Breaking the Playboy's Rules

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  He handed Emma over to Rupinder with the confidence to know it would be unlikely he would be called in the middle of the night, for the time being. It gave him the freedom to slip away for the weekend with Millie—the next hurdle, of course, would be convincing Millie to come with him at such short notice.

  He decided to call her at work between clients, wishing he had the time to go and see her in person. He knew he was acting like a hormone-mad schoolboy with a crush but he couldn’t seem to help it. His mind was preoccupied with her, reliving every moment they spent together making love. His body was on fire for her, eager to experience again the mind-blowing passion they had created together. He was used to having good sex, he was a competent and sensitive lover, but he had never had such off-the-scale sex. Was it the novelty aspect? Millie wasn’t exactly his standard fling partner. She hadn’t even liked him the first time she’d met him but in a way that had added to the attraction. The challenge of winning her over had fired him up in a way he had never been before. But that fire would have to go out at some point, right?

  He couldn’t—wouldn’t—allow their fling to morph into anything else.

  * * *

  Millie reached for the buzzing phone on her work desk. Her heart gave a skip when she saw Hunter’s name pop up on the screen. ‘Donnelly-Clarke Jewellery Design, Millie speaking.’ She used her most professional tone in an attempt to keep a little distance. It wouldn’t do to answer the phone to him in a breathlessly excited voice like a lovesick schoolgirl. She was a fully grown woman who was having a simple fling. Casual. No strings. How hard could it be?

  ‘Hello, Millie speaking,’ Hunter drawled.

  She leaned back in her chair and tried not to notice the way her insides quivered at the sound of the deep, sexy burr of his voice. ‘Hi. How was your brunch with Emma?’

  ‘It was good. Rupinder is back, so Emma is happy.’

  ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ Millie said. ‘I’m so glad. You must be relieved.’

  There was a small silence.

  ‘Are you free this weekend?’ Hunter asked.

  Millie ran her tongue over her lips. ‘Erm, I might be. What did you have in mind?’

  ‘Champagne. No clothes. A plunge pool. Sex. On a private yacht in the Aegean Sea. Have I tempted you?’

  ‘You had me at champagne.’

  He laughed. ‘What time can you be ready?’

  ‘What time do you want me?’

  ‘I want you now.’

  Millie shivered from head to foot at the rough desperation in his tone. ‘I want you too. Last night was...wonderful.’

  ‘Apart from Emma interrupting things.’ There was a rueful edge to his voice.

  ‘I didn’t mind. I enjoyed meeting her.’

  ‘So, can you be free at six? I’ll book flights. It’ll be a late night, but worth it when we get there.’

  ‘Sure.’ Millie put down the phone a short time later, wondering why he had so swiftly changed the subject back to their travel arrangements when she’d said how much she had enjoyed meeting his sister. He hadn’t even acknowledged her comment. Did that mean he didn’t want her to visit Emma again? Was he somehow ashamed of his sister? But that didn’t sit with her understanding of his love and care for Emma. He was devoted to her, going out of his way to make sure she was safe, secure and well looked-after.

  Or was it because Millie was only a temporary phase in his life? She had no permanent footing and he didn’t want Emma getting too attached to her. But surely Emma was entitled to have relationships independent of her brother?

  * * *

  Millie barely had time to get home from work and pack before Hunter’s pick-up time. They got to the airport and checked in, and soon after boarded their flight. First class, of course. She sat back with a glass of champagne in her hand and smiled at him. ‘Is this how you spend your free time? Flying off to Greece to sail off into the sunset?’

  ‘I wish.’ His mouth twisted. ‘I haven’t been on the yacht for months. I’ll probably have to whack away the cobwebs as we board.’

  She gave a tiny shudder. ‘You’re joking...right?’

  He grinned at her, his whisky-brown eyes twinkling. ‘I have staff who maintain the boat for me. I call them ahead of time and they prepare the food and so on.’

  Millie toyed with the stem of her glass, her eyes following the movement of her fingers rather than hold his gaze. ‘I guess you’ve done this a few times now? Taken a lover away for a sex-fest weekend?’

  Hunter picked up a strand of her hair and curled it around his finger. ‘I’ve taken groups of people—colleagues, friends, that sort of thing—but never a lover by herself.’ There was a husky quality to his voice.

  Millie turned her head to face him, wondering why she was the first woman he had chosen to spend the weekend alone with on his yacht. He was looking at her mouth with a hooded gaze, his fingers still playing with her hair, sending shivers dancing down her spine. ‘Careful, Hunter. You’re making me feel rather special.’ She injected her tone with teasing playfulness. ‘We’re having a temporary fling. You don’t have to make me fall in love with you.’

  His hand fell away from her hair and every muscle on his face froze. ‘It would be most inadvisable for you to do so.’ His lawyerly tone was strangely jarring. Of course she wouldn’t be so foolish. He didn’t need to remind her of the terms of their liaison. She had drawn a line under falling in love with anyone ever again. She had once thought she loved Julian, but that had been a teenage love that all too soon had faded once tested. How could she be sure a future love for someone wouldn’t do the same?

  Millie gave another playful smile. ‘Have you considered the possibility you could fall in love with me?’

  Something moved at the back of his gaze with camera-shutter speed. ‘No.’ His answer was brutally blunt, his gaze now screened.

  Millie gave him an arch look. ‘No, as in you’ve not considered it, or no, as in you don’t think it’s a possibility?’

  He held her gaze with a steely determination. ‘It’s a possibility I will strenuously avoid giving any traction whatsoever. But while we’re on the subject—I don’t want my sister to develop feelings for you either.’

  Millie frowned. ‘So, what does that mean? You don’t want me to visit her with you?’

  ‘It would be best if you didn’t. She has a tendency to form strong attachments to some people and, when those people leave, she’s devastated. I’ve learned the hard way to keep things simple where she’s concerned.’

  ‘But don’t you think she’s entitled to have friendships of her own? She needs social contact beyond her carers, surely?’

  ‘She has a handful of friends at a nearby group home she visits now and again.’

  ‘But surely she needs more than that?’

  Hunter’s mouth tightened. ‘You don’t understand how difficult it is for her. She has the mentality of a small child. She believes what people say, and then they go and do the opposite, and it almost destroys her.’

  ‘Like when your father left? Is that what happened?’

  ‘Yes.’ There was a bitter light in his eyes.

  Millie placed her hand on his tense forearm. ‘And you were the one who was left to pick up the pieces.’ She spoke softly, desperate to show she had some understanding of picking up the pieces after someone had their heart broken. Hadn’t she done it for her mother time and time again?

  He glanced down at her hand on his arm before meeting her gaze, his hand coming over the top of hers, holding it in place. ‘She cried for weeks. My mother and I tried to console her, but it was impossible. She used to sit in the front window of the flat we were living in, waiting for him. It was heart-breaking to watch. She would sit for hours like that.’

  ‘Oh, how sad,’ Millie said, blinking back the sting of tears. ‘Why do you think your father deserted Emma and you? I mean, he
was divorcing your mother, not you and Emma.’

  Hunter took her hand and held it between each of his, one of his thumbs massaging the back of it in an almost absent fashion. ‘He was one of those fathers that never failed to tell us he loved us. He spoilt us, buying us lots of expensive presents at birthdays and Christmas. We lived in a nice house in a well-to-do suburb. But, once Emma’s condition became a little more obvious and lot more difficult to manage, he got cold feet. He didn’t want a damaged child. He wanted a perfect family so everyone could pat him on the back and say, well done.’

  ‘That’s so selfish.’

  ‘Tell me about it.’ His tone was wry. He rolled his thumb over the diamond on her ring in the same absent fashion. ‘It turned out he’d been having affairs for years on his business trips away. The presents were his guilt offering, I suspect.’

  ‘You haven’t seen him since?’

  ‘No. He didn’t even come to Mum’s funeral. Didn’t even send a card or flowers.’

  Millie gripped his hand. ‘I can only imagine how hurtful that must have been. I’ve never known what it’s like to have a father—mine died before I was born. And none of my stepfathers were great stand-ins, in that sense. But to have one you truly believed loved you and then be rejected by him is just soul-destroying.’

  He gave a movement of his lips that wasn’t even close to a smile. ‘Yes, well, I got over it pretty quickly, but Emma still asks about him occasionally. She has the deep-love gene. I don’t.’

  Or had he suppressed it in order to avoid further hurt? ‘If he came back and asked for forgiveness, would you give it to him?’

  ‘No. There are some things you can never forgive.’ His gaze met hers again and he added, ‘The words “I’m sorry” are like the words “I love you.” So easy to say, but whether people mean them or not is another thing.’

  Millie wondered if there would ever be a time when Hunter would say those words—I love you—to some lucky woman. Or had he become so jaded and embittered by the hurt his father had caused that he would never risk it?

  She raised her champagne glass to his in a toast. ‘Here’s to never falling in love.’

  Hunter tapped his glass against hers, his gaze unwavering. ‘Here’s to sticking to the rules.’

  But Millie had a strange feeling those rules were just begging to be broken.

  CHAPTER TEN

  HUNTER HADN’T BEEN wrong about the late night, Millie decided when they finally arrived in the wee hours of the morning to collect his yacht, moored just outside of Athens. Luckily she had dozed on the plane, so she wasn’t feeling quite as wrecked as she might have been. Hunter led her on board in the moonlight and she looked around in wonder at the magnificently appointed ocean-going craft. It was like a floating hotel, with a plunge pool on deck and a hot tub, and sun loungers set up to make the most of the view once at sea.

  The streamlined elegance of the yacht only added to the air of supreme and decadent luxury. Inside was a deluxe kitchen and dining area, and a lounge area off that leading to a home theatre. The master bedroom was on the level below and had a bank of wide windows with a set of sliding doors that wrapped around two-thirds of the room, offering a spectacular view, even at night.

  Millie knew she was giving a very good impression of a child let loose in a sweet shop, but she couldn’t help it. She gazed around at everything, touching the butter-soft leather of the sofas and the velvet scatter cushions. ‘Oh, my...it’s just amazing, Hunter. How you ever tear yourself away to fly back home to work is a mystery to me. I’d want to stay here for ever.’

  ‘I’m not sure what Emma would have to say about that if I never came home. Or my clients, for that matter.’

  She turned from stroking her hand over a brass fitting on the wall to look at him. ‘Have you brought her on board?’

  ‘No. It’s too complicated with her medical needs. She needs to be close to a hospital in case anything goes wrong.’

  She came over to him and linked her arms around his neck, toyed with the ends of his dark hair above the collar of his shirt. ‘The worry must eat away at you all the time. Can you ever relax?’

  He smiled and drew her closer. ‘Aren’t I relaxed now?’ His eyes glinted, his body hardening against hers.

  ‘You feel quite tense to me,’ Millie said with a smile. ‘But maybe I could help you with that? How does that sound?’

  ‘It sounds like heaven.’ And his mouth came down and captured hers.

  The sleepiness she had felt earlier completely disappeared, her body alive and wanting him with heated fervour. She opened to the thrust of his tongue, welcoming him into her mouth with a whimper of delight. His hands got working on her clothes and, as each piece was removed, her excitement grew. He pressed kisses to her neck, each of her breasts and down her sternum, kneeling in front of her to anoint her most intimate flesh with his tongue. She broke apart within seconds, shuddering under the magic of his touch, waves of ecstasy rippling through her entire body.

  He straightened and, still holding her by the hips, drew her against him once more. ‘See what you do to me? I’m crazy for you.’

  Crazy enough to fall in love with me?

  The thought popped into her head and she couldn’t get it out. She didn’t want him to fall in love with her...did she? She certainly didn’t want to fall in love with him. They had agreed to keep their feelings out of this. To keep things casual. But what was casual about experiencing the most mind-blowing pleasure of your life with the man of your dreams? For Hunter was all that and more, she realised in that moment. He had qualities and values that aligned so well with hers. How could she stop herself from admiring him? How close was admiration to love? It was barely a footstep away and she had to be careful not to take it.

  Millie slithered down his body and set to work on the zipper of his trousers. ‘Let’s see if I can make you a little crazier.’

  He placed a hand over hers. ‘You don’t have to do that.’

  She looked up at him. ‘But I want to.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ His eyes glittered with anticipation, his body tense as a coiled spring.

  Millie stroked her hand over his turgid length through the light barrier of his underwear. ‘I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure.’

  Which was a new thing for her, she suddenly realised. With her fiancé, she had often done things she hadn’t wanted to do just to please him. But with Hunter she wanted to please herself as well. Touching him in this most intimate way was almost as pleasurable as when he did it to her. It was a mutual expression of intense desire, and one thing she was sure of when it came to Hunter Addison—she had intense desire for him.

  She finally got his underwear and trousers out of the way and leaned closer to stroke her tongue down his steely length in a cat-like lick. He shuddered and his hands grasped her by the head, his legs almost buckling as she went back for more. She licked and stroked him, suckled and drew on him, until he was quaking with the need to let go.

  But he wouldn’t let her go that far. He dragged her up to her feet, his eyes dark, glazed and wild with lust. ‘I want to be inside you. Now.’ His tone was ruthlessly determined and within seconds she was lying on her back on the king-sized bed, her breathing hectic as he quickly sourced a condom.

  And then bliss...

  His thrusts were hard and fast, as if he had finally allowed himself the freedom to express the explosive desire that rocketed through his body. Millie was with him all the way, relishing the almost primal way of coupling—the mutual desperation to get to the highest point of human pleasure.

  She went over the edge first with a high cry, her body shuddering as each crashing wave tossed and swirled and hurled her around in a tumultuous sea of sensation. Hunter followed with his own powerful release, his body finally sagging against hers in the aftermath, his breathing still heavy.

  Millie ran her hands down
the length of his strong back and shoulders, enjoying the muscled weight of him on top of her. Enjoying the quietude after such an earth-shattering experience. How had she not realised making love could be this amazing? She had been short-changed in her relationship with Julian, which was partly her own fault. She had settled for second best. Held on to a flagging relationship out of a sense of duty and despair rather than deep and abiding affection. The sort of affection that could withstand anything thrown at it, even illness, even terminal illness. She hadn’t loved Julian like that. She had never loved him like that.

  But she was worried she could love Hunter that way. Deeply worried.

  Hunter eased himself up on one elbow to gaze into her eyes, one of his hands idly playing with a few strands of her hair, letting them slip through his fingers before capturing them again. ‘I’d really like to stay here in bed with you like this, but I have to get this vessel out to sea.’ He dropped a kiss to the end of her nose and added, ‘I considered employing a skipper I use sometimes, but I didn’t want anyone else on board in case I can’t control myself around you.’

  Millie stroked her finger down the length of his strong nose, a teasing smile lifting up the edges of her mouth. ‘Don’t tell me the notoriously iron-clad self-control of Mr Hunter Addison is getting a little shaky around the edges?’

  His eyes darkened and his mouth came inexorably closer to hers. ‘You’d better believe it.’ And then his mouth swooped down and covered hers.

  * * *

  Millie woke to the dawn sunshine pouring in through the bank of full-length windows in the master suite. The streaks of pink and red with an indigo backdrop that were reflected in the ocean were beyond spectacular.

  She left Hunter peacefully asleep beside her and got out of bed. She picked up the silk wrap she’d brought with her and slipped it on, loosely tied it around her waist and padded over to the window, staring out at the view in wonder.