by Desiree Holt
Taylor cocked her head. “Something wrong? Are they going to attack me or anything?”
“No.” Noah finally swallowed some of his coffee. “To the contrary. Josiah pretty much left the Harts alone to run things and they’re a little nervous, Jocelyn especially, about you.”
“But why? She doesn’t even know me.” She frowned. “What did you tell her about me?”
“Very little. But she wants to make a good impression on Josiah’s daughter. She can be a very good friend, Taylor. I trust both of them.”
Taylor let out the breath she didn’t even know she was holding. “That’s good to know.” He trusted the Harts but did she trust Noah Cantrell? She wavered from one moment to the next.
“We’ll figure out time for you to meet with Tony and go over the ranch operation. Maybe take a riding tour.” He narrowed his eyes. “Do you ride?”
Taylor wanted to laugh. “Yes. I won’t embarrass myself. Or you. My God, I had no idea the scope of even the smallest things I’d be stepping into.” She gulped half of her wine.
Noah removed the glass from her hand and set it aside. “Maybe you’d better cut back on this until we finish talking.”
She tried to reach for it to grab it back but he gripped her wrists.
And there it was again, the heat that flared with the instant combustion of a Formula One engine, so incendiary it could have ignited the cabin. Their earlier encounter, rather than banking the fires, had only increased a thirst for each.
We can’t keep doing this.
This wasn’t a devil riding on Noah’s shoulders alone. She was just as securely in its grasp. She was like a child in a candy store, long deprived and now with a feast spread out before her.
“Noah?” Her voice was questioning, her eyes seeking answers. Tell him to back off. But just as in the bedroom, she was paralyzed in the grip of desire.
He stared at her for so long she began to feel uneasy. “God damn it,” he said at last and bent his head to capture her mouth.
She opened for him almost automatically and his tongue probed like a silken sword. She responded with a thrust of her own as if it were a given and pressed her body against his. Her breasts crushed against his hard chest and the thickness of his erection pressed against the softness of her belly. What was it about this man that made her take leave of her senses whenever he touched her? Made her instantly hot and wet, her pussy quivering for his touch?
He drew back his head and looked at her, his breathing not quite even. “Jesus. You make me crazy. I get too close to you and I lose my mind.” He lifted her in his arms, carried her to the couch and laid her back against the cushions before she could find the words to object.
When he pressed a button in the table next to the couch, the captain’s voice came over the speaker. “Yes, Mr. Cantrell?”
“Miss Scott and I are in the middle of a project we need to finish before we land. Can you tell Carlos not to disturb us until I buzz again?”
“Yes, sir.”
Taylor looked at him through eyes half shut. This is true insanity. “They’ll know what we’re doing.”
“No. They won’t.” He raised an eyebrow. “Would you rather we went into the bedroom? Then there won’t be any question.”
Taylor felt heat climb up her cheeks.
“Let’s get something clear.” Noah pulled her blouse loose from her slacks and pushed it up to her neck. “You may have made the first move in San Antonio but after that it was my show.”
“I…” she swallowed and tried again. “I don’t…”
“Yes. You do. And the sooner you admit it, the sooner we can figure out how to take care of whatever this is between us and get on with business. The next week is going to be high pressure and you’ll be on display all the time. We can’t hide in a corner and fuck whenever the urge hits us. Which seems to be every five minutes.”
She struggled against his hold on her. “I was right. You’re an insufferable ass.”
The ghost smile crossed his face. “I think the word you used was arrogant.”
“Why me?” She tried to put space between them with words? “Surely you could have any woman you wanted, not some short, dumpy female who can’t begin to match your experience.”
His jaw clenched so tightly she was afraid it would break. “I don’t know who’s been giving you such bad ideas about yourself but you are more woman than any man should be expected to handle.” His hands traced the line of her breasts, paused at her waist then moved over her hips and thighs. “You have a wonderful lushness that makes my dick get hard when you even walk into a room. Everything about you shouts ‘female’. Does that answer your questions?”
He pushed her gently back against the cushions and unzipped the fly front of her slacks. With her legs draped over his lap, he slid one hand inside her lacy bikini panties, satisfaction blatant in his eyes when he discovered her wetness.
“The body never lies, little girl.” His fingers slid into her folds and found her swollen, sensitive clit. He pinched it lightly and pulled on it.
Her breathing stuttered and she tried to squeeze her thighs together. “I thought… we were having…a business discussion. You said…no sex while we talked business.” She could hardly get the words out.
“No. I said I wasn’t going to fuck you. And I’m not. Next time I bury my cock in you we’ll be taking a lot of time to get it just right.” His breathing was ragged, his voice not quite steady. “But I can’t keep from touching you. I want to feel that cunt flex around my fingers again. And my cock in your mouth.”
Taylor felt fire flash through her entire body. “This is insane.” I know I’m out of my mind.
“No” His voice lowered, deepened. “This is what we need.”
The pad of his thumb pressed against her clit as he slid two fingers inside her pussy. He began stroking her slick inner walls with a gentle rhythm. The movement of his fingers and the touch of his hand were hypnotic. This man only had to look at her and she was aroused. Touching her set a match to the flame. The love the feel of his skin against hers and the hard musculature of his body as he held her splayed on his lap. She knew she was soaked, liquid pouring form her like a waterfall.
“Oh, God.” She shifted, tried to spread her legs but Noah held her in place.
He increased the speed of his stroke, his thumb pushing and pushing on her clit. When he raked his nail across the tip Taylor nearly came off the couch. “Easy, little girl.”
Don’t stop what you’re doing.
She wanted to come so badly she ached. She wanted his whole hand inside her. No, she wanted that hot erection inside her. God, what was she turning into?
“Please,” she begged.
But the incredible feeling rolling through her body wiped away all rational thought. She was on a roller coaster, climbing to the crest of the peak, reaching for the downhill slide. Everything was moving, faster and faster, waves of sensation rolling through her.
Noah moved one thigh infinitesimally closer to him. When he slid a third finger inside her and began massaging her clit in a circular moment, the roller coaster bumped higher and higher. The speed of his thumb and fingers increased, stroking harder, his eyes never leaving her face. When she began panting and moaning, he pushed her bra up over her breasts and took one nipple between thumb and forefinger. He pinched it, hard and she poured into his hand. The walls of her hot channel clenched around his fingers, pulling at them. The orgasm swept over her, shaking her like the tremors of an earthquake and she pressed her fist into her mouth to keep from screaming.
Noah’s fingers stroked and petted her until the last shudders died away and her head dropped back. When her breathing settled to a semblance of normal, he rearranged her clothes, zipping and tucking and helping her to sit up.
Dizzy from the aftereffects of desires, she took the glass of wine he fetched for her, draining the rest of the liquid. Studying Noah’s face, she tried to see behind it but he wore an impenetrable mask. Why was she s
o attracted to him? He made her do things she only dreamt about in her darkest dreams, seducing her into a world of raw sex like the most addictive drug. Once they landed in San Antonio, he’d be sticking to her side like glue, leading her through the maze of corporate intrigue that awaited her. And there was the question again. How would they manage to keep from succumbing to the lust that held them in such an inexorable grip? And pretend to the world that it didn’t exist?
He was right about one thing. This thing that burned between them wasn’t going away by itself.
“You make me so hard I can barely walk.” His voice was almost guttural. “Touching you, making you come, only makes me harder.”
He was sitting beside her again, stroking her back, watching her through heavy-lidded eyes. When her eyes dropped to his groin she saw his fly was open and that enormous cock she couldn’t get out of her mind was staring back at her. Noah cradled it in one hand, his fingers moving idly up and down.
Although his hand pressed lightly against her spine, Taylor didn’t need him to tell her what to do. Or even ask her. She wanted to do what she’d missed during that one night. He was right. When it came to sex he was controlling her and that very power made her tremble with unbelievable need.
She felt saliva pool in her mouth as she looked at him and shivers skittered along her spine. Still shaky from the orgasm butterfly wings beating in her womb, she slipped off the couch and she knelt in front of him. Taking his cock in one hand, she slipped the other under his testicles lying heavy against his thighs. She’d never done this before. No other man had appealed to her enough, tempted her to taste them. But somehow with Noah she wanted to touch every inch of him with her hands and her mouth. As she took possession of him instinct took over.
She swirled her tongue over the head, licking up the salty bead of liquid shining on the purplish skin. When she pressed her tongue into the slit she heard the sharp intake of his breath. Slowly she took him into her mouth, sliding her lips down his immense length. She loved the silky feel of skin over the hardened steel of his shaft. Moving her lips and hand in concert, at the same time she used her fingernails to tickle his balls, lightly tangling the soft covering of hair.
Taylor heard the hissing intake of breath and when she raised her eyes she saw Noah watching her. The black pools of his eyes glowed with the now familiar look of lust. She held his gaze as she continued sucking and stroking, teasing and caressing. At first she gagged as her throat tried to close against the intrusion but she made herself relax and his cock slid in more easily. As he’d done to her, drawing out the sensations, refusing to let her reach that plateau, so she did to him now.
She heard him groan and his fingers wound through her hair, holding her head and moving it, increasing her speed. She squeezed his balls and felt them tighten up.
“Jesus Christ, Taylor. Do it.” His voice was harsh with need.
She wanted to laugh at the power she realized she had over this powerful man. With his hands directing her she pumped faster and sucked harder, increased the pressure on his balls. When she felt him push down on her head she knew he was ready to come. In seconds she felt the first splash of liquid against the back of her throat. She pumped and sucked until she felt the spasms stop, swallowing every bit of the semen he shot into her.
At last he moved his hands from her head and she sat back. Carefully she zipped his fly, tucked in his shirt and fastened the button at the waistband of his trousers.
Noah reached down and pulled her up to him, pressing his mouth to hers and sliding his tongue inside, the tip of it sweeping over every inch. Then he sat back and held out a hand to her to help her up.
“I wanted to taste myself in your mouth.” He rubbed a thumb over her lips. “It’s almost enough to make me hard again. God, Taylor. You’re in my blood.” He kissed her very softly, then got up from the couch, picked up his briefcase and extracted a folder. “Your schedule for tomorrow. Starting with the personal shopper at eight thirty.”
Taylor groaned. “Can’t we hold off on that for a while?”
He shook his head. “Appearance is everything. You are what you wear in this circle of people.” He was careful to take a seat far away from her.
“Then the executive staff? The board? All in one day?”
“Get it over with all at once.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You and I need to carefully plan how we handle this. What you say. How you say it. It’s important that everyone believe you’re in control from the beginning.”
“In control.” She stared at him. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle it.”
“Yes, you will. I’ll see you have all the tools you need to do it and I’ll be with you every minute of the time. Just as I promised. I owe a debt to Josiah and I mean to repay it.”
“How noble of you.”
“No.” His voice was hard, his eyes burning into hers. “Not noble. A matter of honor.”
Whatever else he might have said was lost as the speaker in the cabin buzzed to life. “Mr. Cantrell? We’ll be landing in fifteen minutes.”
Noah depressed the speaker button. “Thanks. Would you let Carlos know?”
“Yes, sir.”
Carlos moved silently through the cabin putting it to rights. Then he disappeared again to wherever he went. Taylor retreated to the bathroom to repair whatever damage the little interlude had created. When she returned, she and Noah belted themselves in. Moments later the plane bumped gently onto the runway and they sped down the runway toward the terminals.
* * * * *
Taylor’s watch, reset for Central time, read eleven o’clock when the plane rolled to a stop and the engines were switched off. Carlos came into the cabin, opened the door and flipped down the stairs.
Noah studied her face. “I have people waiting for us. Are you ready?”
Taylor swallowed hard. Did it show on her face, what she and Noah had been doing? Would people guess? Would that be their first impression of her? She looked at Noah, his face impassive, showing nothing at all. Well, she could be as composed as he could. She was Taylor Scott, after all. Daughter of Josiah Gaines. She took a deep breath and nodded. “As much as I’ll ever be.”
“Good. Here we go.”
Warm night air, moved by a soft breeze, washed over her as she followed Noah Cantrell off the plane. Floodlights cut into the darkness, lighting up a row of private planes in their tie-downs and the steel building that housed the offices for private aviation.
Two black Expeditions, twins of those in Tampa, stood waiting on the tarmac with three tall, lean and lethal-looking men leaning against them. Noah’s hand was at her elbow as they descended from the plane and he steered her toward the waiting vehicles. One of the men broke from the waiting group and came forward, nodding to Noah.
Do they all come out of the same mold? Taylor wondered. Is there a place that manufactures men like this and you just call up and order them? I’ll take twelve, please. Black suits, not gray. Hysterical giggles threatened to bubble from her lips.
The man and Noah shook hands. “Everything okay, amigo?”
Noah nodded. “As much as it can be. Tomas, say hello to Taylor Scott, your new boss. Taylor, meet Tomas Sandoval. He’ll head your personal security detail.”
He dipped his head once. “Miss Scott.”
“Security detail?’ With a shake of her head, she turned to look at Cantrell.
“He’s one of four men assigned to you. Handpicked by me.”
Tomas nodded. “We don’t want to alarm you, Miss Scott but since Mr. Gaines’ murder we’re ramping things up. Noah—Mr. Cantrell—felt since you a wild card being introduced into the equation, so to speak, he didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”
She looked up at Noah, stunned. “I’m in danger? You brought me out here so someone could kill me?”
The muscles in his face tightened. “Not if I can help it.”
Tomas looked from one to the other, a flash of something in his eyes. Then he opened the tailga
te of one of the Expeditions. “I’ll get Miss Scott’s things stowed. Then we’d better get going. Charlie and I will be the trail car.”
Behind him on the tarmac two black Expeditions stood with open doors. Tomas retrieved her luggage and placed it in the first vehicle, then handed the keys to Noah, nodded and walked toward the other SUV.
And then they were off.
Noah wound his way expertly along Interstate 10 leading out of San Antonio. It seemed to take forever to leave the city behind but then she realized it wasn’t much further than driving from downtown Tampa to its northern suburbs.
“You have a busy morning tomorrow so I hope you sleep fast.”
Taylor looked at her watch and realized her whole life had change in a less than six hours. “I’ll do my best.” Her voice held an edge of sarcasm that Noah chose to ignore.
“Open that folder I gave you. The personal shopper comes at eight thirty. Then you and I meet for an hour to go over details of the corporation. We’ll have a conference call with the attorney who drew up the will so you have all the details straight. There’s a copy of it in there. I suggest you look at it before you go to bed.”
“While I’m sleeping fast,” she grinned.
He slid a glance at her. “This is serious business, Taylor.”
She wiped the smile from her face. “You don’t need to lecture me, Noah. I never doubted that for one minute. Especially since I’ve just become target number two.” She blew out a breath. “What else?”
“Your office at corporate headquarters and a review with Carmen. The executive staff. We’ll break for lunch, which will give you a breather. Then the board of directors.”
“What am I supposed to say to them?”
“That’s part of what we’ll discuss in the morning. And watch out for Kate Belden and Paul Hunter. They’ll want a one-on-one with you right away. Hold them off until you’ve got your sea legs under you. At least twenty-four hours.”
