by Chris Taylor
“That’a go, girl! Glad to have you back. For a while there, I wasn’t sure who I was talking to. See you at five.”
The line went dead in her hand.
Savannah replaced the handset slowly, still in shock over his language and then his abrupt change of tack. She replayed the conversation and thought about it. Until he’d drawn attention to it, she hadn’t noticed how subdued she’d been. She guessed it had stemmed from her concern that he wouldn’t want to meet with her—that after walking away from him at the brothel, she’d worried he’d wiped his hands clean of her.
When she’d seen him with Candi, she was sure whatever might have sparked between them was well and truly over.
She couldn’t deny how relieved she was that he seemed happy about their upcoming meeting. Surely, if he had no interest in her at all, he wouldn’t bother? A man like Will was certain to have an endless choice of ways to spend an evening.
Glancing at her watch, she noticed it was just past four. In a little less than an hour, she’d meet him face to face. Her heart rate accelerated. A frisson of nervous excitement zigzagged down her spine like an electric charge. Her request that he meet her at the Marble Bar hadn’t been a random choice. Apart from the fact she loved the intimate ambience of the gorgeous room that housed the bar, she was sure he’d remember the last time they’d been at the Hilton.
Did she intend to have passionate sex with him again?
She mulled the thought over. He’d told her Candi meant nothing to him. If she were honest, she’d have to admit, a repeat of their night at the hotel was far too appealing to ignore. Memories of their performance on the king-sized bed flashed through her mind. Heat immediately pooled low in her belly. She suddenly yearned to be naked and close to him.
She forced the desire from her mind and focused on the words on her computer screen. She tried to concentrate on the final aspects of the story she’d put together. She’d expected to submit it to Max the day before, but had lost some time preparing for the movie premiere and hadn’t had a chance to finish it. She still hadn’t caught up with him and only hoped that if she pretended his outburst hadn’t happened, it might be forgotten so she wouldn’t have to deal with his refusal to consider her follow-up story or worse, the unemployment line.
As if on cue, she looked up and saw Max lumbering toward her. Her stomach clenched with dread.
“Savannah? I’m glad I caught you. I meant to get back to you yesterday about this Black Opal thing.”
“Ah, yes, Max. I’m almost finished. You’re not going to believe—”
“Enough! I don’t want to hear about it. I told you already. I’m not printing any more stories about that brothel. Not now, not ever. Unless you have something else in the pipeline, it looks like you won’t have a story in tomorrow’s paper.”
“Max, I assure you, it’s every bit as sensational as the first one.”
He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if trying to bring his temper under control. “Savannah, your last story was great. It was shocking; it was sensational—it was everything I like to see in a front page story. But there are plenty of other brothels out there. I’m sure it’s not the only one pushing the boundaries of the law. Go and do a story on one of those, like I told you to.” He turned away and retreated toward his office.
With a sigh, Savannah stared at the words on the screen in front of her. It was a good story, just like she’d told Max. It wasn’t fair that he wouldn’t even look at it. She refused to accept the time and effort she’d put into it had been wasted.
With a determined set to her jaw, she quickly composed the final paragraphs and emailed it to her boss. Her brief burst of satisfaction was quickly replaced with fear that she’d just ended her short but illustrious career at the Daily Mirror.
She glanced at her watch again and saw that it was now a few minutes to five. She’d have to hurry if she didn’t want to be late. Shutting down her computer, she grabbed her handbag and walked quickly into the bathroom.
Pulling out a hairbrush, she ran it briskly through her hair, brushing it until it fell in soft, loose waves around her face. She riffled in her handbag for her purse-size bottle of perfume and sprayed her neck and wrists. A quick slash of bronze lip gloss and she was almost done.
Smoothing out the wrinkles in her short, black tailored skirt, she gave herself a once-over. Her crisp, white blouse now looked more than a little tired, but it would have to do; she didn’t have anything to change into.
Besides, one of the advantages of the Marble Bar was the discreet lighting throughout the room. It barely allowed for you to make out someone else’s face, let alone the state of their clothing.
It made it the perfect meeting place. At the end of a hot, sticky day, she never looked her best. She didn’t need to draw attention to it by meeting Will in a room with all the lights on.
With a final glance in the mirror, she picked up her handbag and left the room. As she waited for the elevator, she prayed silently she wouldn’t run into Max. Making her way out of her building without incident, her breathing picked up its pace. Excitement and nervousness vied for attention. She was only a couple of blocks from where the hotel was located in George Street. In a matter of minutes, she’d be there.
With Will.
In the Hilton.
Again.
CHAPTER 20
Will took a sip of cold beer from the glass in his hand and glanced at his watch. The beautiful bar, with its subtle lighting and elegant, but very masculine décor slowly filled with suits. It was five-ten.
She was late.
Her building was only a five-minute walk from the hotel. If she’d left at five, she should have been there by now. He couldn’t help the unwelcome thought that perhaps she’d changed her mind.
A shaft of disappointment went through him and he frowned in annoyance. He shouldn’t be having such a strong reaction to a woman he barely knew. He wasn’t used to feeling so possessive, so primeval—like he wanted to claim her for his own. He didn’t know if he was ready to deal with the emotions she stirred up in him. It had been a long six months since he’d allowed himself to feel anything other than icy determination to see those he held responsible for his brother’s death, behind bars.
He didn’t know what it was about this particular woman that had him agitated, nervous and excited all at once, but he couldn’t deny it was true. Every time he saw her, he wanted to take her home, take her to bed and then take care of her for the rest of his life.
He sighed in disgust. He was a goner. He couldn’t deny it any longer. He’d fallen for her. She was smart, feisty and beautiful. She did it for him. He only hoped the physical attraction she felt for him went deeper. He owed it to himself to find out and he wasn’t above exploiting her attraction for him if it meant she’d come around to his way of thinking. He’d learned the hard way that life was too damn short to waste time.
A whiff of exotic perfume drifted past his nose. A second later, he spotted her reflection in the mirrored glass on the wall behind the bar. She stood less than four feet away. Her gaze meshed with his for a long indefinable moment. His heart stuttered.
He swiveled around on the bar stool and shot her a slow, sexy smile. His gaze paused very deliberately on her chest which, he noted with satisfaction, rose and fell in rapid succession. Yes, he knew where her Achilles heel was. It had everything to do with the sudden hardness between his thighs.
“Sorry I’m late.” Her voice was soft and breathy. She moved closer and took a seat beside him at the bar.
“No problem. I hope you don’t mind me starting without you?” He indicated the beer in his hand.
“Be my guest. It’s not your fault I’m late.” She smiled, her beautiful eyes wide and guileless. His heart tripped over.
Oh yeah, he was a goner.
“What are you drinking?” he asked. “My treat.”
“Well, in that case, it’s top shelf all night.”
Will laughed. Warmth spread thro
ugh him. The iceberg in his chest cracked under the pressure.
“So, what’ll it be?”
“Mm, I’ll have a Kahlua and milk, thanks. Plenty of ice.”
“Kahlua and milk?” He smiled teasingly. “That’s such a girlie drink.”
“Excuse me!” Her tone was indignant, but her eyes sparkled with amusement. “I am a girl, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Oh, I noticed all right.” His voice dropped to a husky growl. “From the very first moment I saw you, I noticed.” He held her gaze. She blushed and lowered her gaze to her lap.
Patches of crimson stole across her face. He was filled with tender delight. “I love it when your cheeks go all rosy. It reminds me of how you look when you climax.”
“Oh!” Her cheeks turned even brighter, like a blowtorch had been applied to them. “Will, please, don’t.”
“Please, don’t what?” he murmured. “Please don’t remind you about the mind-blowing sex we shared? Please don’t remind you of the sighs you made when I kissed you behind the ear or licked your nipple or when I sucked—”
“Will, please!” She grabbed his arm. “I didn’t ask you to meet me to talk about this. I—”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. Come on, Savannah, it doesn’t take a genius to work out why you suggested we meet here. Of course you wanted to discuss this attraction between us, or you would have asked me to meet you at a bar downtown. There are only about a hundred others you could have chosen.”
He pitched his voice lower. “Now, are we going to be adult about this, or am I going to have to take you upstairs again and fuck you silly before you see sense? I’m beginning to think that’s the only language you understand.”
He turned back to the bar. “A Kahlua and milk, thanks—with plenty of ice.” He gave the order to the barman without drawing breath.
Belatedly, Savannah noticed the barman hovering nearby and realized he’d overheard everything. Her eyes widened in embarrassment and she turned her face away. When the barman took his leave, she reluctantly turned back to Will and flashed him a sheepish grin.
“Okay, okay.” She raised her hands in mock surrender. “I admit it, you’re right. I was hoping if we met at the Hilton, you’d remember when we were here last.” Her voice dropped to a husky murmur. “To be honest, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. I even hoped—”
She stopped, as if unsure whether to continue. Will held her gaze. His heart thumped hard. He silently urged her to continue. She stared up at him, her eyes dark with emotion. Need uncoiled inside him.
“You were hoping…?” he prompted.
“Uh, um… I…” She stumbled over her words as if overcome with shyness and her gaze fell to the scrunched-up fists in her lap.
“Savannah, look at me.”
After a moment, she met his gaze.
“Let’s give the Hilton a miss and go to my place. It’s right over the Bridge at Kirribilli. We’ll be able to…talk without interruption.”
Her face turned crimson, but her gaze didn’t stray from his. Desire turned her green eyes to emerald. His cock immediately reacted.
All of a sudden, his condominium seemed too far away. He lifted her hands to his lips and pressed kisses across her knuckles. It wasn’t enough. Leaning forward, he kissed her on the lips.
Sparks of heat and fire ignited inside him. He increased the pressure and slanted his mouth, taking all that she offered, loving the feel of her mouth against his.
She kissed him back. Her hand came to rest on his chest and caressed him through his shirt. A pulse fluttered rapidly against the soft skin of her neck. The sweetness of her lips nearly undid him. His cock strained against his pants. He wanted to take her there and then and slake his incredible need for her. Winding his arms around her, he tugged her off the barstool and pulled her in tightly against him. His lips found hers again.
“Ah hm.” The barman had returned. He placed Savannah’s drink in front of them. “That’ll be eight dollars fifty, when you’re ready,” he grinned.
Will reluctantly dropped his arms to his sides and moved slightly away, pleased to see Savannah’s breath came as fast as his. He tugged a twenty from his wallet and handed it over. “Keep the change.”
The barman accepted the money and nodded his thanks. “By the way,” he said. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but this is a hotel. We have rooms upstairs—pretty good ones too…so I’ve heard.”
Savannah ducked her head in embarrassment, but Will only laughed. “Thanks, mate. We might take you up on that.”
The bartender winked. “You two have a good night.”
“Oh, you can bet on it.” Will threw Savannah a cheeky grin. She smiled back at him and picked up her drink. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. Batting her eyes at him seductively, she took a sip of the creamy concoction.
He burst out laughing. “Lucky I already know how good you are in bed, Red, or you might have found yourself on your own tonight. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but your seduction routine needs a bit of work.”
“Really? It sure as hell worked on you the first time.”
A fresh rush of hormones centered themselves in his groin. “You’d better hurry up and finish that drink. It’s time we got out of here.” In a couple of quick gulps, he emptied his glass and set it down. She finished hers just as quickly.
Will put his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Let’s go home,” he smiled. Together, they walked up the stairs and outside into the still, warm evening.
* * *
“Wow, this is some view you have here.” Savannah took in the one hundred and eighty degree view of Sydney Harbour from inside Will’s condominium. The view wasn’t the only thing that was impressive.
Her entire unit could have fit inside his open-plan kitchen/dining/living room. A sixty-inch flat screen TV was mounted on the far wall and sophisticated stereo equipment stood discreetly in one corner. A fully stocked wet bar was situated in another corner, adjacent to the kitchen. A dark cedar, rectangular dining table that seated twelve stood near the double sliding glass doors that led onto a wide balcony.
Will had already given her a tour of the three spacious bedrooms, each with their own bathroom and gorgeous view of the harbor. A separate laundry completed the space. The color scheme in the condominium was a neutral pale gray with glossy white trims. Bold splashes of color had been added in the form of several original Pro Hart paintings which hung on the walls of the dining room. A burnt-orange modular leather sofa, big enough to seat a football team, complemented the artwork. The sofa curved seductively in front of the plate glass, floor-to-ceiling windows, taking maximum advantage of the view.
Savannah collected the glass of wine Will had poured for her earlier and headed out to join him on the balcony. He glanced up at her almost shyly from his position in one of the white cane deck chairs. “What do you think?”
She slid the glass door closed behind her and took the adjoining chair. His opened bottle of beer rested on the ceramic-tiled top of the matching cane table that stood between them.
“What do I think?” She shook her head, almost lost for words. “It’s totally and utterly amazing. It’s huge! I’ve never been in a condominium this big before. And the view is spectacular. How do you drag yourself away from all this every day and go to work?”
He gazed out over the balcony at the lights which twinkled around the shoreline. “Yeah, it’s a great spot, for sure.”
She sat her glass on the table and leaned forward. “How long have you lived here?”
“Nearly six months.” He hesitated. “I bought it right after my brother died.”
She remained silent, remembering the conversation they’d had about his brother—among other things—a couple of nights before.
“It’s okay, Savannah. Really. Cole did what he had to do. I might still be angry at myself for not seeing how close to the edge he was, but the saner part of me knows he made the decision all on his own. Dad
and I both tried to get him help. Short of an actual intervention, there wasn’t anything we could have done.” His lips compressed. “Of course, knowing how it ended, we should have done just that.”
“We’re all geniuses with the aid of hindsight,” she murmured, wanting to remove the shadows from his eyes.
“Yeah. That’s what I told Dad. At least, I tried to. He took it hard.”
“What about your mother?”
His eyes turned cobalt with emotion. “Mom died during childbirth. They couldn’t stop the bleeding.”
Savannah bit back a gasp of surprise, unable to believe the pain Will had experienced over the course of his life. With nothing more to offer than meaningless platitudes, she remained silent.
Will drew in a deep breath and exhaled. “Dad has always lived in the eastern suburbs. After Cole’s death, I had to get away from that side of town.” He lifted a shoulder in a slight shrug. “So, I bought here, in Kirribilli. Every time I leave work and I’m heading for home, I turn north. It’s kind of like turning my back on it all and moving forward.” He averted his gaze, appearing a little embarrassed. “At least, I hope I’m moving forward. It sounds silly, I know.”
Tenderness surged through her. “It doesn’t sound silly at all and I know exactly what you mean.” She moved her chair closer and stroked him gently on his stubble-roughened cheek.
He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against her fingers. “I think you really do.”
He moved his head until his lips were inches from hers. Moments later, there was no distance between them at all. His lips moved hungrily over the lush softness of her mouth and he groaned.
Her arms went around his neck and he deepened the kiss. She opened her mouth to his probing tongue. It swept inside and tasted her, loving her. He took her hand and pressed it against his erection.
“Let’s go inside,” he said huskily.
* * *
Will lifted Savannah into his arms and strode across the balcony. Her heart pounded in anticipation of what was to come. Opening the sliding glass door with his foot, he closed it behind them and carried her down the dimly lit hall. In what seemed like only a few seconds, he placed her gently on a king-sized bed with a carved headboard made of some kind of rich, dark wood. He lay down beside her and gathered her into his arms.
