half-prepared meal. Reaching out, she turned off the stove, then dismissed the rest as unimportant. R J. kept kissing her, her cheek, her hair, her ear. She almost giggled at his haste, and he squeezed her tight as he bounded up the stairs to his bedroom.
“Don’t you dare laugh! Do you have any idea what I’ve been going through all week?” He strode down the hall, not the least winded.
Dana tangled one hand in his hair and kissed his jaw. “Since you put me through it, as well, I think I do.”
“Ha. You have no idea what it’s about yet. But you will. Before the night is over, you won’t have a single doubt.”
He stepped into his room and kicked the door shut, then stood Dana beside the bed. She watched him, caught between nervousness and dizzy excitement as he threw back the covers on the bed and leaned toward the light on the nightstand.
Dana caught his shoulder. “R.J….” She wondered what to say as he glanced at her, then muttered, “Let’s leave the lights off.”
He held her gaze a moment longer, then switched on the light and straightened. “No, you don’t, babe.” He threw off his shirt, then sat on the side of the bed. “You’re beautiful and I want to see you, all of you.”
Dana felt the first sick stirrings of dread. She wasn’t beautiful and—
R,J. caught her hips and pulled her between his legs. “Look at me, Dana.”
It wasn’t easy, but she met his determined gaze.
“I want you to trust me. Forget our first time together. I was a fool and I’ve been berating myself over it ever since.”
Wincing, Dana slipped her hand into his hair and explained. “It’s…it’s not about that first time, R.J.”
“I gave you no pleasure at all.”
“That’s not true!” It was difficult to speak because R.J. had leaned forward and was kissing her belly through the material of her skirt. She realized a second later that while he’d kissed her, he’d worked her zipper down. The skirt loosened. “R.J., I… I liked some of what you did to me that night.”
R.J. reached beneath the skirt and caught the waistband of her panty hose. “Yeah. You liked it so much you refused to let me touch you again.”
Her panty hose were around her ankles, and Dana, confused and off balance, stepped out of her shoes, then held onto his shoulders as he tugged the stockings the rest of the way off.
“It…it wasn’t what I’d expected, R.J. That’s all.”
His laugh was hoarse. “I can believe that.”
He reached for the buttons on her blouse and she blurted, “It was more. It was…too much.”
His fingers froze on her top button, then his hands slowly lowered to her hips again. Gazing up at her with a burning intensity, he whispered, “You want to explain that?”
When she fidgeted, he pulled her onto his lap, which made it easier for her to concentrate. But the second she began to speak he started undoing buttons again. Keeping her wits together enough to measure her words was almost impossible.
She assumed that was his plan.
“Since I’d never had sex before, I thought we could…you know, do it and we’d stay detached. It would be nice but no more than that. But you touching me, kissing me, it was so…intimate. So personal. I felt overwhelmed and swamped with feelings and—”
His hand slipped inside her open blouse and into the cup of her bra, cuddling her naked breast. She gasped.
“Me, too, babe.” His words were quietly spoken. “I felt it, too.” He bent down and kissed the upper fullness of her breast, plumped up by his hand. “But part of the reason it hit me so hard was this—your beautiful body totally took me by surprise. I want to see you, Dana, and I want you to trust me enough to know I’m not lying when I tell you how sexy you are.”
She didn’t want to. She wanted to run away, to hide. But this was R.J., a man she’d loved since the day she’d met him and she didn’t want him to be unhappy. He wanted her, and for now, that was all that mattered. “All right.”
His squeeze nearly took her breath away.
Then he was lowering her to the mattress, and his hands were busy tugging away her clothes. Against her naked midriff he whispered, “This time I’ll do it right, Dana. And we can both be overwhelmed.”
Bewitched
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
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Because she’d been so nervous, R.J. kept the light low, using only the bedside lamp. But it was enough. Soft light spilled over her nude body as she lay stretched out on his bed, highlighting the tilt of one full breast, the roundness of her thigh, the slight curve of her belly. Her skin was dewy, flushed a rosy pink all the way down to her restlessly stirring feet, and she was his.
He carefully circled one straining nipple with his tongue and heard the sexy, arousing groan Dana gave in return.
He’d been making love to her for an hour, and he wasn’t at all ready to stop. He had a firm grip on his control this time, and he could easily have pleasured her, tasted her, touched her all night.
But judging by her increasingly frantic movements, the flushed heat of her skin and the silky wetness between her thighs, Dana couldn’t take much more.
He hoped not. He wanted her to remember this night forever, and to know it was so special because of her, because of the incredibly feminine, sexy woman she was.
When she started to protest his lack of haste, he sucked her nipple deep into his mouth. Her hands gripped his hair so hard he winced, then switched to the other breast.
“R.J.,” she groaned, “please.”
His fingers had been teasing her belly, but now he dipped them lower, gliding through her soft curls to the swollen female flesh beneath. She was hot, enticing. She was his. Dana. He pushed one finger into her, trying to determine exactly how ready she might be, and was surprised when she nearly climaxed, her hips jerking upward, her head arching back.
He lifted his head from her breast to look at her. “Beautiful,” he breathed, and suddenly he wanted to watch her come, right now, with no more teasing.
He worked a second finger in next to the first, his mind going numb at the tightness, at the way she tensed around him, then he used his thumb to gently stroke her, finding a soft, deep rhythm. Dana strained against him, her eyes squeezed shut, her teeth clenched. Her reactions were real, with nothing held back, and he reveled in them.
“That’s it, babe…”
He loved the sounds she made, without reserve or embarrassment, the sounds of a woman caught up in pleasure too intense to bear. He licked the nipple closest to him, watched her chest heave, and then she gave a low scream of pleasure.
He nearly came with her, it was such a turn-on watching his Dana in this way. He couldn’t get over it, how innately sensual she was, yet he’d never known. She quivered, caught in the throes of her release for a long minute, before her body slowly began to go limp, relaxing against the mattress.
R.J. watched her through a nearly blinding haze of need. As soon as she’d quieted, he pulled himself over her and spread her legs wide. Again, he was struck by the realization that this was Dana, his quiet secretary, his loyal friend. His wife. It was as if her body had been made just for him. He couldn’t imagine a woman any more appeal
ing.
He lifted her knees to his shoulders, caught her buttocks in his hands and slowly pressed deep, groaning as he felt her silky, snug flesh surround him. “Dana.”
Though she’d been utterly limp beneath him moments before, now she wrapped her hands around his upper arms and lifted her hips to meet his thrusts, giving a low moan each time.
“Am I hurting you?” he rasped, on the edge, but determined to make this as good for her as possible.
“No, no… please, don’t stop.”
Her breathless plea burned him. He lowered his chest to hers and kissed her, his tongue in her mouth, he was as deep inside her body as he could get.
She came with him this time, and R.J., who’d once planned to sleep alone, to maintain his privacy and his distance, locked her close to his chest as he drifted into sleep. Twice during the night she stirred, and each time he wanted her again as if the first time had never happened. She had to be tired, but not once did she complain. When she awoke to his hand stroking her breast, she reached for him and kissed him deeply.
When she rolled onto him during the night, R.J. used the moment to link their bodies and brought her fully awake by rocking into her. She bit his shoulder, then quietly succumbed to the pleasure.
Morning came too soon, but the sight of Dana sprawled in his bed, one of her slender thighs thrown over his hip, her pale hair spread out over his chest, did much to revive him. He smiled as he realized how insatiable he’d been, then smiled wider remembering how she’d reciprocated in full.
But she had to be sore, and he didn’t want to be accused of being greedy, so he contented himself by stroking her awake, luxuriating in her silky skin and the fact that it was his to touch. The thought was oddly comforting.
He ran his hand down her back and over her firmly rounded behind, pushing the covers away as he did so. Dana stretched with a groan—then went abruptly still.
This was Dana’s first morning after, he realized, and she looked startled, confused. As he thought about how wild she’d been through the night, he could understand why and couldn’t resist teasing her a bit. “It’s too late for modesty now, baby. I’ve already looked you over head to toe.”
“R.J.” She levered herself up and stared down at him as if she were totally surprised to be in his bed. Her slumberous eyes looked deep and dark in her confusion.
Then the blush came and she quickly sat up, jerking the covers to her chin. That left him completely naked, and she indulged in some shocked staring before belatedly turning her head. R.J. stroked her hair. “It’s lucky for you I have to get ready for work, or I’d remind you of how useless that blush is.”
He sat up and kissed one shoulder where the sheet drooped. Dana glanced back at him, and he saw the boldness come into her eyes before she said, “If we wouldn’t be late, I’d show you that no reminder is necessary.”
The grin came slowly, followed by a laugh. Damn, but he liked waking up this way. He cupped the back of her head and pulled her toward him for a hard kiss. “You can sleep in, remember? As of today, you’re a free woman.”
He stood beside the bed and ran a hand through his sleep-rumpled hair. It was a second before he realized Dana was rigid.
In precise tones, she asked, “What are you talking about?”
Uh-oh. He took in her cold expression and the tight grip she had on the sheet at her throat and gave an inward wince. Last night, he hadn’t explained completely. Not after they’d gotten sidetracked with sex.
He decided to brazen it out, and with that plan, he sauntered to his dresser to pull out shorts and socks. Dana’s gaze moved over his naked body in open fascination, but her frown didn’t lessen one bit.
Another blow to his ego, he thought with wry humor.
“I told you, Dana. It’s no good you working in the office with me. Do you honestly think either of us will be able to keep our minds on work?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You said that was because you wanted me. Well, you’ve… had me.”
He chuckled at her naivete“. ”And you think that’s an end to it? Honey, all you’ve done is whet my appetite. Now that I know what I’ve been missing, I wouldn’t get a damn thing done with you sashaying around.”
She shot off the bed as if someone had lit a rocket under her. “I do not sashay!”
R.J. lifted one brow. “Well, I’ve got news for you. Whatever it is you do, it turns me on, so we’re not going to find a compromise here.” He went to his closet to pull out a suit “Besides, before I came home yesterday I contacted personnel and told them to send up some applicants today. I’m going to be interviewing for a new secretary during my lunch.”
There was a lethal depth to her quiet words. “You did what?”
“Megan gave me a few suggestions of employees due for a promotion. I’ve arranged to meet with them today.”
He could feel the explosive tension emanating from her, but he had no idea how to diffuse it. He felt helpless, and that made his temper erupt. “Be reasonable, Dana. What happened yesterday can’t happen again. I haven’t worked this hard to be a damn good president just to throw it away because I have the hots for you. Too many people rely on me, and by God, I will not let them down.”
She lifted her head like a queen and started toward the connecting door. “Fine. But you have absolutely no idea what qualities are necessary to handle your daily schedule. That’s always been my job, so I’ll pick the replacement.”
“Dana…”
She whirled on him like a small tornado. “Don’t you dare argue with me about this! I know the job, I’ll find someone suitable for it. Period. And you can just deal with a little sexual frustration until I do.” She stomped into her room and slammed the door behind her.
R.J. stood there, naked, confused, a little admiring. Dana had one hell of a temper when she let it loose. His ears were still rattling after the way she’d slammed the door. Another slow, perverse grin started. He was discovering new depths to her every day.
It made sense to let her choose her replacement; she did know the job requirements far better than he did. And now that he knew she was his at home, he could rein in his lust—he hoped.
Grinning, he went to the door and pulled it open and found Dana standing in the middle of the floor buck naked. She squealed and jerked a pillow from her bed to hold in front of her. “R.J.!”
Her modesty amused him, especially after how wild she’d been last night. “Hurry it along, honey. We never did eat last night, and I’m starved. We can breakfast along the way.”
Her nose went into the air. “You go along without me. I have things to do this morning.”
He scowled. “Like what?”
Keeping the pillow tight in front of her, she turned and headed into the bathroom, affording him a delectable view of her slender back and long legs.
“Like finding a new job, of course.”
The bathroom door closed on his curse. Stubborn, obstinate, contrary—sexy. Why couldn’t she just stay home and let him take care of her? And just who the hell did she think she was going to go to work for, anyway?
R.J. pictured another man ogling her the way he had, thinking the thoughts he’d thought, and he wanted to strangle the man without even knowing who he was.
He arrived at work that day in a bitter mood, and it only got worse as the day wore on.
* * *
Megan watched R.J. brooding, and knew he wasn’t hearing a single word she said. The moment she’d arrived, Dana had shown her into his office—an unnecessary formality, to be sure—then firmly shut the door. It wasn’t often that door was kept closed, not the way R.J. and Dana had always worked together with an almost uncanny synchronization.
Megan lowered her gaze so R.J. couldn’t read the speculation there and asked, “Trouble in paradise?”
He glanced at her sharply. “What was that?”
“You’re hiring a new secretary, which I’m beginning to gather wasn’t Dana’s idea, and she’s got you closed in here like a m
ummy. What’s going on?”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
Megan looked at her oldest son fondly. “I couldn’t have asked for a better firstborn than you, R.J., but sometimes you can be very shortsighted.”
He fiddled with a pencil on his desk, then threw it aside. “I’m not your firstborn. I’m your first stray.”
Megan stiffened. “Don’t you dare insult me that way, R. J. Maitland! No, I didn’t give birth to you, but by God you’re mine.”
Whenever she lost her temper, it always amused her children, and R.J. was no different. His mouth quirked for just a moment before he repressed the grin. “You’ve never shown a difference, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one, If my father hadn’t been so worthless and self-indulgent, you’d be my aunt, as you should be.”
“True.” Megan stood and paced to the window, then added, “And I remember to give thanks often for the fact you were brought to me. Regardless of the circumstances, R.J., you’re my son now.”
He, too, stood, and put his hands on her shoulders. “Yes.”
He kissed her cheek, but Megan knew he was still buried deep in the guilt of his father, in the knowledge that he’d been “taken in.” R.J. had been born with an unusual amount of pride and self-determination. Nothing she could do or say would ever diminish it until he realized that he was fully his own man, with only the parts of his father that he chose to accept.
Megan turned to him, all business now. “I’d like you to call Dana in.”
“Why?” He looked disgruntled at the thought of seeing her, but he was already headed to his intercom. “Dana, if you could join us, please?”
Her voice was cool when she replied, “Yes, sir, I’ll be right there.”
R.J. ground his teeth.
Shaking her head at the foolishness of young love, Megan waited for Dana. She came into the room within ten seconds, but she didn’t look at R.J. She merely waited.
