by Lee, Miranda
She didn’t say a word during their silent journey down the moonlit pathway that led to the boathouse. What was there to be said even if she was capable of saying it?
‘Is it locked?’ Jason threw at her when they neared the boathouse.
‘Yes. But I know where the key is.’
‘I’m sure you do.’
He sounded angry, she realised. Either that or just as impatient as she was.
‘You’re not angry with me, are you?’ she asked when they reached the boathouse door.
He swung her round, then yanked her hard against him.
‘Angry with myself, more like it,’ he ground out, and kissed her again, this time for even longer. By the time his head lifted, she’d forgotten the thread of their conversation.
‘The key,’ he demanded. ‘Where’s the damned key?’
Her hands were shaking as she reached round behind a nearby downpipe and removing a small black magnetised box, sliding it open and retrieving the key.
Jason took it from her and jammed it into the lock. The hinges creaked a little as he pushed open the door.
‘Is there a light in here somewhere?’
‘Do we have to it turn it on?’
‘We do, if I’m to look at this boat.’
‘You mean you actually do want to look at the boat?’
‘Only the part where the bunks are.’
‘Oh.’
She turned on the light.
The boathouse was just large enough to house her father’s cruiser, a sleek white vessel, which did have sleeping quarters below deck. The sight of her mother’s name painted on the side, however, had a dampening effect on Leah’s passion. So did the musty smell inside the boathouse. When she heard something rodent-like scurrying beneath some empty cartons piled up in a corner, she squealed and grabbed Jason’s arm.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘I…I think I heard a mouse. Or maybe a rat.’
‘A rat…’
‘Yes. I hate rats,’ she said, and shuddered.
Jason almost told her that she was mistaken. She liked rats. She’d married one, hadn’t she? And she was about to have an affair with another one.
After all, nothing had changed since this morning. He still couldn’t offer her anything more than his body.
Unfortunately, the state of Jason’s body refused to totally let him change his mind about taking her again. But he could wait a little longer. He didn’t have to do it here, in a wretched boathouse.
‘Let’s go,’ he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her back outside into the moonlight.
‘Go where?’
He locked the door and put the key back in its box.
‘I’m taking you home to my nicely air-conditioned and rodent-free apartment.’
‘Right now, you mean?’
‘Yes.’
‘But the dinner party isn’t over.’
‘It is for us.’
Chapter 12
‘How on earth did you manage that?’ Leah asked as the taxi sped from Vaucluse to the city.
Jason curved an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. ‘Manage what?’
‘Manage to get me out of there in double-quick time with my father’s approval.’
‘Simple. While you were in the powder room, I told him the truth.’
‘You told him I’d be spending the night with you?’
‘Not in so many words. I said I was taking you on to a nightclub. Your father’s an intelligent man. He doesn’t have to have everything spelled out for him.’
‘But you don’t understand. I wasn’t going back to my place after the dinner party. I was going to stay the night at home. I usually do every Saturday night.
My father will expect to see me at breakfast.’
‘You’ll have to give him a call tomorrow morning then, won’t you? Tell him you didn’t come home and won’t be down for breakfast.’
Leah groaned.
‘Leah, darling.’ Jason’s voice was firm. ‘You’re a beautiful, twenty-six-year-old divorcée living in Sydney in the twenty-first century. Your father realises you have a sex life.’
‘But I haven’t,’ she denied. ‘I mean…last night was the first time since…since…’
‘Yes. I know that. But that was only because you were self-conscious about your scars. You’re over that nonsense now, aren’t you?’
‘Am I?’
‘Absolutely.’ And, as if to prove it, he slid his hand up under her dress and caressed the ridges which crisscrossed her left thigh.
Leah’s first reaction was to stiffen, but, gradually, she melted under his gentle touch, her breath quickening when his fingers moved further up her thigh to press against the already damp satin of her black G-string.
The contact of his fingertips against electrified nerve-endings twisted her stomach into knots, her belly tightening as the tension began to build down there. If he kept doing what he was doing, she would come, right there, in the back of the taxi.
Her eyes darted to the back of the driver’s head, then at the tall buildings flying past. She sucked in sharply and tried to think of other things.
‘See?’ he murmured into her right ear. ‘You’re cured. And we’re here.’
The taxi lurching to a halt at the curb coincided with his hand abandoning her.
A low moan of frustration escaped her lips before she could stop it. She looked at him with desperate eyes, and he dropped a light kiss on her mouth.
‘Not much longer to wait,’ he murmured before climbing out of the taxi first.
Once on the pavement, he turned to help her out on to her feet, then paid the driver through the front window.
Unfortunately, to do so, he had to let go of her hands.
How did she manage to stand up all by herself? Her bones had gone to water and her head was spinning out into the stratosphere.
By the time the taxi sped off, Leah was teetering on her high heels. Jason caught her against him as she swayed.
‘You drank far too much wine over dinner,’ he said, holding her tightly against him as he ushered her into the tower like building.
Had she? She couldn’t remember. Dinner had become a bit of a blur.
The security guards behind the reception desk waved to Jason on his way past, but he just nodded to them, then steered her into one of the empty lifts in the far corner of the massive foyer and inserted his key card.
‘You’re not going to fall asleep on me, are you?’ he asked a bit worriedly during the lift ride upwards.
‘I certainly hope not.’
He smiled. ‘That’s my girl.’
She stared up at him and thought how much she’d like to be his girl.
‘And what does that look mean?’ he chided, tipping her chin up with his fingertips.
‘Nothing. Please kiss me.’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
Jason was happy to do just that, happy to take her mouth and let desire obliterate the qualms that kept surfacing whenever he was with this girl. Soon, he wasn’t thinking of anything much except the need to have her in his arms once more.
The lift slid to a smooth halt on the top floor of the tower, the doors opening straight into his luxury penthouse apartment.
But neither of them had eyes for anything but each other. Jason couldn’t wait any longer, swinging her around against the wall and pinning her there with his body. His hands clasped her head and his kisses turned savage.
The need for air finally forced him to wrench his mouth away. But there would be no slowing down. No waiting this time.
He didn’t undress her, or himself. He just yanked open his zipper and lifted her dress. Her panties gave way with a ripping sound and then he was there, wedging himself between her legs and pushing up into her deliciously ready body.
Once safely anchored, he straightened, then let the dress fall, his hands lifting to cup her face.
‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ he said thickly, aware that his rough penetr
ation had stretched her up on to her toes.
‘You’re not.’
‘But I might,’ he said with a grimace. His passion for her had been uncontrollable from the start, appealing to his dark side, making him forget all common sense and decency.
‘No, no.’ She shook her head violently against his hands. ‘I’m fine. Please.
Just do it, Jason.’
Her urgency stirred his dark side ever further. As Jason began to pump up into her, he vowed to make her want him like this all the time. He would keep her here with him for the rest of the weekend, making love to her over and over till having him inside her was as natural to her as breathing. He’d make her crave sex as she had never craved it before. And with the craving would come complete surrender to his will.
By Monday morning, there would be no more talk of resigning. She would be totally at his beck and call, both at work and here, every single night. She’d be his, in every way. Unable to say no. Every man’s fantasy come true.
‘Mine,’ he muttered against her mouth when she splintered apart. His own climax swiftly followed, Jason hoisting her up on to his hips whilst his flesh was still pulsing inside of hers.
Her forehead flopped against his shoulder, her arms winding up around his neck.
A sigh of satisfaction whispered at the base of his throat.
‘That was incredible,’ she murmured as he carried down towards the master bedroom. ‘You’re incredible.’
Leah felt his arms stiffen around her. His step even faltered for a moment. She knew she’d have to say something very quickly to redress the damage she’d just done. If not, tonight would become just another one-night stand.
‘You’re a much better lover than Carl, you know,’ she went on hurriedly, lifting her head to throw what she hoped was a saucy smile up at him.
He laughed, which was good. ‘So good sex matters to you?’
‘I was one of those romantically foolish females who imagined true love did the trick for them. And then you came along and proved me wrong.’
His smile had an odd edge to it. ‘We aim to please.’
‘I wish I’d met someone like you sooner.’
Now he ground to a total halt. ‘What do you mean by that?’
Her shrug was magnificently nonchalant. ‘You know. Someone whose only priority is having a good time, and has the know-how to deliver it. We’re perfect for each other, Jason. You don’t want love and marriage, and neither do I. I’ve been there, done that, and I’m not in a hurry to go there again.’
Leah could not tell if he believed her, or not.
‘Which reminds me,’ she raced on. ‘You’re going to have to start using condoms soon. This weekend should be safe, but, in a day or two, we’ll be entering danger territory.’
The horror on his face underlined how much Jason didn’t want consequences. Or commitment. Or complications.
‘I’d forgotten all about that! Damn, but you do make me lose it, Leah.’
Her smile carried some degree of satisfaction. ‘Do I?’
‘You know you do. I can’t seem to get enough of you.’
‘Mmm. Yes. I’m beginning to feel the evidence of that for myself,’ she purred.
‘So what do you want to do about it?’
‘First things first. As much I like this dress on you, I prefer you without it.
And those earrings will have to go. I might end up swallowing one and be charged with grand larceny. Then we’re going to share a spa bath.’
‘And after that?’
His dark eyes glittered. ‘Don’t you worry your pretty little head about the wheres and wherefores of tonight,’ he said as he carried her into a bedroom that looked like a photo spread in a glossy magazine for what a bachelor’s bedroom should be like. ‘I like to be the boss in the bedroom as well as at work.’
Leah could see that already. But she didn’t mind. She found his take-charge attitude exciting. Carl had never made love to her anywhere but in bed.
Leah realised now that her husband had been a lazy lover. And lacking in passion.
There again, he’d never really loved her, had he? She’d meant little more to him that one of the multimillion-dollar paintings he bought and displayed so proudly to everyone. She’d been a prized possession to show off. A status symbol.
Joachim Bloom’s daughter.
Jason didn’t care that she was Joachim Bloom’s daughter. He’d wanted her when he thought she was just a working girl.
They stood in the middle of the room. Their bodies were pressed tightly together. Leah wriggled her hips against Jason, making him gasp.
‘Do it to me again, Jason,’ she said, hardly recognising the husky voice that came out of her mouth. ‘On that big bad bed of yours. The bath can wait. I can’t.’
He laughed. ‘I’m the one supposed to be doing the seducing around here.’
‘Then hurry up and seduce me again.’
‘I thought I told you I like to be the boss.’
‘I forgot.’
‘I’ll forgive you this once,’ he said as he laid her carefully back across the black-and-white jungle-print spread. Leah gasped with surprise when he pushed her long tight skirt upwards till it enveloped her upper half—and her head—in darkness.
Leah had never known anything so erotic. She could not see him. But she could feel him, as he pushed into her and then slid in and out, filling her, then leaving her feeling momentarily frustrated as he pulled back. His stroke was slow and strong, teasing her, pleasing her. That delicious tension began to build again, catching at her breath, making her muscles tighten around him.
She bit her bottom lip when he took hold of her hips and picked up his rhythm.
She could hear him now as well as feel him. His breath was ragged, his fingertips quite brutal as they dug into her flesh. She’d be bruised in the morning, but she didn’t care.
He was like some wild beast, holding her hard against him while he shuddered into her.
And then he was gone, leaving her lying there, with her dress still up over her face, her arms up-stretched, her legs apart, her body spent.
She heard water running, but still could not move. Finally, he came back to her and with gentle hands removed her dress. Not just from her face, but from her whole body.
She looked up to see that he was naked, too. Naked and smiling. When he stretched out beside her and started playing with her breasts, Leah realised that she wasn’t as spent as she thought she was.
‘I’m running us that spa bath,’ he murmured, deserting her nipples to remove her earrings. ‘Do you want to give your father a call tonight?’ he asked as he dropped them one by one on his glass-topped bedside table. ‘You could warn him you won’t be back.’
‘No, I…I don’t think so. I’ll call him in the morning.’
‘He won’t be worried, you know. This is what you said he wanted. You and me together.’
‘I still can’t believe you were his mystery guest. But he read some article about you in last Sunday’s paper. It seemed to impress him. He showed it to me.’
‘It didn’t impress you though, did it? You weren’t at all impressed when we met on Monday.’
‘You’ve impressed me now that I’ve gotten to know you. Biblically speaking, that is.’
His hand went back to her breast, his expression speculative as he played with her nipple some more. ‘Is this all you want me from me, Leah?’ he asked when she gave a small moan of pleasure. ‘You won’t start wanting more, will you?’
Leah’s heart twisted. She ached to throw at him that of course she would. She already did. But sex was all he was offering. So she said, ‘That, and companionship. I’ve been very lonely since my divorce. I’m sure you can manage to deliver both, can’t you?’
‘No trouble. But I’ll have to go condom shopping tomorrow. I do have a couple in my wallet, which I put there for emergencies. And possibly one or two in the bathroom somewhere. But with you, beautiful,’ he said, tweaking her nipple ag
ain. ‘I’m going to need some serious restocking.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment,’ she said with what she hoped was a sexy smile.
Leah knew full well that she was risking heartbreak by having an affair with Jason. But to give him up was out of the question. She simply could not resist the wild abandon that he evoked in her, and the sexual pleasure he gave her.
Already she was looking forward to that bath, to washing him all over, and being washed in return.
‘You’d better check that bath,’ she said. ‘We don’t want a flood.’
‘Let’s check it together,’ he suggested, and scooped her up into his arms.
Chapter 13
Leah woke first the next morning, surprised to find how natural it felt to lie next to Jason. She just rested there beside him for a minute or two, looking around the spacious bedroom and thinking how little she actually liked his apartment.
She’d seen enough of it last night to form an opinion.
It was huge, of course. Huge and modern, with lots of glass and black leather, along with acres of white tiles, stainless steel appliances and geometrically patterned rugs. The walls were all white, the artwork mostly black and white, the lighting recessed. There were no curtains anywhere, just darkly tinted windows and sliding glass doors, leading out on to grey stone terraces.
The interior decorator, whoever he or she was, obviously had no liking for colour. The place was cold and soulless.
Leah hated it.
But she loved the man who lived here.
Her eyes slid over to where he was still sprawled out on the other side of the massive bed, a black satin sheet tangled around the lower half of his magnificent body.
Leah liked the opportunity to look at his sleeping face, to trace his features with admiring eyes and try to work out what made him so attractive to her.
She could find no fault in his face. Everything was perfect. His high, wide forehead. His straight, but symmetrical eyebrows. His elegantly shaped nose. His squared chin. His lovely mouth.
Oh, yes, his mouth most of all, with its strongly sculptured upper lip and sexily full bottom lip. The perfect combination of masculinity and sensuality.
