by Lucy King
‘I also wanted to say that I’ve had time to reflect on the points you mentioned and have come to the conclusion you might be right.’
‘About what?’ He cleared his throat.
‘A number of things, but mainly the futility of guilt.’
‘I see,’ he said hoarsely, thinking that that was utter rubbish. All he could see was Phoebe.
‘Did you really feel that guilty about what happened to Jo?’
Alex blinked. ‘It consumed me day and night.’
‘Past tense?’
‘Absolutely.’
‘Good, because she doesn’t blame you, you know.’
‘I know.’
‘So blaming yourself is pointless.’
‘I know.’
‘Based on that reasoning I now see I may have been a bit hasty in rejecting your proposal.’
The pencil snapped.
Her smile deepened and she walked round the desk. ‘If you’re still open to the idea, I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t have an affair.’
His chair swivelled as he followed her every move. Hunger and desire roared along his veins and his erection strained and ached. ‘I’m still open to the idea.’
Then she was standing in front of him, her coat hanging open, baring soft skin and black lace and those shoes, and Alex’s vision blurred. ‘Earlier this afternoon you mentioned something about peeling my clothes off, spreading me out over a table and trailing your mouth over every inch of my body.’
Had he? That sounded like the best idea he’d had in a long time.
Phoebe sat on his lap and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. ‘I’ve done the first bit. How about you helping me with the rest?’
Her scent spun through his head and the last vestige of control snapped. He clamped one arm around her waist to keep her where she was and reached for the phone with the other. He pressed the button that connected to his secretary’s desk. ‘Cancel my appointments for the rest of the day and take the afternoon off,’ he said when she answered. ‘Something’s come up.’
Alex hung up and Phoebe let out a soft laugh. ‘Thank goodness for that. I thought you were going to call Security.’
He raised an eyebrow and smiled. ‘Why would I want to do a thing like that when you’re apologising so nicely?’
Phoebe gripped the back of his chair, lowered her mouth to his and kissed him so slowly and thoroughly that Alex’s head swam. As her tongue slid along his, his hands delved beneath the lapels of her coat and gently pushed it down her arms. She shrugged it off and then wound her arms around his neck and pressed her pelvis against his. She moaned into his mouth and Alex lost it.
With one quick move he wiped the papers and pens and things off his desk and lifted her onto it. Her coat fell to the floor. Phoebe untangled her hands from his hair and eased herself back onto the leather.
Alex stared down at her and thought he’d never seen anything so beautiful. The bra she was wearing was a strapless concoction of lace and silk that pushed her breasts up and out. Further down, she wore a matching suspender belt and the tiniest excuse for knickers he’d ever come across.
The blood roared in his ears and then he found he could barely think. Only act. He unclipped her bra and slipped it off her and her breasts spilled free. He ran his hands over the rounded flesh and rubbed his thumbs over her nipples. Phoebe gasped sharply and arched her back as if begging him to take them in his mouth. Alex leaned down and trailed a string of feather light kisses over the sensitive skin of her chest before flicking his tongue over the straining nub.
‘Oh, God, don’t stop,’ she whispered raggedly. ‘Don’t ever stop.’
Alex didn’t plan on stopping. He lifted his head for a second to gaze down into her face. Her cheeks were flushed and she was biting into her lip as if trying to stop herself from crying out.
He kissed his way down the soft skin of her stomach and pressed his mouth to the hot wet heat of her. Phoebe jerked as if he’d branded her.
Alex’s fingers shook as he hooked them under the thin lace at her hips and pulled her panties down her legs. His hands circled her ankles, slid up her shins, swept up her inner thighs and her legs fell apart.
His hands moved round to cup her bottom, then lifted her to his mouth. Her hips automatically tried to twist but he held them down. He pressed his thumb against her clitoris and she groaned.
Then his mouth was on her, licking and sucking and tasting with just enough pressure to drive her wild. He felt her tremble, heard her breathing shallow and, as he licked deeper inside her, felt her tense and then shatter. His mouth pressed against her, absorbing every tremor shuddering through her, milking every drop of her desire. Eventually, when the aftershocks subsided, he kissed his way up her body, feeling every tiny nerve ending of her skin jumping as he did so.
Alex planted his hands either side of her and leaned over her. Her face was flushed, and her eyes a dark shimmering green. A satisfied grin spread across her face and Alex felt something shift deep inside him. ‘This was supposed to be about what I could do for you,’ Phoebe murmured.
‘Too late. Every time I sit at this desk,’ he said hoarsely, ‘I’m going to see you. Like this. It’s going to be agony.’
She pushed herself up on her elbows and gave him a slow smile. ‘Well, we can’t have that, can we?’
Her eyes dropped to the huge bulge in his trousers and widened. He was so hard he ached and he was seconds away from unzipping his fly and plunging straight into her without a thought for the consequences.
Stunned by the ferocity of his desire Alex jerked back and removed himself from temptation. The taste of her on his tongue had addled his brain.
Phoebe slithered off the desk and reached for her coat. ‘Is this what you’re looking for?’ she said, delving into the pocket and pulling out a condom.
Too right. He lunged for her but she dodged him, instead backing away in the direction of the sofa, a come-hither look in her eye that he couldn’t have resisted even if he’d wanted to.
Alex matched her pace for pace, not breaking eye contact with her for a second. He ripped his clothes off and tossed them to the floor. Phoebe slipped out of her shoes and suspender belt and rolled down her stockings, her teeth digging into her lower lip and her steps becoming more and more languid until she stopped altogether.
Alex didn’t stop. He’d never seen anything lovelier. Taking the condom out of her trembling hands, he shoved one hand in her hair and kissed her hard, twisting her around and pulling her down with him onto the sofa.
Phoebe sprawled on top of him, her breasts crushing against his chest. His hands stroked over the backs of her thighs and up over her bottom and she moaned into his mouth.
In one quick powerful move, he tipped her off the sofa and onto the rug. As his hands and mouth roamed over her Phoebe’s soft, stunned laughter soon turned to moans of pleasure. Slipping a finger deep inside her, he watched her writhe and gasp and arch her back. And when she was convulsing around him, crying out his name Alex lifted himself over her and drove into her.
A fever raged inside him as he saw her eyes widen and felt her muscles clamp around his length. Her legs wound round his waist as if she never wanted to let him go. Her nails raked his back as between pants she told him exactly how he was making her feel.
Her hips rose to meet every thrust in perfect synchronicity. Alex’s heart hammered. The blood thundered around his body and pleasure pounded along his veins. No one had ever made him lose control like this. As his head went blank of everything except pure need Alex gave in and let his body take over. His thrusts quickened, intensified, became harder and faster. He felt her tense and then shatter in his arms, and as waves of ecstasy slammed through him Alex plunged deep inside her, buried his face in her neck and with a great groan hit the strongest, most intense climax of his life.
They lay there together for a few moments while their breathing slowed then Alex rolled onto his back and pulled Phoebe with him.
‘Have dinner with me tonight.’
She rested her chin on his chest. ‘I can’t.’ She sighed and he felt it reverberate through him. ‘My parents are having a party. They have it every year. For the great and good of the city. It’s a nightmare.’
Alex waited for her to ask him to go with her and wondered how he’d say no. When she didn’t it annoyed him. Which irritated him even more. He ought to be delighted that she understood the no-strings rule, but bizarrely he found himself wanting to know what her family was like. What sort of people had shaped the woman she was. ‘Some other time perhaps.’
‘That would be nice.’
If she wasn’t going to invite him he’d have to get there some other way. ‘What time do you have to be there?’
Phoebe picked up his wrist and glanced at his watch. ‘In a couple of hours. I ought to go.’
She started to wriggle away, but Alex flung an arm around her to stop her going anywhere. He felt himself stirring inside her and her eyes widened. ‘I’m not sure you’re done apologising,’ he said and tugged her head down for a kiss.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PHOEBE STEPPED OUT of the taxi and looked up at her parents’ house with a familiar feeling of misgiving. Even the afterglow of this afternoon couldn’t wipe out the ribbon of trepidation that wound through her.
And what an afternoon… How she’d ever plucked up the courage to turn up at Alex’s office dressed like that she’d never know. Throughout the taxi ride she’d been convinced the driver had known exactly what she was up to. But it had certainly paid off. Phoebe went dizzy for a second as a flush swept up through her body and she had to clutch onto the railing for balance.
It had been on the tip of her tongue to invite him tonight, but she’d thought about the definition and general properties of a fling just in time and had bitten back the words. So she was on her own. As usual. It had never bothered her before, so why was it bothering her now?
Taking a deep breath and telling herself not to be so idiotic, she pulled her shoulders back and walked up the steps. The glossy black door swung open and a wall of warmth and chatter hit her. She smiled at the waiter and handed him her coat then wandered into the drawing room and started to squeeze her way through the guests. With any luck she could say a speedy hello to her parents, avoid her siblings and leave after half an hour.
She’d start with her mother. Phoebe spied her by the fireplace and made her way over, feeling tension seep into her with every step.
‘Hi, Mum,’ she said, giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and bracing herself for an attack.
‘You’re late.’
‘You look nice.’
‘Thank you. So do you.’ Her mother cast a critical eye over her outfit and nodded with approval. ‘Good. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.’
Oh, no. Not another one of her mother’s attempts to get her to switch careers. Other people’s mothers engaged in not-so-subtle efforts to marry off their daughters. But not her mother. She’d apparently made it her lifelong mission to rescue her daughter from the clutches of the frothy world of PR by any means possible. ‘He’s a friend of Dan’s. Try and be nice.’
Phoebe fought the urge to stamp her foot like a petulant child and bleat that she didn’t want to be nice and she didn’t need to meet another man who thought he could whip her off the PR track and set her on the straight and narrow. But her mother had a firm grip on her arm and Phoebe was left with no choice but to follow.
Five minutes. That was all she’d give whoever her mother had lined up for her, and then she’d leave. She’d shown her face and that would have to do. All she wanted was to go home and flop into bed and relive the glorious hours she’d spent in Alex’s office.
Phoebe fixed a bland smile to her face and rummaged around in her head for her stash of stock responses.
‘Here we are.’
She glanced round to where her mother was looking and her jaw dropped. She’d recognise that back anywhere. Only an hour ago she’d been raking her nails all over it.
Alex turned and a bubble of delight started bouncing around inside her. What on earth was he doing here?
‘Phoebe, this is Alex Gilbert. He’s a venture capitalist. Alex, this is my daughter Phoebe. She’s in PR.’ Her mother scrunched her nose up. ‘But I’m hoping you might be able to make her see the light.’
‘I’m delighted to meet you,’ he said softly, a smile hovering at his lips. He dropped a kiss on her cheek and she swayed as she breathed in his scent.
‘Me too.’ Her voice sounded husky and she cleared her throat.
‘Perhaps some of you will rub off on her.’
‘I’ll try and make sure that it does.’
Phoebe felt her cheeks flame. God, he was gorgeous. Dressed in a navy suit and pale blue shirt he looked dark and dishevelled and Phoebe felt her heart lurch.
‘Remember. Rub.’ Her mother patted him on the arm and made a little circular movement with her hand.
‘How could I forget?’
Her mother blushed and giggled, then dashed off muttering, ‘Charming. Quite charming.’
Phoebe stood there stunned. Since when had her mother blushed and giggled? ‘Alex,’ she said, when she eventually managed to find her voice. ‘Gatecrashing again?’
Alex grinned. ‘Why do you automatically assume that I receive so few invitations that I have to gatecrash parties?’
‘You mean you actually have an invitation?’
‘I do.’
‘Who from?’
‘Your brother.’
‘Why didn’t you mention it earlier when we—?’ She broke off and went red.
‘I didn’t have it then. I rang your brother after I dropped you home.’
‘Why?’
Alex shrugged and frowned slightly as if he couldn’t work it out either. ‘I was intrigued.’
‘By what?’
‘Your family. They sounded interesting.’
‘You think?’ she said, her eyebrows shooting up.
‘Perhaps “interesting” isn’t the right word. Your mother I’d describe as a force to be reckoned with.’
He sounded as if he thought that was a good thing. ‘She’s a Rottweiler in couture.’
Alex laughed. ‘She’s been telling me all about you.’
That really didn’t sound good.
‘Would you like to know what she said?’
Alex was standing so close she could feel the warmth coming off his body and she swayed involuntarily towards him. His gaze roamed over her face as if he was trying to memorise every millimetre. Phoebe’s mouth went dry and her surroundings faded until all that she was aware of was a hot flame of desire burning deep inside her and a desperate need to kiss him.
‘Not really,’ she breathed, staring at his mouth. ‘I’d much rather—’
‘Hello, Ditz, darling.’
Phoebe jumped as the strident voice of her sister pierced the bubble that had enveloped them. She blinked as if coming out of a trance and caught the amused quizzical expression on his face. ‘Ditz?’ he murmured.
Phoebe couldn’t believe it. Why now? After all these years?
‘Family nickname,’ she mumbled. ‘A very, very old family nickname,’ she added, swinging round and glaring at Camilla.
‘Now that’s something your mother didn’t mention,’ Alex said with a grin.
‘Probably because most of us have forgotten about it. Haven’t we?’ she said pointedly to her sister.
But Camilla wasn’t paying any attention. Instead she was staring at Alex with undisguised admiration. ‘Who’s this?’
Phoebe performed the introductions and watched as her sister gave Alex one of her most dazzling smiles before turning back to Phoebe.
‘So how’s the fluffy world of PR?’
Ah, how long had that taken? Thirty seconds? Camilla was slipping.
‘Still fluffy.’ She’d long since given up trying to justify what she did to her family. ‘How’s the matter-o
f-life-and-death world of cardiac surgery?’
‘Busy. They’re making me Head of Department.’
‘Wow, congratulations.’
Camilla grinned. ‘Thanks. Of course, it’s going to be mad. So much pressure.’ She laughed and shrugged and batted her eyelids in Alex’s direction. ‘You know sometimes I wish I had a job like Phoebe’s. All glamour and long lunches. Parties and celebrities and gorgeous shoes.’
Phoebe felt the old familiar feeling of hurt swell up inside her. Calm down, she told herself. She doesn’t mean it. She forced herself to smile and opened her mouth to mumble some sort of agreement.
‘Actually, it’s not all long lunches and parties, is it, Phoebe?’ Alex’s voice sounded mild but she cast a quick astonished glance at him, and saw that his jaw had tightened and if anything he looked even bigger and taller than she remembered.
‘What? Oh—er—no.’
‘Are you in the same field?’ asked Camilla.
‘No. But I’ve seen her in action. And it’s extremely hard work. Everyone only sees the results. They don’t see the hours of effort put in. The constant juggling, the management, the organisation.’ He smiled lazily but the look in his eye was razor sharp. ‘It might not look like life and death, but reputations can hang in the balance and the way the balance goes can have a serious impact on those involved.’
Crikey. Even Phoebe was now seriously impressed by what she did.
His eyes pinned Camilla to the spot as he continued his ruthless attack. ‘And who do you think it is who comes to the rescue of hospitals when a story appears about a patient dying on the operating table, or some misdemeanour during routine surgery?’
Was her ice-cool sister actually blushing?
‘Yes—er—I see what you mean.’
‘From my own experience Phoebe has been first class.’ He shot her a look that curled her toes. Which particular experience was he talking about?
‘My sister was about to lose everything.’
Good, the professional one. Not the personal one. Not the hot and steamy and fiery one. Excellent. Wasn’t it?
Phoebe gave up trying to work out what she thought she ought to be thinking and decided to just wallow in his praise. Who knew when she’d get another chance?
