Harlequin Desire September 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: ClaimedMaid for a MagnateOnly on His Terms

by Tracy Wolff

  When his mouth found her breast, his hands encircled her hips. She waited, aching with need.

  “Will,” she panted, not recognizing her own voice. “Protection.”

  With his hair mussed, his lids heavy, he looked up. “I don’t have any with me. Dammit, they’re on the yacht. I didn’t expect to get caught out here like this.” Cursing beneath his breath, he shook his head. “I’m clean. I swear I wouldn’t lie about something like that. I haven’t been with a woman in...too long, and I recently had a physical.”

  “I know I’m clean and I’m on birth control.”

  He gave her a look, silently asking what she wanted to do. Without another word she slowly sank down onto him, so that they were finally, fully joined after years of wanting, years of fantasizing.

  Their sighs and groans filled the small room. Wind continued to beat against the window as rain pelted the tin roof. Everything about this scenario was perfect. Even if they were in a rundown shed, she didn’t care. The ambiance was amazingly right. The storm that had swept through them over the years only matched Mother Nature’s fury outside the door. This was the moment they were supposed to be together, this was what they’d both waited for so long.

  “Look at me,” he demanded, his fingertips pressing into her hips.

  Catalina hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes, but she opened them and found herself looking into Will’s bright, expressive aqua eyes. He may be able to hold back his words, but those eyes told her so much. Like the fact that he cared for her. This was sex, but there was so much more going on...so much more they’d discuss later.

  As her hips rocked back and forth against his, Will continued to watch her face. Catalina leaned down, resting her hands on his shoulders. The need inside her built so fast, she dropped her forehead against his.

  “No,” he stated. “Keep watching me. I want to see your face.”

  As she looked back into his eyes, her body responded to every touch, every kiss, every heated glance. Tremors raced through her at the same time his body stilled, the cords in his neck tightened and his fingertips dug even further into her hips.

  His body stiffened against hers, his lips thinned as his own climax took control. Catalina couldn’t look away. She wanted to see him come undone, knowing she caused this powerful man to fall at the mercy of her touch.

  Once their bodies eased out of the euphoric state, Catalina leaned down, rested her head on his shoulder and tried to regain some sense of normal breathing. She didn’t know what to say now, how to act. They’d taken this awkward, broken relationship and put another speed bump in it. Now all they had to do was figure out how to maneuver over this new hurdle since they’d moved to a whole new, unfamiliar level.

  * * *

  Will trailed his hand up and down Cat’s back, which was smooth and damp with sweat. Damn, she was sexier than he’d ever, ever imagined. She’d taken him without a second thought and with such confidence. Yet she’d been so tight...had she not slept with anyone? How had that not happened? Surely she wasn’t still a virgin.

  Had Cat kept her sexuality penned up all this time? For completely selfish reasons, this thought pleased him.

  As much as Will wanted to know, he didn’t want to say a word, didn’t want to break the silence with anything that would kill the mood. The storm raged on outside, the cabin creaked and continued to groan under the pressure, but Cat was in his arms, her heart beating against his chest, and nothing could pull him from this moment.

  The fact that he was concentrating on her heartbeat was a bit disconcerting. He didn’t want to be in tune with her heart, he couldn’t get that caught up with her, no matter how strong this invisible force was that was tugging him to her. Having her in his arms, finally making love to her was enough.

  So why did he feel as if there was more to be had?

  Because when he’d originally been thinking of the here and now, he’d somehow started falling into the zone of wanting more than this moment. He wanted Cat much longer than this day, this week, even. Will wanted more and now he had to figure out just how the hell that would work.

  “Tell me I wasn’t a substitute for Bella.”

  Will jerked beneath her, forcing her to sit up and meet his gaze. “What?”

  Cat shook her head, smoothing her short hair away from her face. “Nothing,” she said, coming to her feet. “That was stupid of me to say. We had sex. I’m not expecting you to give me anything more.”

  As she rummaged around the small space searching for her bikini and dress, Will sat there dumbfounded. So much for not letting words break the beauty of the moment.

  What was that about Bella? Seriously? Did Cat honestly think that Will had had a thing for his brother’s fiancée?

  “Look at me,” he demanded, waiting until Cat spun around, gripping her clothing to her chest. “Bella is married to James. I have no claim to her.”

  “It’s none of my business.”

  Will watched as she tied her top on and slid the bikini bottoms up her toned legs. “It is your business after what we just did. I don’t sleep with one woman and think of another.”

  Cat’s dark eyes came up to his. A lock of her inky black hair fell over her forehead and slashed across her cheek.

  “You owe me no explanations, Will.” Hands on her hips, she blew the rogue strand from her face. “I know this wasn’t a declaration of anything to come. I’m grown up now and I have no delusions that things will be any different than what they are. We slept together, it’s over.”

  Okay, that had originally been his mindset when he’d gone into this, but when the cold words came from her mouth, Will suddenly didn’t like the sound of it. She wasn’t seeing how he’d changed at all and that was his fault. She still believed he was a jerk who had no cares at all for her feelings. But he did care...too damn much.

  “I know you saw me as a challenge,” she went on as she yanked the ties together to secure her dress. “A conquest, if you will. It’s fine, really. I could’ve stopped you, but I was selfish and wanted you. So, thanks for—”

  “Do not say another word.” Pushing to his feet, Will jerked his shorts from the floor and tugged them on before crossing to her. “You can’t lie to me, Cat. I know you too well. Whatever defense mechanism you’re using here with ugly words isn’t you. You’re afraid of what you just felt, of what just happened. This wasn’t just sex and you damn well know it.”

  Her eyes widened, her lips parted, but she immediately shut down any emotion he’d just seen flash across her face. No doubt about it, she was trying to cut him off before he did anything to hurt her...again. He should have seen this coming.

  Guilt slammed into him. Not over sleeping with her just now, but for how she felt she had to handle the situation to avoid any more heartache.

  “Will, I’m the maid,” she said softly. “While I’m not ashamed of my position, I also know that this was just a onetime thing. A man like you would never think twice about a woman like me for anything more than sex.”

  Will gripped her arms, giving her a slight shake. “Why are you putting yourself into this demeaning little package and delivering it to me? I’ve told you more than once I don’t care if you’re a maid or a damn CEO. What just happened has nothing to do with anything other than us and what we feel.”

  “There is no us,” she corrected him.

  “There sure as hell was just a minute ago.”

  Why was he so dead set on correcting her? Here he stood arguing with her when she was saying the same exact thing he’d been thinking earlier.

  “And I have no clue why you’re bringing Bella into this,” he added.

  Cat lifted her chin in a defiant gesture. “I’m a woman. Sometimes my insecurities come out.”

  “Why are you insecure about her?”

  Cat laughed and broke free from h
is hold, taking a step back. “You were with one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. Suddenly when that relationship is severed, you turn to me. You haven’t given me any attention in nearly four years, Will. Forgive me if suddenly I feel like leftovers.”

  “Don’t downgrade what just happened between us,” he demanded. “Just because I didn’t seek you out in the past few years doesn’t mean I didn’t want you. I wanted the hell out of you. And I was fighting my way back to you, dammit.”

  He eased closer, watching as her eyes widened when he closed the gap and loomed over her. “Seeing you all the time, being within touching distance but knowing I had no right was hell.”

  “You put yourself there.”

  As if he needed the reminder of the fool he’d been.

  Will smoothed her hair back from her forehead, allowing his hand to linger on her jawline. “I can admit when I was wrong, stubborn and a jerk. I can also admit that I have no clue what just happened between us because it was much more than just sex. You felt it, I felt it, and if we deny that fact we’d just be lying to ourselves. Let’s get past that. Honesty is all we can have here. We deserve more than something cheap, Cat.”

  Cat closed her eyes and sighed. When her lids lifted, she glanced toward the window. “The rain has let up. We should head back to the yacht.”

  Without another word, without caring that he was standing here more vulnerable than he’d ever been, Cat turned, opened the door and walked out.

  Nobody walked out on Will Rowling and he sure as hell wasn’t going to let the woman he was so wrapped up in and had just made love to be the first.

  Twelve

  Catalina had known going into this day that they’d most likely end up naked and finally giving into desires from years ago.

  And she hadn’t been able to stop herself.

  No matter what she felt now, no matter what insecurities crept up, she didn’t regret sleeping with Will.

  This was a one and done thing—it had to be. She couldn’t afford to fall any harder for this man whom she couldn’t have. She was planning on leaving Alma anyway, so best to cut ties now and start gearing up for her fresh start. Letting her heart interfere with the dreams she’d had for so long would only have her working backward. She was so close, she’d mentally geared up for the break from Alma, from Will...but that was before she’d given herself to him.

  But what had just transpired between them was only closure. Yes, that was the term she’d been looking for. Closure. Nothing else could come from their intimacy and finally getting each other out of their systems was the right thing to do...wasn’t it?

  While the rain hadn’t fully stopped, Catalina welcomed the refreshing mist hitting her face. She had no clue of the amount of time that had passed while they’d been inside the cabin lost in each other. An hour? Three hours?

  The sand shifted beneath her bare feet as she marched down the shore toward the dock. Sandals in her hand, she kept her focus on the yacht in the distance and not the sound of Will running behind her. She should’ve known he’d come chasing after her, and not just because he wanted to get back to the yacht.

  She’d left no room for argument when she’d walked out, and Will Rowling wouldn’t put up with that. Too bad. She was done talking. It was time to move on.

  Too bad her body was still humming a happy tune and tingling in all the areas he’d touched, tasted.

  Figuring he’d grab her when he caught up to her, Catalina turned, ready to face down whatever he threw her way. Will took a few more steps, stopping just in front of her. He was clutching his wadded up shirt at his side. Catalina couldn’t help but stare at his bare chest and the mesmerizing tattoo as he pulled in deep breaths.

  “You think we’re done?” he asked as he stared her down. “Like we’re just heading back to the yacht, setting off to Alma and that’s it? You think this topic is actually closed? That I would accept this?”

  Shrugging, Catalina forced herself to meet his angry gaze. “You brought me here to seduce me. Wasn’t that the whole plan for getting me alone? Well, mission accomplished. The storm has passed and it’ll start getting dark in a couple hours. Why wait to head back?”

  “Maybe because I want to spend more time with you,” he shouted. “Maybe because I want more here than something cheap and easy.”

  As the misty rain continued to hit her face, Catalina wanted to let that sliver of hope into her heart, but she couldn’t allow it...not just yet. “And what do you want, Will? An encore performance? Maybe in your bed on the yacht so you can have a more pampered experience?”

  His lips thinned, the muscle in his jaw tightened. “What made you so harsh, Cat? You weren’t like this before.”

  Before when she’d been naïve, before when she’d actually thought he may love her and choose her over his career. And before she discovered a secret that he still knew nothing about.

  Beyond all of that, she was angry with herself for allowing her emotions to get so caught up in this moment. She should’ve known better. She’d never been someone to sleep around, but she thought for sure she could let herself go with Will and then walk away. She’d been wrong and now because of her roller coaster of emotions, she was taking her anger out on him.

  Shaking her head, Catalina turned. Before she could take a step, she tripped over a piece of driftwood she hadn’t seen earlier. Landing hard in the sand, she hated how the instant humiliation took over.

  Before she could become too mortified, a spearing pain shot through her ankle. She gasped just as Will crouched down by her side.

  “Where are you hurt?” he asked, his eyes raking over her body.

  “My ankle,” she muttered, sitting up so she could look at her injury.

  “Anywhere else?” Will asked.

  Catalina shook her head as she tried to wiggle her ankle back and forth. Bad idea. She was positive it wasn’t broken—she’d broken her arm as a little girl and that pain had been much worse—but she was also sure she wouldn’t be able to apply any pressure on it and walk. The piercing pain shot up her leg and had her wincing. She hoped she didn’t burst into tears and look even more pathetic.

  So much for her storming off in her dramatic fit of anger.

  Will laid his shirt on her stomach.

  “What—?”

  Before she could finish her question, he’d scooped her up in his arms and set off across the sand. Catalina hated how she instantly melted against his warm, bare chest. Hated how the image of them in her mind seemed way more romantic than what it was, with Will’s muscles straining as he carried her in his arms—yeah, they no doubt looked like something straight out of a movie.

  “You can’t carry me all the way to the yacht,” she argued. “This sand is hard enough to walk in without my added weight.”

  “Your weight is perfect.” He threw her a glance, silently leaving her no room for argument. “Relax and we’ll see what we’re dealing with once I can get you on the bed in the cabin.”

  Those words sent a shiver of arousal through her that she seriously did not want. Hadn’t she learned from the last set of shivers? Hadn’t she told herself that after they slept together she’d cut ties? She had no other choice, not if she wanted to maintain any dignity and sanity on her way out of his life for good.

  As they neared the dock, Will was breathing hard, but he didn’t say a word as he trudged forward. Her ankle throbbed, which should have helped shift her focus, but being wrapped in Will’s strong arms pretty much overrode any other emotion.

  Catalina had a sinking feeling that in all her pep talks to herself, she’d overlooked the silent power Will had over her. She may have wanted to have this sexcapade with him and then move on, but she’d seriously underestimated how involved her heart would become.

  And this hero routine he was pulling was flat-out sexy...as if sh
e needed another reason to pull her toward him.

  Will quickly crossed toward the dock, picking up his pace now that he was on even ground. When he muttered a curse, Catalina lifted her head to see what the problem was. Quickly she noted the damage to the yacht and the dock. Apparently the two had not played nice during the freak storm.

  “Oh, Will,” she whispered.

  He slowed his pace as he carefully tested the weight of the dock. Once his footing was secure, and it was clear that the planks would hold them, he cautiously stepped forward.

  “I need to set you down for a second to climb on board, but just keep pressure off that ankle and hold onto my shoulders.”

  She did as he asked and tried not to consider just what this damage meant for their return trip home. When Will was on deck, he reached out, proceeded to scoop her up again and lifted her onto the yacht.

  “I can get down the steps,” she told him, really having no clue if she could or not. But there was no way they could both fit through that narrow doorway to get below deck. “Go figure out what happened.”

  He kept his hold firm. “I’m going to get you settled, assess your ankle and then go see what damage was done to the yacht.”

  Somehow he managed to get her down the steps and onto the bed without bumping her sore, now swollen ankle along the way. As he adjusted the pillows behind her, she slid back to lean against the fluffy backdrop. Will took a spare pillow and carefully lifted her leg to elevate her injury.

  “It’s pretty swollen,” he muttered as he stalked toward the galley kitchen and returned with a baggie full of ice wrapped in a towel. “Keep this on it and I’ll go see if I can find some pain reliever.”

  “Really, it’ll be fine,” she lied. The pain was bad, but she wanted him to check on the damage so they could get back to Alma... She prayed they could safely get back. “Go see how bad the destruction is. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Will’s brows drew in. With his hands on his hips, that sexy black ink scrolling over his bare chest and the taut muscles, he personified sex appeal.