She twisted slightly, turning her face from his so she could shut her eyes and regain her wits. Lucas was nearly impossible to resist, but this Lucas was deadly. Desperate to change the atmosphere, she blurted the first thing that came to mind.
“No, you have no idea, if you try to speak for me again,” she warned threateningly.
His face darkened. Whether it was due to her refusal to acknowledge what he was trying to say or at the implied mention of Kai, she didn’t know.
But she could handle this Lucas.
“I take care of what’s mine,” he grumbled. “And I’m not oblivious to your tactics right now, either. But I’ll let you have your way for now.”
She ignored him. “I’m not a possession, Lucas.”
“You’re mine.”
His words sent a dark thrill through her. She shuddered lightly but tried to push the feeling aside. “No, Lucas. The prize-winning cattle on your family ranch is yours. I’m not livestock. I don’t belong to you or to anyone.”
She gasped at the unexpected intrusion when he slipped a finger between her folds. Her traitorous body leapt awake when he added soft kisses along the curve of her shoulder, but she struggled to hold onto sanity. “Aren’t you going to respond to me?” she asked breathlessly.
He turned her face so that his gaze bore into her once more. His eyes were alight with something she couldn’t place – none of the earlier anger, humor, or tenderness although it was tinged with warmth.
An uneasy feeling began to form, but was soon forgotten when he whispered, “I don’t want to argue with you … but I agree, you’re not livestock. You’re much more precious.”
And his mouth descended once more as he proceeded to make her forget her annoyances, her reservations, and her middle name.
Chapter Sixteen
Sophie had just finished buckling her seatbelt when he pushed up the armrest between them and leaned over, his lips barely touching her soft earlobe. “If you get nervous during the flight, we can always go check out the bathroom,” he whispered suggestively, his warm breath caressing the sensitive shell of her ear.
She tried to give him a stern look, but she couldn’t help the shocked giggle that escaped her when he wiggled his eyebrows at her and winked.
In the recesses of her mind, it dawned on her that she giggled.
Giggled.
She was in some seriously deep shit.
The only way she could describe the last week was idyllic. Their days were a mix of business and recreation. At the office, Lucas was usually the first one in and last one out, so the first time he’d suggested doing something that didn’t have to do with sex or business, she’d looked at him in surprise.
He’d laughed at her expression and begun rummaging through her suitcase until he found a bathing suit. He’d tossed it at her and told her to be ready in ten minutes. Twenty minutes later, he helped her fit snorkeling gear on. They’d spent that afternoon mostly underwater with him patiently showing her the ropes and indulging her newfound fascination with the coral and all things underwater.
The next day, he took her to see the Rainbow Falls before they went on a volcano tour. Her favorite activity was when he’d arranged for them to have a private swim with dolphins. She’d taken immediately to the gentle, intelligent animals.
One of them had grown equally attached. The playful animal had rubbed his nozzle against her nose after she’d given him several loving strokes. When Lucas made to kiss her, he’d emitted the equivalent of a dolphin growl and had positioned himself possessively in front of her, blocking Lucas from reaching her. She laughed while Lucas shook his head at her new finned friend.
“Can’t even win with a damned animal,” he grumbled, half jokingly while she laughed with delight.
And then there were the nights.
No business, no excursions—just the heat of their bodies as they sought to give one another pleasure in the darkness.
He’d taken her endlessly, over and over until she could swear he’d imprinted himself on every inch of her body permanently. At times, he was rough, dominating her body thoroughly while she lay and gladly took everything he had to give her. Sometimes he was gentle, loving her body with a quiet reverence that made her feel like he was holding precious treasure in his hands.
But then there was always the aftermath.
Despite the tenor of their lovemaking, whether rough or gentle, after each and every time, he cradled her body in his arms while she came down from the climb, stroking her hair all the while pressing soft kisses against her damp forehead and whispering nonsensical phrases she tried not to hear.
But it was impossible for her mind to erase the beauty of everything he’d shown her, everything he’d given her. Every moment she’d spent with him was now indelibly branded in her mind.
She tried to catch herself in the few moments she was alone, telling herself it was improbably for this to last. Eventually, he’d get tired of her or he’d find someone new.
Experience had painfully taught her that handsome, dynamic, rich men did exactly that. She just needed to remind herself of this on a daily basis and not get caught up in the romance and mystique that surely had to be a result of the magical island.
That was especially hard to do when one particular handsome, dynamic, rich man had his lips pressed against her neck. Even as the pilot prepared for takeoff, she tried in vain to mentally coach herself.
She tried so hard that she didn’t even notice that they were now in flight.
“Champagne, Miss Harlow?”
With a start, she turned to look at the flight attendant, who in turn, gave her a bland expression.
Alcohol sounded like a fabulous idea.
She nodded, but her answering smile felt weak. “That would be lovely, thank you.”
Champagne settled on the tray in front of her, she pulled out the novel she’d meant to read during the trip. It was a best-selling mystery she’d picked up at the airport before their departing flight that had remained untouched during the entire time she’d been in Hawaii.
Oddly enough, he left her to her own devices. She tried in vain to focus on the lines of black typeface, but the words just swam together. She was acutely aware that he didn’t touch her or try to distract her from her book.
It wasn’t like she wanted him to or anything.
Disappointment swelled in her chest as it dawned on her that this was likely the beginning of the end. It had been an almost perfect trip, but she’d known what she was getting herself into when she’d stepped foot into the hotel restaurant their first night on the island.
So lost in her thoughts, she started when she realized he was speaking to her.
“Excuse me?”
A wry grin crossed his handsome face nearly stealing the breath from her body. No matter how close they’d been or how often they were together, his sheer masculine beauty never failed to weaken her defenses.
After all, it was how she’d ended up in this mess in the first place.
“I asked you if it was a good book,” he intoned expressionlessly.
“Oh yes, it’s really interesting. Very well-written,” she rushed out, slipping her index finger inside the pages to bookmark her place.
Which was meaningless really, because even though she’d slowly perused the pages for the last hour and half, she’d absorbed absolutely nothing.
“That so?” He arched a brow, waiting for her response.
She slowly nodded. Something was going on, but she didn’t just yet know what it was. “Yes, it’s a best-seller.”
He simply chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” she demanded as annoyance swept through her.
He simply looked at his watch before returning a knowing gaze to her. “Nothing really—just that you haven’t turned a page in thirty minutes, and despite what you think I think of your professional capabilities, I know it doesn’t take you thirty minutes to read two hundred and fifty words. Five hundred, actually, if you add the
adjacent page,” he added generously.
She could feel the color rise in her cheeks. “I just have a lot on my mind, that’s all,” she said defensively.
He leaned closer, crowding her space. His clean, masculine scent assaulted her senses and she did her best to ignore it. “Is that so, my love?”
She sat in the window seat. There wasn’t much room for her to draw away and regain her senses. She didn’t even think to ask him why he’d called her “love” even though it was the first thought that popped into her mind when he’d said it so casually.
“Yes,” she whispered, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
Even though they hadn’t known each other that long, over the last week she’d become intimately acquainted with his behaviors.
Especially when seduction was on his mind.
Slowly, he brought his hand up to her mouth and traced a finger leisurely across her plush lower lip.
Every nerve of the sensitive skin ached for more as his touch swept slowly over it. “Liar,” he whispered as his eyes held hers captive.
She couldn’t pull away from his touch even if she wanted to.
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
He snuck a finger under her chin and tipped her face so that her downcast eyes met his once more. “Just tell me what’s going on, baby.”
Her resistance was shot. Her brain worked overtime, sending signal after signal that this was going to end in disaster, but her heart refused to listen.
She’d dated several handsome, good-looking guys, but deep in her heart, she knew the way he appeared to the outside world had nothing to do with how she felt about him.
It was the way he looked at her like he could divine all of her secrets.
The way his eyes gentled, however subtle, each time they graced her form.
The way they came together, magnetically, as if it were nature and physics running its full course.
And if she was completely honest with herself, it was how just being around him made her feel like she was coming home.
Danger.
Signals flashed in her brain, desperate to reign in the romantic, unrealistic train her thoughts had taken.
“Work,” she blurted awkwardly.
Lines on his forehead drew together as he stared at her quizzically.
“What?”
“We need to figure out what we’re going to do about work. I don’t want this getting out.”
“You don’t want this getting out,” he repeated slowly as his eyes bore into hers.
She shifted uncomfortably and foolishly pursued reasoning that didn’t seem to make much sense to her to begin with. “Well, yes. You just brought me on, and we just came back from a business trip in Hawaii, and I don’t want my reputation to be tarnished—“
He lifted a finger, and she ceased rambling. Here was where he told her to go jump off a bridge, or it was his way or the highway.
“Okay.”
Puzzled, she stared at him dumbly. “Okay?” she repeated.
He gave a short, curt nod. “Okay Sophie. If this is what you want, I’ll wait for you to come around. I can deal with it.”
For some strange reason, she felt deflated. “You’re okay with us being a secret.”
He nodded once, authoritatively, before he paused thoughtfully. Once more, he gripped her chin in his fingers, this time the grasp a touch tighter. “You need to understand one thing before I completely agree to this.”
The pit of her stomach felt bottomless as she waited for him to state his terms. Half expecting him to bust out with something egregious like an open relationship or him being able to date other women, oxygen left her body when he leaned close to her ear and whispered his demand.
“No one else. I don’t want anyone else and I won’t share. After everything is said and done, you’re mine.”
He pulled back, letting his words settle. His eyes were hot and silver, and she had no doubt that if they had the privacy of being alone, she’d have been underneath him in an instant. He caught her by surprise when he leaned close once more and her knees felt weak as the meaning of what he said sank into her.
“And I’m yours.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Tyrone, I need three copies of the contract for the Hiliau acquisition. And can you please grab a cappuccino if you happen to find yourself at the Starbucks downstairs? If not, it’s OK,” she added as an afterthought as she mindlessly scanned through the paperwork that littered her desk.
Even moving her finger away from the intercom button felt like a chore. Hopefully Tyrone was able to procure some much-needed caffeine.
She couldn’t keep herself from smiling, though. It was stupid, and it was silly, but she’d rather put in an IV filled with coffee if it meant sacrificing a few extra hours of sleep for mind-blowing, earth-shattering orgasms.
Fifteen minutes later, she smiled as Tyrone entered her office with two large paper cups adorned with the Starbucks logo in each hand and a thick manila file folder tucked under his armpit.
He held out the coffee first, and she reached for it gratefully just as he pulled it a few inches beyond her grasp. “Nah ah.” He wagged a finger from the hand still holding the coffee while he set his own cup far out of her reach.
Her smile quickly faded, and she glowered at him. “I’m exhausted, and unlike some of us, I have work to do. Please give me my coffee and the file, and then you can go read the gossip blogs or call your boyfriend.”
She felt guilty for being nasty, but four hours of sleep did that to a person.
Luckily, her assistant was difficult to offend. Instead, he arched a perfect eyebrow and cleared his throat before he plopped down in the cushioned chair across from her desk.
Still holding her coffee.
She kept her eye on the cup all the while contemplating whether or not she could effectively tackle him with heels on without spilling any of the precious liquid.
“Bitch, puh-leeeease.”
At his knowing, sly tone, her eyes flew to his face, and she forgot all about the coffee, her sleep deprived slate, and Tyrone’s sheer laziness.
Focus, Sophie.
She raised an eyebrow at her erstwhile employee.
Or rather, Lucas’s erstwhile employee.
And then, at the thought of Lucas, she squeezed her thighs together at the pleasant rush that assaulted the space between her thighs. Just this morning, he’d—
“Excuse me!” Tyrone snapped his fingers sharply, in a way only he could, jolting her out of her reverie.
She glared at him. “Give me my coffee and get out.”
The insolent man-boy (as she’d come to fondly think of him) smirked at her in response.
“Why are you smirking?” she demanded.
He raised another brow, this time impossibly high, at her. “Honey child, the better question is why are you walkin’ around the office smirkin’ all the time. Like all the time. Like you ‘da cream just waitin’ to be lapped up and the cat just got ahold of you.” Tyrone normally spoke in perfectly cultivated tones, but when something juicy happened, he let out his Southern side full force.
Memories of exactly that morning flooded her mind and she knew without a doubt she was no longer just flushed.
Her face was flaming fire engine red.
“Tyrone!” she managed to get out somewhat furiously.
Dark brown eyes regarded her knowingly. “Honey, you got it bad. At least it looks like you’re getting it just as bad … and I mean bad in a good way,” he winked.
Forget red. She was now officially as purple as a turnip.
“I hate you,” she hissed.
He grinned at her and finally placed the folder and her coffee within her reach. His voice returned to normal tones when he spoke next.
“Thanks for answering all of my questions about what happened in Hawaii. You know they say the best trait of a lawyer is the ability to deliver messages in a succinct manner.”
The beginnings of a low
scream formed in her throat, but Tyrone quickly escaped. He gave himself a pat on the back after he’d taken a few steps down the hallway.
Thank goodness he’d had the foresight to close her office door. That woman could shriek like it was nobody’s business.
*****
After she’d composed herself, she took a healthy sip of her cappuccino and dialed Liz, who greeted her cheerfully.
“What’s cookin’ good-lookin’?”
“This is a huge disaster. I’m in so much trouble,” she groaned.
“You’ve been back a total of two days. How much damage could you have done?”
“I think people know about me and Lucas,” she whispered, even though there was no one else in her office and the door was shut.
“Speak up, I can’t hear you.”
“Ha-ha. You can hear me just fine. I’m not going to scream an announcement about my love life to the world, Liz.”
Liz was silent on the other end of the line.
“What? Are you still there?”
“You said love life,” Liz said quietly.
“Huh? So?” Confused, she waited for Liz to respond while she kept an eye on her inbox. Three new messages within the last thirty seconds. One marked “Urgent – RE: Merger” from one Lucas Sinclair.
“Ugh, I don’t have time right now, something’s going on with the merger, and Lucas needs me.”
“Drinks at The Perfect Martini at 7:30 sharp. If you’re not there, I am coming to the office, and I will drag you out by your hair,” Liz threatened.
“Fine, fine,” she muttered. “I’ll see you later. Love you.”
After Liz said goodbye, she hung up the phone and clicked into her email. Seeing Lucas’s name in bold print sent a tiny jolt of electricity through her.
Stupid woman. Stupid, stupid woman.
A few seconds ticked by while she waited for the email to load. Words in bold, italicized print stared back at her:
CONFIDENTIAL CORRESPONDENCE
Ms. Harlow,
There has been an urgent development for which I need you to help me address immediately. Due to the highly sensitive nature of this matter, please keep this to yourself. Additionally, I am concerned about information leaking to the wrong ears, so we will conduct the meeting offsite. A car is waiting outside of the building to take you to the meeting location. The meeting will begin promptly at 11 AM. Please arrive promptly.
Beyond Bliss Page 13
