Emotion flickered in the depths of her eyes. She bit her lip. He inched toward her, enjoying the heat of her skin through her stiff black dress. “Or about what we need”
He’d had enough of her no-touching routine. Right now he needed to hold her more than he’d ever needed anything. “Come with me.”
Chapter Fifteen
Louis grasped her hand and she didn’t fight him. Slowly, without betraying the urgency he felt, he led her through the crowd of gyrating bodies and toward the exit.
She didn’t protest as he led her past the uniformed waiters handing parting gifts to the guests. Or even when he ushered her into a waiting elevator.
The doors closed leaving them alone for the first time since his arrival in New York. His lips and hands fought the urge to take hold of her and kiss some sense into her.
A glance up at the security camera restrained him.
Sam looked at him, nervous and expectant, as they stepped out into the silent lobby. She muttered a nervous goodbye to the security guard at the desk.
Outside the elegant Hardcastle building that took up most of a Fifth Avenue block, lamplight created pools of golden light in the darkness. “We’ll go to my hotel,” he murmured, shielding his voice from the scattered passersby. “It’s only two blocks away.”
Sam didn’t protest. She kept stride with him in the warm fall air. “I wonder what they’ll say when they realize I’ve gone.”
“I hate to say it, but they’re probably all having too much fun to notice.”
Her pained expression made him regret his words.
She looked away. “You’re right, of course. I sometimes get an exaggerated sense of my own importance. I forget everyone else has a full life of their own to occupy their time.” Her voice shook and he felt her hand cool in his.
Louis stopped walking, spun in front of her and took both her hands. “You are important. You’re the reason we’re all here tonight. Your energy and vision and heart made it happen. And you’re important to me.” He said the words with force. He felt so much more than he could put into mere words.
As her delicate mouth quivered, no doubt preparing a rebuttal, he leaned in and kissed her.
Her lips parted and welcomed his mouth to hers. His arms instinctively slid around her waist and he held her against him, kissing her with all the painful longing he’d stored up over the past days and nights.
A shudder rippled through her, the force of her relief so strong he could feel it like an electric jolt. She was every bit as hungry and desperate for this kiss as he was.
Finally the synapses of his brain started firing again and he managed to pull back. Sam blinked like an animal startled out of its burrow. Her mouth opened to speak, but no words came out.
“We’d better keep walking.” He slid his arm through hers. “We’re nearly there.”
Sam put on dark glasses when they approached the entrance to the elegant hotel.
“Shades at night?” Louis couldn’t resist teasing. “Worried the lobby lights will be too bright?”
“I could run into someone I know.”
“So? We’re not doing anything criminal.”
She glanced at him. The wide, black lenses hid her eyes, but the muscles in her jaw were rigid. “Maybe not criminal, but...scandalous.” The final word came out as a whisper.
Truth be told, it shot a bolt of lust right through him. Apparently the scandal thing just didn’t get under his skin the way it did with Sam.
But he respected her wish for privacy.
He guided her across the shimmering marble floor of the hotel lobby, enjoying the elegant sashay of her tight behind as she walked in front of him. The prospect of seeing her naked in his bed again made his skin hum with excitement.
She stood in the back of the elevator, dark glasses still covering her beautiful eyes, while the doors closed.
“I think the sunglasses make you look like you have something to hide.”
“I do.”
“At least you can’t hide it from me.” Again, only the security camera made him keep his hands off her luscious body, pressed so enticingly against the marble wall of the elevator.
His fingers stung with anticipation as he unlocked the door and ushered her in. He’d ordered champagne and caviar at the front desk and it was already being delivered when he and Sam arrived at the room. He tipped the waiter and ushered Sam inside.
Heat flared through him as the door closed behind him with a click.
“I do hate eating caviar off dry saltines. A beautiful woman’s naked body is so much more sympathique.”
“You’re wicked.” She lowered the glasses to reveal a mischievous gleam in her own eyes.
“With my wild upbringing, how could I not be? Take pity on me anyway.” He cocked his head and allowed a grin to slip across his mouth.
“Apparently I can’t help myself.”
Somehow they’d already drifted together and his hands found their way to her hips. Her dress was black and structured, and hid the soft curves of her body under taut seams and crisp peaks of fabric. “We need to get this off.”
His voice came out a little huskier than he intended, but his request had the desired effect. Sam nodded and started to struggle with a zipper buried in a side seam.
Louis’s arousal thickened as he tugged the zipper pull along the hourglass curve of her waist and snuck a fingerful of silky skin on his way down.
Sam wriggled under his touch and a soft moan escaped her mouth. Together they struggled with the stiff silk, tugging it down over her pert breasts, past her slim hips and over her sweet, tight ass.
“Much better,” he breathed, when she stepped out of it. Now she wore nothing but a skimpy black lace bra and panties.
She blushed. “I hate panty hose in summer.”
“Me, too. All that nylon makes my legs itch.”
Sam giggled. Her eyes zeroed in on his crotch, which hardened when she reached for the button on his pants and boldly unfastened it.
With careful concentration, she unzipped and pushed the fabric down over his thighs and calves. “I’m going to have to take my shoes off,” he said, as the touch of her soft fingers on his skin almost deprived him of rational thought.
“Oh, yeah. Let me unlace them.”
The view from above, as she crouched to unlace his shoes, was magnificent. Her delicate panties only had a slim string in the back, revealing her well-exercised backside in all its taut perfection.
Sam turned her attention to the buttons of his shirt, pressing her thighs to his as she unbuttoned them. Louis grew as hard as the bedrock under Manhattan.
He couldn’t keep his hands off her. Her body was an enticing combination of soft curves and strong muscle. His fingers roamed over her smooth, warm skin, reveling in all the sensations he’d missed during their agonizing evening of no touching.
Sam’s fingers shook as she struggled with the buttons. Her breath came in unsteady gasps. Her urgency was palpable.
Which gave him a wicked idea.
“You know, Sam,” he murmured, watching her fingers undo the last button and push the shirt back over his shoulders.
“What?” She didn’t look up from her task. Apparently she was too engrossed in pushing the rumpled broadcloth down over his arms.
“I think maybe you were right.”
“Right about what?” She fumbled with one of the cuffs, which was buttoned.
“Maybe we shouldn’t touch each other.”
Now she looked up. Her blue eyes narrowed. “You’re kidding.”
The shirt, hung up on that last button, came free and fell to the floor, leaving him dressed only in a pair of boxers that did absolutely nothing to hide his intense arousal.
The look of sudden desperation on her face almost made him reconsider.
But not quite.
She’d put him through the hell of keeping his hands off her, when he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and hold her.
Let
’s see how she liked it when the tables were turned.
“I obeyed your rules when you decided we shouldn’t touch.” He cocked his head. “Now I think it’s only fair that you obey mine. Don’t you agree?”
She licked her lips. Her nipples had tightened to rosy peaks beneath her transparent bra and her belly trembled visibly with arousal.
“Why?” she rasped.
“For fun.” He let a naughty grin slide across his mouth. “Go lie on the bed.”
It was a command, not a question.
She peered at him for a second, then crossed the room with elegant strides. He couldn’t peel his eyes off the delicious view of her backside in its provocative underwear.
Mrs. Hardcastle clearly had a wild streak that she kept very firmly under designer wraps.
He was going to make it growl.
She eased onto the bed on her stomach, all lithe tan curves and thinly veiled enthusiasm.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” he said, standing over her so that the light cast his shadow on her skin.
He wasn’t sure he could trust himself, either. But it would be fun trying.
“I’ll be good.” She blinked innocently.
“If you’re not, then do I have the right to take appropriate corrective measures?”
She peered at him, mischief sparkling in her eyes. “Of course.”
“Excellent. I can see we understand each other.” He walked to the table where the champagne sat cooling in a silver ice bucket. He poured a single flute.
He walked back to the bed, carrying it between his thumb and forefinger. “Since we’re avoiding touch, we’ll explore the other senses. First, taste.”
He held out the glass. “I want you to take a sip.” She reached for it. “Don’t swallow any of it. Just take the champagne into your mouth and enjoy the taste of it. Then, you’ll pass it to me.”
“Without touching?” She looked doubtful.
“Not even a tiny brush of skin.”
Wary blue eyes on him, she rose onto her knees and took the glass—avoiding his fingers with care—and took a sip. He watched her face as the bubbles tickled over her tongue.
Louis climbed on the bed, careful to keep a few inches between them, which was a challenge given the movement of the mattress.
He lay on his back and maneuvered his head between her parted legs. The scent of her silky skin wrapped around him.
Just who was he trying to torment, here?
Sam leaned forward, a cautious smile on her face, her cheeks slightly swollen with champagne. She poised her mouth about an inch over his—which nearly killed him—and he opened his mouth so that she could drip the champagne into it.
Warm and sweet from her mouth, the sparkling liquid felt like a taste of heaven on Louis’s parched tongue. Only one drop spilled and rolled over his chin.
He swallowed and licked his lips. “Thanks.”
Sam grinned. He saw her glance down at his shorts, where his intense arousal must be very evident.
“Name another sense.”
“Um,” she bit her luscious pink lip. “How about hearing?” She narrowed her eyes, apparently doubtful that he could manage it.
“Excellent choice. You’re going to listen to my heart rate while I tell you some of the things I could be doing to you right now.”
Her eyes widened.
“Lie on your side.” He waited for her to shift to one side of the bed, then he positioned himself alongside her, so his chest was level with her head. “Come close,” he whispered. “But remember, touching has its consequences, so be careful.”
She edged toward him, bracing herself on the soft mattress with manicured fingertips, wary as a hunter. She paused an inch or two from his chest, tucking her silky hair behind her ear. A diamond glittered in her soft, pink lobe and he fought a sudden urge to forget this stupid game and just kiss her.
“Oh, my gosh,” she exclaimed. “I can hear your heartbeat and it just sped up!”
Louis grunted. This whole stunt might reveal too much about him to a woman who obviously had way too much power over him. He was pretty on edge after all the emotion of the day and the excitement of meeting his new siblings.
“Go on, do tell. I want to know what revs your engine.” Sam grinned, clearly relishing his disadvantage.
“You do,” he growled.
“So I see. And I want to hear exactly what you’d like to do to me.” Her blue gaze challenged him to lie to her.
Louis stretched a little, causing her to pull back a bit or risk touching him with her cheek. “First, I’d like to trace my tongue all the way from your glittering earlobe, down your sensitive neck, to your nipples.”
“Sounds promising.”
Her grin irked him. “I’d like to undo your bra with my teeth.”
She raised a brow. “This one has a tricky hook.”
“I have talented teeth.”
“Ooh.” Her dimple grew deeper. ‘Then what?”
“I’d like to lick your nipples until they grow hard.”
“Won’t take long.”
“Then trail my tongue over your belly and down past your waist, until I reach the top of your thighs...”
“Your pulse is thumping.”
“I’ll bet.” Louis could barely think. His blood had departed his brain for lower regions, which throbbed painfully. “And then...all right, enough of this nonsense.” He rolled off the bed, away from her.
Whose dumb idea was this?
Chapter Sixteen
Sam’s eyes shone. “Which sense is next?”
She was enjoying this far too much. She was supposed to be the one suffering.
“How about smell?” she continued. She’d flipped onto her back and lay supine, arms behind her head, giving him a dangerously enticing view of her gorgeous body. “I’d like to smell you. All over.”
Louis gave her a funny look. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It’s been a long day.”
“All the better. Come on. It’s not fair for you to have all the fun.”
“All right, knock yourself out.” Louis eased himself back onto the soft covers. At the very least, this should diminish his agonizing arousal.
At least that’s what he thought until Sam climbed over him.
“Hey, wait, your hair’s touching me.” The fine strands brushed his chest like butterfly wings, making his skin twitch.
“Doesn’t count.” Sam leaned closer. Her hair brushed higher as her nose sought out his neck, then his cheek.
Worse than the tickling on his chest was the fact that he could smell her. The familiar French scent blended exquisitely with her own delicately erotic, feminine fragrance. The result was magic, like a thousand-dollar bottle of wine, the perfect freshly dug truffle or the finest handmade Swiss chocolate.
Did her husband choose that scent for her?
His father?
His muscles knotted and he jerked up. Their cheeks clashed and his chest collided with hers.
“What?” She sprang back.
“Enough,” he growled. “This is killing me.”
“It was your idea.”
“I’m an idiot.”
She shot him a sympathetic look, but excitement danced in her eyes. “But you still have to pay the consequences, so it’s only fair if you tell me what you were going to do to me if I touched you.”
Oh, yes. He’d been right about that wild streak. Desire flashed through him. He’d unleashed the real Sam, the energetic and creative person who’d kept quiet and played nice all those years.
She excited him more than any woman he’d ever met, and his desire for her stung his veins and drove him half mad.
To complicate matters, they were already “family”—in the most unconventional way—so there was no disappearing over the horizon when the party ended.
But he didn’t care. They were on this adventure together and he intended to strap in and enjoy the ride, wherever it took them.
Even if it meant l
etting her tie him up.
Sam laughed at the look on his face. Cocky and apprehensive. She wouldn’t have thought those two could go together. But she’d never met a man like Louis before.
“Go on, spill.” She leaned in, giving him a view of her cleavage that attracted his eyes like a hypnotist’s pendulum. “What should I do with you?”
She probably should be surprised by the flirty tone in her voice, or by the way she kept edging closer just to torment him, but for reasons she couldn’t explain she felt totally...comfortable.
“Well.” He licked his lip, which caused a pleasurable throb between her legs. “I had intended to tie you—very gently—to the bedpost so I could have my wicked way with you.”
A rakish smile crossed his mouth.
“Ooh. Sounds like fun. I’m sorry I’ll miss out.” She pressed a finger thoughtfully to her lip. “Now, what shall I tie you with?”
“Your bra.” He seemed to be struggling to tug his eyes away from it. In fact, his obvious appreciation for her entire body was more arousing than she could have imagined.
Under his gaze she felt powerfully female and desirable, maybe for the first time in her whole life. “What was that you said about your talented teeth?”
He raised a dark brow. “Is this some kind of dare?” “Absolutely.” She thrust her breasts under his chin. His obvious pleasure in her action only encouraged her to wriggle a little under his gaze. “I’m waiting.”
“I don’t think I can do it without touching,” he rasped, eyes still riveted on her breasts.
“Touching is okay, just no hands.”
Her skin craved his touch with an intensity that made her body sparkle with anticipation.
Louis eyed the clasp in front of her bra like a jewel thief studying a challenging safe combination.
Sam managed not to squirm as his face lowered between her breasts and he closed his mouth over the clasp of her bra. His lips brushed her skin and sheer pleasure shivered through her. Her nipples hummed at his nearness, and in anticipation of being freed from their lacy cage.
In about three seconds, Louis had the clasp undone. He looked up, triumph gleaming in his eyes.
A Taste of Heaven (Billionaires' Secrets Book 3) Page 10
