Defying the Billionaire's Command

by Michelle Conder

  The lighting wasn’t overly bright in the room but it was bright enough that he saw the flush on her cheeks and the darkened pupils, the way her eyes were fixed on his mouth. He felt her muscles tense and his body read the meaning even before his brain had fully engaged with the idea.

  Oh, who was he kidding? His brain, his body, his very being was invested in this and he was done trying to pretend that it wasn’t.

  ‘Carly.’ His voice was deep and gravelly and he felt her tremble in response.

  Dare set his hands to her hips. He wanted to take this slow and easy. He’d dreamt of having her beneath him ever since he’d met her and—

  ‘Dare?’

  Her gaze rose from his lips to his eyes and that was all it took to cement their destiny. His mouth swooped to hers, devouring her without any regard for finesse or seduction. He was hungry, ravenous, and she was exactly what he wanted to eat.

  She opened wide to him and Dare groaned, one hand buried in her hair to hold her exactly where he wanted her and the other pressing her against his erection.

  She made a soft, kittenish sound that drove him wild, and her hands kneaded his shirt, her teeth biting at his lower lip as if she was as hungry as he was.

  ‘If you don’t want this, Carly,’ he rasped against the delicate shell of her ear, ‘then stop me now.’

  She gave him one of those exquisite little shivers, her body arching almost involuntarily towards his. ‘I want it.’ She forked her own hand into his hair and dragged his mouth back to hers. ‘I want you to make love to me. I need you to make love to me.’

  Dare understood exactly what she meant. This feeling between them was a celebration of life and loss and for some reason he needed it just as much as he sensed she did.

  Her heartbeat thundered against his, although it could have just been his own, and Dare lifted her up as if she weighed little more than a feather.

  ‘Legs, around my waist,’ he croaked, already moving in the direction of his bedroom. His blood was storming through his veins and his mind was consumed with the smell and feel of her, his body throbbing to just throw her down on the floor right now.

  ‘Damn.’ He groaned as she squeezed her ankles over his backside. He could feel her hot core through their layers of soft cotton and he gripped the staircase to steady himself.

  He’d never had to navigate his spiral stairs with an armload of woman before and he laughed softly as she clung on like a spider monkey, attacking his neck with her sharp little teeth and lathing him with her tongue.

  Dare very nearly disgraced himself and then, thank God, the bed was in front of him and he dropped her onto it and yanked the sweats down her long legs.

  Slow down, buddy, his mind warned, but Dare was caught in a fever trap of desire he’d never experienced before and the need to make her his beat out his conscience.

  He pulled his own clothes off and grabbed her ankles, spreading her wide.

  ‘Condom,’ she breathed, bringing him back from the hazy edge of insanity.

  ‘Damn.’ He dragged his gaze from the heart of her body to her face and tried to rein himself in. This was too much. Way too much...

  He gazed into her eyes that were overbright with a lust that matched his own and he knew he wasn’t strong enough to heed the distant warning bell in his head.

  Swearing as he hadn’t since he was a teenager, he stormed into his bathroom and grabbed condoms. Since he didn’t ever bring women back to his sanctuary he didn’t have any by the bed. He would now.

  Rolling one on, he returned moments later to find Carly leaning up on her elbows, her vivid hair falling to the pale bedclothes behind her. There was a sense of wariness in her eyes and she looked as if she was trying to regulate her breathing.

  ‘Second thoughts?’ he asked gruffly, praying to God she said no.

  Her eyes flared wide as she took him in, her gaze hot as it skated down his chest and lingered on his shaft. He knew what she saw. He wasn’t a small man by any means and he was so hard the tip was resting against his belly.

  His eyes narrowed in on her reaction to the sight of him and if possible he went even harder as her legs shifted restlessly on the mattress, her lips parting as she breathed shallowly.

  Goddamn, she was beautiful.

  ‘No.’

  Dare’s breathing stopped. ‘No?’ he got out hoarsely.

  ‘Yes, I mean no...’ She shifted again as if she was aching for his possession. ‘No second thoughts.’

  Thank God.

  Dare grabbed her ankles again and slid his hands to her knees, only mildly less rough than before as he urged them to part. She was still wearing his T-shirt, her breasts thrusting against the fabric.

  ‘Take the shirt off,’ he growled.

  His heart felt as if it were trying to work its way out of his chest as she struggled to get the fabric over her head. When she was free of it she tossed it to the side and looked up at him.

  Dare’s gaze roamed over her pert breasts, her coral-coloured nipples standing to attention, her narrow waist and flared hips. ‘Holy, sweet mother of... Tell me you’re ready for me, Red.’

  ‘I am. I—’

  He glanced down at the dewy entrance to her body and fitted himself against her. She was so wet he slid in easily but he stopped part way, giving her body time to expand around him.

  He held himself still, sweat turning his skin slick, until he felt her tight inner walls clench and release and then he thrust forward in one powerful motion, coming over the top of her, his hands on either side of her head.

  She groaned when he fully seated himself inside her and, worried that he’d hurt her, he paused again. She whimpered and raised her hips, sliding her inner thighs along the outside of his and shattering his self-control in the process. ‘Oh, yeah, Red, grip me tight.’

  Dare powered into her, angling his hands beneath her bottom so that he hit the sweet spot that made her gasp and rub herself against him. He knew what she needed and, holding on by a thread, he thrust into her over and over until he felt her body stiffen right before it fluttered and rippled around him, signalling her climax and drawing him in deep; sending him spinning on his own powerful vortex of completion.

  Nothing, nothing had ever felt this good. He was sure of it and he only raised his sweat-soaked body from hers when he felt her stir beneath him.

  Good, she wasn’t dead, was his first thought. Good, he wasn’t either, was his second. Or if he was they were dead together and it didn’t matter.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ she panted, her arms lax above her head. ‘I may never move again but if that’s normal, then yes, I’m okay.’

  Dare chuckled and eased out of her. Nothing about what had just happened was normal but his brain was too stupefied to analyse it. ‘I’m sorry...’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘I came at you like an animal.’

  ‘We are animals.’

  He gave a soft laugh. ‘Only a doctor would say that.’

  With strength returning to his limbs, he levered himself off the bed and went to dispose of the condom. When he returned she was sitting up in bed and looked delightfully rumpled. She also looked as comfortable as a cat on a hot tin roof.

  Dare didn’t know what to think, actually he still wasn’t thinking, so he acted on instinct instead, bending to her and cupping her face in his hands. When her lips softened after a momentary resistance he stroked her tongue with his, feeling himself hardening all over again.

  She made a little moaning sound and he nudged her backwards onto the bed.

  ‘Dare?’

  ‘Shh...’ he murmured. ‘Let me love you properly.’

  ‘I’m not—oh!’ She stilled as he licked across the tip of her breast, her small nipple tightening in response.

/>   ‘I didn’t get to say hi to these guys,’ he said.

  Her soft laugh turned into a small whimper as he tongued her and drew her nipple into his mouth, suckling deeply.

  ‘Damn, you taste good, Red.’ And he needed to explore her. Explore every inch of her to find out what she liked and what she didn’t.

  Like this little pressure point in the bend in her elbow that made her gasp when he licked it, and the soft skin at the base of her throat that made her arch upwards, begging him to feast on her breasts again. And, oh, yeah, she really liked that.

  ‘Dare, I don’t think we should do this again.’ She shoved her hands in his hair as he flicked her nipple with his tongue but instead of pushing him away she held him closer, making sweet little female sounds that had that primal part of him wanting to ditch the foreplay and move right on to the mating.

  But he wasn’t going to do that this time because he was enjoying himself too much. It was as if no man had ever taken the time to give her pleasure and those sweet little keening sounds were turning him inside out.

  God, she was hot. So hot. ‘Open your legs for me,’ he murmured, nuzzling the undersides of her breasts and working his way south over the smooth skin of her belly.

  ‘Dare.’

  He shifted so he lay flat between her soft thighs, his chin resting on the golden red curls hiding her moist heat. ‘You know that ex of yours was the biggest loser letting you go, don’t you?’

  She arched her head back as he parted her with his tongue.

  ‘He never... I didn’t...’

  ‘Go down on you? Love you with his mouth? Taste your sweet, womanly essence?’

  He punctuated each sentence with light, playful flicks of his skilful tongue, honing her senses to the point where nothing else existed but him. And her. And this.

  ‘Oh, God, I never thought I’d find talking in bed such a turn-on.’ She gripped his head in her hands. ‘Please, don’t stop,’ she begged.

  Dare chuckled and blew a breath over her femininity. ‘Don’t stop what?’ he teased. ‘Talking? Or don’t stop this.’ He licked her again, more firmly this time.

  ‘That.’ She twisted against him. ‘Don’t stop that. Don’t stop anything. It’s so sexy.’

  ‘You’re the sexy one, Red. Sweet and sexy. Like your scent.’

  ‘Oh! God, I’m going to come.’ She made to pull away from him as sensation overwhelmed her but Dare held her hips tight until they shuddered with pleasure as she came against his mouth.

  ‘Dare... Dare...’ She chanted his name, reaching for him blindly, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, his hair. ‘I need you. Please, take me.’

  Not forgetting a condom this time, Dare rolled a rubber down his rigid length and rolled on top of her. This time when he entered her he did so slowly, savouring the exquisite warmth of her body closing around his.

  He groaned, determined to make it last, thrusting into her with firm, measured strokes until he couldn’t take any more. Until he felt the soft pulsing of her body and that little hitch in her voice that told him she was on the edge. Then, only then, did he completely let himself fall over the cliff with her and down the other side.

  What could have been hours, or only minutes, later Dare woke to find Carly sleeping beside him. He gently moved a strand of her hair to the side, gathered her against him and fell back to sleep with a satisfied smile on his face.

  CHAPTER NINE

  CARLY WOKE SLOWLY to the sound of a ringing phone. She moaned softly as her body ached in places it hadn’t before and then she blushed as memory returned full force.

  At the sound of Dare’s deep voice she scrambled for the sheet and pulled it up over herself. Seconds later Dare walked out of the bathroom with a towel slung low around his lean hips, his chest and arms rippling with lean, hard muscle.

  Oh, my God, she thought, he is a demigod. A bronzed demigod who belongs in the V&A.

  ‘Benson is awake,’ he said, tossing the phone onto the side table.

  Okay, so they were going to play this completely normal. Good to know. ‘What did the surgeon say?’

  ‘It was my mother and she sounded very optimistic.’ Which told Carly nothing at all. Family of critically ill patients always veered towards the bright side in these situations.

  ‘Your clothes are dry,’ Dare continued. ‘I was planning to visit him. Do you want to come?’

  ‘Of course.’ Benson was still her patient—sort of—and even though she wouldn’t be his attending physician post-op, she would have hung around to make sure he was all right, regardless.

  They were both quiet on the drive to the hospital. On Carly’s part she was still sorting through what had happened the previous night. It still stunned her that she had opened up about Liv the way that she had. Not so much that she’d told him, but more that she’d expressed her anger. Her bitter disappointment with herself. And Dare was right: Liv wouldn’t want her to give up medicine. Nor would she want her to run and cut everyone off the way that she had. It had all seemed so hopeless a year ago. But in Dare’s arms...when he’d held her and soothed her...

  Carly swallowed heavily. And the way he’d made love to her.

  She released a slow breath, hoping he was so engrossed in returning work emails he wouldn’t notice.

  At least, she presumed he was returning work emails. For all she knew he could be lining up his next woman.

  And when had she become so insecure?

  She sighed again. She was not going to blow this out of proportion. It had happened and it had been wonderful. More wonderful than she could have ever imagined. She made a face. She had thought she’d reached orgasm before but apparently she’d been wrong.

  But sex—no matter how earth-shattering—was not grounds to start measuring up white picket fences or planting fruit trees that took years to bear produce. She’d learned that lesson the hard way. And it wasn’t as if she had fallen in love with him. That would be...

  Carly’s hand squeezed her throat.

  Love? Who mentioned love?

  She swallowed. Tried to breathe.

  She wasn’t in love with him. She wouldn’t be that foolishly stupid. That brainless to fall for a man so much more potent than Daniel he might break her completely if she let him.

  ‘That’s a lot of sighing going on over there. You okay?’

  Startled, Carly glanced at him. ‘Fine.’

  His smile cocked a little. ‘You sure?’

  He reached out and entwined his fingers with hers.

  Carly’s heart kicked against her rib cage. God, the man was lethal.

  ‘Absolutely.’ Absently, Carly wondered if she could add acting to her résumé. But this was important. She needed to keep things in perspective. Dare wasn’t interested in long-term relationships and neither was she. ‘But I was thinking,’ she continued, ‘that it would be best not to let anyone know what happened last night.’

  Dare frowned. ‘Because?’

  ‘Well, because I don’t want to lose my job with the agency for sleeping with a client’s son, if it’s all the same to you, and I’m worried that Rachel and Benson might read more into it than they should.’

  ‘Don’t go getting your knickers in a twist,’ he said easily. ‘I was only asking.’

  She hadn’t realised she’d been holding her breath until his cavalier response, and then she felt silly. ‘God, you’re arrogant,’ she said, her temper directed mainly at herself.

  She was doing it again—making mountains where there should have been molehills.

  He grinned at her. ‘Next time I’m making you a morning coffee whether you think we have time or not.’

  Next time? Carly’s heart gave another jolt. She let out a breath. What was wrong with her this morning? ‘Sorry,’ she grumbled. ‘I’m worried
about Benson.’ Which wasn’t untrue, she thought. She was worried about him.

  ‘Forget it.’

  Dare rubbed her fingers almost absently.

  He’d woken up this morning to his ringing phone and hadn’t had time to think about much between then and now. Which meant that he hadn’t thought about how he was going to play this thing with Carly in front of Benson and his mother.

  And it irked him a little that she had because he was usually on top of these things. And it irked him more that she was right.

  If his mother knew he had taken Carly to his bed the previous night she’d be matchmaking within minutes. Actually she probably already was. It was as inevitable as breathing really. She wanted grandkids and short of adopting a set for him she saw potential in every woman he went out with.

  Well, almost every woman. Okay, so she hadn’t seen potential in any woman he’d dated so far, but that didn’t stop her from wanting him to meet someone and fall in love. And Carly was a perfect candidate. Smart, sweet-natured, beautiful, sexy.

  Man, was she ever sexy. If his mother knew how compatible they were between the sheets she’d be asking what jeweller he was going to.

  Probably Tiffany’s. He’d purchase one of those diamond rocks as big as his fist. He smiled as he thought of how his ring would look on her long, slender fingers. Maybe he’d get one a little smaller than his fist, he decided, but it would be as perfect as her smile.

  He frowned, then let go of her hand to fiddle with his phone.

  His heart felt as if it had relocated into his throat and he took a deep breath.

  What the hell had just happened? One minute he was thinking about sex and the next thing he was mentally shopping for rings? Okay, so it had been the best sex he’d ever had, but a ring?

  He chuckled, and reached for her hand again. She looked at him questioningly and he kissed the backs of her fingers. Smiled. For a minute there he’d nearly lost his head.

  * * *

  Benson was awake when they got to the room, but barely. He was still heavily sedated. Dare leant against the small window and watched Carly going over the doctor’s notes on his chart. His mother also watched her, waiting for her verdict that the other doctors hadn’t been feeding her false hope.