by Rhian Cahill
She eyed him.
“I don’t fuck around and I haven’t had a steady bedmate in a while.” He popped the button on his jeans and lowered the zipper. “Just check the date.”
Virginia wasn’t even aware condoms had use-by dates. Good thing she’d been going through them quickly. The thought stopped her. She’d purchased too many boxes to count and while her tally of men wasn’t huge, it was certainly not small.
Carter gripped her chin, tilted her head until her gaze met his. “Don’t. We do what we have to.”
“I…”
His thumb pressed against her lips. “You don’t need to explain yourself.”
“But—”
“No.” He leaned over and replaced his thumb with his mouth. “We all need different things at different times. Right now I need to bury my cock in your cunt.”
Her eyes stung—blurred—making her blink rapidly. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, Princess. I haven’t done as promised.”
“Oh?”
“I still need to fuck both our brains out.” He grinned and Virginia’s stomach dipped.
Her lips curled in response. “Then you better get on that.”
Carter eyed her. “You might want to get those clothes out of my way. I’m tempted to tear that blouse open but it looks expensive.”
She shivered. The man had a way with words. “Are we getting naked?”
“No. Just undo the buttons so I can get at your tits.” He pushed to his feet and shoved his jeans down his thick thighs to reveal his straining erection. “And bunch the skirt around your waist, if it’ll go that far.”
Virginia wiggled her skirt up with ease and then got to work on her blouse. By the time she was finished, Carter was on his knees between her thighs again. His cock covered with the condom. She licked her lips.
“Yeah. I’m gonna want you to do that later, too.”
“What?” she asked, her gaze rising to meet his.
“Suck my cock to the back of your throat.”
Her mouth watered. The idea of taking him between her lips a thrill she hadn’t expected. She’d never sucked a man before. Colin had been a straight missionary man—he got on, got off and rolled off—and the men she’d had since were single use. They fucked her and that was it. But she wanted to taste Carter. Wanted to know what it was like to have a guy come in her mouth.
“When?” The question was spoken before she’d even thought it.
“When what?”
“When can I suck your cock?”
Carter laughed. “One step at a time, Princess. Fucking brains out right now, remember?”
“I remember.”
“Then spread those sexy legs and let me get at you.”
***
Carter lowered his body over Ginny and breathed the first easy breath he’d taken all day. He was getting to her. He knew it. If he played it right, he’d have her coming back for more again and again.
Until she never wanted to leave.
She was out of his league. He knew that. She’d been born to money; even if she hadn’t told him, it was stamped all over her. Especially when she showed up in a designer suit that had to cost more than his first car had set him back.
The fact she’d brought that little part of her every day life here pleased him. But what pleased him more was the promise she’d just given him.
Exclusive.
He’d make sure to remind her of that before she left him tonight. And she would leave. She’d scratch her itch, and a little more besides, and then she’d run. He knew she was using sex to assuage her need for closeness. For an intimate act, it could be impersonal if done the right way, and Ginny had become an expert at anonymous sex.
Not with him.
He’d make sure whenever she was with him it was very personal. He traced the pearls at her neck, moved them to see the mark he’d left on her skin. “Pretty.”
“They were my grandmother’s.”
“I’m not talking about the pearls, Princess. I’m talking about my mark on you.” He grinned.
“Oh.”
“Yeah. In fact I like it so much I’m going to give you another one.” Carter lowered his head and pressed his lips to the upper curve of her breast—just above her bra cup.
He sucked quick and hard. Drawing the flesh into his mouth and working it with his tongue until he was sure to leave a bruise.
Letting go, he grinned. “Matching ones, I think.”
Treating her other breast the same, he marvelled at the fact she didn’t protest. One of her hands had found its way to the back of his head and she cradled him against her. Little breathy moans slipped though her lips while he suckled her breast.
They were skin to skin. His cock lined up with her cunt but he was suddenly in no rush to take her. He wanted her to relax. To really feel him. She couldn’t do that in the heated rush of fast sex. As exciting as that was, he also liked to take his time. And Ginny was one woman he wanted to take a lot of time with.
“Carter.” His name on her lips sent a shaft of heat to his balls. “Please.”
“Soon.” He soothed her with the lash of his tongue. “Soon, baby.”
He worked his mouth over her. Learned every curve from her neck to her waist with his lips and tongue. She squirmed beneath him. Her breath shuddering as he nipped at her nipple through her lacy bra.
“Please.” Ginny arched into him, her breast pressing into his face.
As her back bowed he sucked her taut nipple into his mouth, bra and all. He gripped with his teeth and tugged.
“Yes.” Both her hands were in his hair now, her fingernails clawing at his scalp. “Please.”
Her hips bucked, her wet pussy sliding over his cock with a scorching touch. He couldn’t hold off any longer. Lining himself up with her opening, Carter slammed forward and impaled her in one thrust.
A cry of pleasure tore from her mouth and he left her breast to taste her lips once more. He braced his elbows beside her head and held her face in his hands while he fucked her mouth with his tongue.
He took it slow. With his tongue. With his cock. He rode her long and leisurely and pushed them both towards release without the frenzy of their previous coupling.
Last night he’d fucked her. Tonight he loved her. And he hoped she could feel the difference.
Carter was done pretending.
Done lying to himself.
He was in love Virginia May Wexworth.
***
Virginia covered a yawn with her hand. Her tenth. She was burning the midnight oil. She’d been working long hours getting all sides of Exclusively Yours ready for the Christmas and New Year season. The boutiques were selling out of stock as quickly as she was ordering it in, and the dating agency was run off its feet with the flood of clients signing on at the last minute in the hope of finding a partner for all the parties held throughout what was definitely turning into the silly season.
And then there were her sleepless nights. She’d been visiting Carter every night and the last thing they did was sleep. Instead they spent hours having sex before Virginia left to return home. She’d walked in not five minutes ago from another night of bliss in his arms, but before she crashed she needed to get through this meal plan or there would be nothing for the girls to eat when they arrived tomorrow night.
For the first time in years she was dreading the evening. The reason for her reluctance was a solid 6’3” of mouth-watering male perfection. She’d told him earlier she wouldn’t be coming to Boyd’s tomorrow and she wasn’t sure who pouted more—him or her. Then he’d spent hours trying to convince her to cancel the dinner. She really wanted to beg off but it was her turn to host.
With a sigh, Virginia turned the page and looked at another possible recipe. Cooking was another part of her life where she excelled. Then again, she approached the kitchen arena like any other—with determination to succeed.
Shame she couldn’t have managed the same success with her marriage.
She blamed Colin for that failure. She’d done everything she could but unlike everything else in her life, her marriage held an unpredictable—uncontrollable—denominator. Colin.
It was hard to keep a marriage together when one of the married didn’t want to be married. Virginia would admit to letting him go without a fight, but having someone tell you they didn’t love you—you weren’t lovable—certainly punched the fight right out of you. She’d spent her childhood living with people who didn’t love her, why do it again as an adult?
So Colin had taken the permanent job offer in London and walked without a backwards glance and she’d been relieved she wouldn’t have to continue living a lie. Then she’d gone and turned her life into one anyway. Pushing that depressing thought away, Virginia flicked another page and found the perfect meal for tomorrow night.
She’d taken tomorrow—she glanced at the clock—today off to spend the whole day getting ready for the girls to arrive at seven. Her usual plan was to have the meal ready to serve before everyone arrived so that she could socialise but the thought of chatting—of pretending she hadn’t met a man who truly rocked her world—made her feel sick.
Or maybe it was the rocked world making her nauseous.
It had been two weeks since the first night Carter had taken her against the wall in his office. Two weeks of hot, sweaty, multiple-strings-attached sex. Virginia had never been scared of anything more than she was of her own emotions right now.
She’d liked him before they’d had sex. Now she was afraid she was a little bit in love with him. Okay, a lot. He’d wormed his way under her skin, into her mind—her heart—and she was petrified he’d find out she wasn’t lovable. That Virginia May Wexworth—the one she was every day—was shallow and snobby and stuck-up.
And a complete fraud.
She projected the perfect image to all around her. Advertised a dating agency that had failed its owner. And worse, she hid behind a wall of cool indifference that didn’t allow anyone to see the real Virginia. The one a man who poured her drinks and watched her pick up strange men knew. The one he called Princess and Ginny.
Her eyes stung, her nose tingling, and she pushed back her chair and stood. She didn’t need to be thinking this deeply with a sleep deprived brain and body. Walking out of the dining room, she switched the lights off and headed for her bedroom, where she fell face first onto the bed and let the tears fall.
***
Carter wasn’t sure what he was doing was the right thing but he had to do something to shift the state of their relationship. The doorman of Ginny’s apartment building looked him up and down while buzzing her apartment. He’d been smart enough to bring a box with him, so when he said he had a delivery that required a signature the doorman had no choice but to check if Ginny was in.
It also meant Carter didn’t have to give his name and she wouldn’t have warning he was coming.
The surprise on the man’s face when the call was answered and he was told to let the delivery up almost made Carter laugh out loud. But he bit the inside of his cheek and held it in.
Hanging up, the doorman eyed him another second before coming around from behind his counter. “This way.” Carter followed the older man to a bank of elevators. He watched as the guy swiped a card over a sensor and pressed the up button. “You don’t need to press any buttons. It’ll take you straight to the top.”
Straight to the top? Ginny lived in the penthouse? He should have known. “Thanks,” he said as the doors slid open and he stepped inside.
Carter took in the steel and glass finish of the lift and figured Ginny’s apartment was probably worth more than his business. He whistled softly as the car rose. There was no indication of how many floors were in the building and he hadn’t looked when he was in the foyer, but it took only a minute for him to reach the top.
With a quiet whoosh, the doors slid open onto a small entry. To the left was a set of double doors—the only set—and as he stepped forward to knock, the right one swung open.
“You have…” Ginny’s mouth hung open. “Carter?”
He smiled. She was dressed in one of her suits, this one a purple colour that he was sure had another name in her world. “Morning, Princess.”
“What are you doing here?” He noted she didn’t open the door farther or invite him in.
Carter wasn’t going to let that stop him. “I come bearing gifts.” He held up the box in his arms.
“What’s is it?” She still hadn’t stepped back and indicated he enter, but he’d come here on a mission to help reduce some of her stress and he planned to carry though with it. Especially now he’d seen the dark circles under her eyes and the droop of her shoulders.
“Dessert for your fancy dinner.” He moved forward, forcing her to step back or crush the box he held between them.
“Oh, but I was going to cook—”
He laughed. “I’m sure you were. And you’d probably be fantastic at it.”
Carter manoeuvred through the doorway and around Ginny before she could say another word. He took in the sterile all white living room that opened out in front of him. The view of Sydney Harbour through the far wall of windows was breathtaking, but the woman who’d closed the door and moved beside him had already stolen his breath.
“Nice place.”
It was Ginny’s turn to laugh. “I think that’s the most bland compliment the apartment has ever received. I assume that needs refrigerating. The kitchen is this way.”
He smiled. “Princess, nothing can compare to you naked, so that million dollar view doesn’t do a thing for me.”
Colour washed into her cheeks and Carter leaned towards her, but before he could kiss her she was taking the single step down from the platformed foyer and he was watching her delectable arse sashay across the room.
His longer legs soon caught him up with her and he just smiled when she eyed him sideways. He knew she had to be freaking out right now. They’d barely scratched the surface of personal in the last few weeks and while she’d been to his house a few times, he’d never been here.
It was like she was trying to keep the two worlds separate. But Carter wanted in on every part of her life and he decided today was as good a day as any. He’d help her get ready for her dinner party then make himself scarce for the few hours everyone was here. Or, if she insisted, he’d head to work for a while and come back later.
“Why are you here, Carter?”
“I thought you might need an extra pair of hands to get ready for tonight.”
“Don’t you have to be at the bar?” Ginny opened the huge industrial-sized fridge.
“No. Devon and Garrett have it under control.” He waited while she made room for the box then slid it onto the shelf she’d cleared.
“But surely you’ve got something better to do?”
Carter straightened and turned to face her. “Ginny, there is no place on earth I’d rather be than with you. And no, I’m not here for sex.”
***
Virginia glanced over at Carter. She’d put him to work cutting eggplant into one-centimetre slices for the vegetarian lasagne she was making for dinner. He’d gone with her to the grocery store; she could have had the necessary ingredients delivered but she wanted to test the water of them together in the real world.
It was one thing to be together here, at Boyd’s or at his place, but venturing out in public put a whole new spin on things. She smiled. They’d done okay. He’d done the gentlemanly thing and tried to pay for her purchases, which still sent a thrill through her. And when he’d suggested they stop somewhere for lunch, she’d taken him to her favourite café.
She knew they’d been seen by more than one acquaintance and wondered how soon word would get back to her mother. That was one conversation she didn’t want to have. Virginia didn’t feel she owed any explanations. Her parents hadn’t bothered to enquire about her life before now. Neither of them had commented on the absence of Colin in the five years he’d been gon
e.
“Hey.” Carter tapped the end of her nose with his finger. “Am I doing all the work?”
“What?” She looked down at the sweet potatoes she was supposed to be slicing. “Oh, no. I was just…” What was she doing?
“You were miles away. Want to talk about it?” he asked.
“Not really. It’s not important.”
“Are you sure?”
Virginia sighed. “I was contemplating the phone call I’m bound to have with Mother when it gets back to her that I was out to lunch with a man who is not the one I married.”
“And that’s a problem?”
“Well, it is when you consider no one but you, my lawyer and my ex know I’m divorced.”
Carter jerked backwards. “You didn’t tell your parents? How could they not know?”
She shook her head. “I don’t share my private life with anyone, especially my parents, and no one has ever questioned why Colin is never by my side. He was rarely with me in the eight years before we married and nothing changed after. I guess nobody cares enough to be curious.” Virginia shrugged. The lack of interest about her absentee husband from those closest to her had always bothered her, but not to the degree she felt the need to share details of her failed marriage without prompting.
“My God. They’ve never asked why they don’t see him?”
“No. But then I only see them twice a year. Once at Christmas and once at the Sapphire Ball.” Carter stared at her with his mouth hanging open. “And honestly, seeing them that often is a hardship.”
“But they’re your parents.”
“Only in the biological sense. My brother and I were raised by a string of nannies.” Virginia could see the pity in Carter’s gaze and couldn’t stand for him to feel that way. “Honestly, Carter, it’s no big deal. There was never any attachment and you can’t miss what you never had.”
“Well, forgive me for being blunt but that’s fucked.” He pulled her into his arms, crushing her against his chest. “I don’t understand how anyone could not want to spend every waking moment with you once they met you.”
She chuckled but the sound held a trace of sadness. “I guess they don’t like what they see.”
