At the Billionaire's Beck and Call? (8 page)

R
yder pulled her to him, then crossed the vast sitting room, keeping her firmly pinned to his side. Macy's stomach quivered with anticipation. She'd never felt anything like this intoxicating mix of excitement and impatience, not even on Christmas Eve as a child, knowing there would be extravagant presents under the tree. The prospect of unwrapping Ryder surpassed any gift she could imagine.

She'd been resisting him for weeks, then when he'd had the call about his brother, her heart had gone out to him. And once she was beside him on the couch, his magnificent chest bare, him gripping her for dear life, she knew the resistance she'd been clinging to had been shattered. She'd tried to bolster it again when he'd kissed her, tried to hold the fraying edges of her self-restraint, but she'd been
yearning
for his kiss, dreaming of it at night and so reason had fled within minutes. It was one
thing to withstand her attraction to him from across an office, or standing near him on a cruiser. It was quite another when they were alone on a couch and she was in his arms, feeling his body heat, smelling the masculine scent of his naked skin.

Since the night he'd kissed her in the lobby of her apartment building she'd been actively holding him at bay, now she'd reached the limits of her capacity to withstand the attraction. And in this moment she couldn't remember why she'd resisted so long.

At his room, Ryder caught her up against the doorframe. “I can't wait. It's a long trip to the bed.” He lowered his mouth to hers, opening her lips in one smooth stroke. She clung to his shoulders, melting, dissolving into him. An earthy blues tune played in the background.

He arched back, breathing heavily, eyes almost black with desire. “I want to savor every single second.”

He lifted her into the cradle of his arms and strode through the door. She'd never considered herself the being-carried-to-the-bed type, but the sheer masculinity of the action made her belly flutter, so she clung to his neck and surrendered to the experience.

He laid her carefully on the huge bed, draped in a burgundy cover and pillows. To her sensitized skin, the cool, crisp bedcover felt glorious, and she glided the back of her hands along the surface for the simple pleasure of it. Being here with Ryder was giving her permission to indulge her body's senses in a way she'd never allowed herself before. She'd been raised to be in control at all times, to always suspect the media was watching, and that had carried over into every aspect of her life. Ryder was stripping down those restraints. But she didn't question it; she'd think about it later.

He straightened and her breath faltered at the sight of
his muscled chest and shoulders. When he moved to join her on the bed, she held up a hand.

“Wait. You said you wanted to savor this and so do I.” Emboldened by her awakening sensuousness, she took a shuddering breath. “Take off your trousers.”

A trace of surprise flickered in his darkened eyes before he raised a brow in appreciation and smiled.

She swallowed and nodded. “I want to see you. Once you're down here I won't be able to see you like this.”

Ryder unzipped the black pants with excruciating slowness, then let them slither down his strong, tanned thighs to the floor before stepping out. Restless on the bed, she wasn't sure this was the best way to be doing this—not touching for the seconds, minutes their bodies had been apart was making her tremble.

He rested his hands on hips above his black designer boxer shorts. “Shall I join you?” His voice was deep and husky and she took three heartbeats to respond.

“When you finish the job.” She only just managed to push the words out, her throat was so tight.

Ryder cocked an eyebrow and held her gaze as he slid the boxer shorts down. For half their journey, Macy kept her eyes on his, but when she couldn't hold back any longer, she glanced down his chest, down his full length. Light played over firm muscle definition, robbing her of thought and breath.

A physique like that deserved appreciation. It deserved worship.

Want was such a weak word. If she didn't have him soon, she'd explode. She held an arm out to him and he came to her, kneeling up on the bed, moving closer until he hovered over her without touching. “Your turn.”

“I can't with you there.” She'd need more room
than he'd allowed her to take off the formfitting sheath dress.

“Try.”

Macy smiled as she arched to reach behind and lower the zipper all the way down her back, pulling one arm from the sleeve. She brushed him accidentally as she maneuvered and Ryder claimed her mouth.

The other sleeve forgotten, she drew him down, kissing him back with more passion than she knew she possessed. Her heart soared—the only time she remembered feeling this
right
was the last time Ryder had kissed her.

His hips lay over hers and she groaned. “Ryder, I don't know how much longer I can wait.”

“You'll just have to last, because I want this to go on all night.” He straightened back onto his knees, one on each side of her thighs. “The rest of the dress needs to go.”

She lifted and pulled her other arm from the sleeve, then sat up to pull the sheath over her head. What had been mere anticipation was building to fever pitch inside every cell of her body, and they'd barely done more than kiss. Though, she'd been fantasizing about this since he'd kissed her the night in her apartment's lobby. Had craved him since then.

He quickly disposed of her bra and panties, then his fingers lightly traced circles on her stomach and she shivered.

His eyes blazed. “You're exquisite.”

Almost writhing with need, Macy reached for him, and he dragged her close. “I think about you all the time,” he whispered.

He thought of marrying her.
Her heart twisted a little, but she ignored it. He'd said tonight was just about them, not about her work on the project or him buying her
father's company. And he was right. She pushed away everything in her mind but him and raised her mouth to his and hovered. “Kiss me.”

“My absolute pleasure,” he said as his head angled down. His tongue slipped inside her mouth and her lips caught it. She sucked, gently at first, but as his hips bucked against hers, she applied more pressure until he moaned, his body pressing along hers with delicious pressure. Her heart pounded, her need for him growing to epic proportions—beyond anything she'd experienced, so intense it would have scared her had it been anyone by Ryder. He somehow made her feel safe and out of control at the same time.

His mouth wrenched away and he trailed wet kisses down her throat to her breast, sucking, grazing his teeth over the tip. Her body contracted, muscles pulling tight. Thoughts could barely form in her mind, her entire world was the feel of him, the clean, musky scent of him.

Her hands found his buttocks, her nails scraping across the perfectly formed roundness.

“Ryder, now. Please.”

He slithered down her body, his hands spanning her hips and plunged his tongue into her. Macy cried out. She looked down her body and met his eyes of dark chocolate. And then his tongue plunged again and this time it stayed, flicking rhythmically against her and the only sensation in the world was his warm mouth until she burst free, calling his name, unable to contain it, and then went limp against the bedcover.

She felt Ryder move back up her body, his breath almost as fast as hers. “Damn, you drive me crazy.” His voice sounded ragged and, eyes still shut, she instinctively reached between their bodies to find him. When she did, she grasped him firmly. He was hot and solid in her palm
and as she moved her fingers, he rasped, “Macy, I need to be inside you. I want to be as close as I can.”

Her eyes flew open, body instantly alert again. “I want that, too.” She rubbed him again with her fingertips.

“Then you'll have to stop that. I've been on a knife's edge since that plane ride this morning.”

Her blood heated again and she reluctantly released him, squirming inside as the need rebuilt.

“Macy, I wanted this to last so much longer, but I can't. I'm having trouble lasting another second.”

She kissed his salty chest. “It's perfect timing.”

His pec muscles flexed as her tongue traced their contours and he moaned. Then he rolled away, off the bed, rummaged through his things, and retrieved a condom. In a flash, he'd sheathed himself and was back.

He moved over her, holding his weight on arms positioned on either side of her. She reached up to kiss him hungrily, wrapping her legs around his waist, inviting. As he surged forward, joining them, she linked one ankle over the other behind his back and held him there, relishing the pure intimacy of it.

When he pulled back, she lessened her grip and gave herself over to the surging rhythms. He kissed her and she clung to his shoulders, etching this feeling, the scents, his labored breathing into her mind, knowing she'd remember this moment until the day she died. If they never had more than this night, she'd own one dazzling memory of nirvana.

She flew higher, Ryder's intense gaze on her face driving her higher still, the slow, sexy croon from the radio rolling and swelling in flawless timing with the build of sensation within her, providing the soundtrack for a moment of perfection. Then mounting waves sent from heaven crashed through her body, dragging him
with her. He groaned and murmured her name over and over, his voice a spent whisper warming her hair.

He rested his forehead against her and even at this close range she saw a lazy grin spread across his face.

“What?” she asked, still breathless.

“That was the most explosive experience of my life.” He lifted his weight from her, moving to lie beside her.

Already missing his warmth and skin, Macy rolled toward him to reconnect. He scooped her in alongside him as a blues singer serenaded in the background.

She smiled into his shoulder, her leg draped across his. “I don't think I'll ever feel the same about the blues again.”

Though in actuality, she knew she'd never feel the same about
herself
again…or Ryder. The thought sent a shiver down her spine so she pushed it away and snuggled in closer to the man who'd just taken her to unimaginable heights.

 

Macy woke in Ryder's hotel bed, with a lazy smile on her face. He was asleep beside her on his stomach, one arm above his head, wrapped around his pillow, the other proprietarily flung across her waist. Her skin under his hand was warmed by his body heat.

She started at the almost unbearable beauty of his back laid out before her. His shoulders were so broad, and in sleep, his muscle bulk was smooth and relaxed under his tan skin.

She ran a light hand along his shoulder blades, not wanting to wake him, but compelled to feel that magnificence, make sure it was real.

He stirred and opened his eyes. A smile spread slowly across his face. “That beats my alarm clock,” he said, voice husky and deep from sleep.

She withdrew her hand, unsure of their relationship now. How do you address your boss when you wake in his bed after a night of pleasure beyond imagining?

He reached for her hand and interlaced their fingers. “Regrets?”

She rolled up onto an elbow, scrutinizing his face for cues. His features were open and relaxed, so she answered honestly. “Not unless you have any. You were upset, and—”

“Shh.” He cupped her cheek with his warm palm. “This wasn't about my brother. The call hit me, sure. But I've been wanting you here so badly I haven't been sleeping.”

She looked around the hotel room with an arched eyebrow. “You wanted me
here
?”

“It's a bed.” He grinned. “I'm not fussy on the details.” His face sobered. “Though I had planned on taking you out last night and impressing you with a romantic dinner—and I'll still do it one night soon. You deserve to be wined and dined.”

She lay back down beside him, not wanting to break the magic, but knowing she had to. “You need to think about your brother. The funeral will be soon and, considering the flight back to the U.S., you'll need to leave right away if you want to go.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I don't think I will go. It'd be hypocritical. And it'd start a media frenzy which would impact on my mother.”

She could understand wanting to avoid a media frenzy, especially about something as private as grief. “What about your other brother.”

“Seth.” Ryder frowned. “What about him?”

“Should you send him a message or something?”

“I don't know.” He scrubbed a hand across his face. “We're in the middle of something…awkward.”

The tightness in his voice jumped out and caught her attention. This was important. “What is it?”

He rolled onto his back and threw a hooked arm over his head. “My father's will split his majority share holdings between us, leaving no one in control. Effectively pitting us against each other.”

“Oh, Ryder, that's horrible.” She laid her fingertips on his cheek. “Why would he do that?”

He glanced over and gave her a humorless smile. “He was trying to help us get along.”

“How would that make you get along?”

“I suppose he thought we'd suddenly become best friends, form a voting block and run the company cooperatively.”

Macy shook her head at Warner Bramson's ignorance about his sons' personalities. Or had it been a last-minute attempt to heal the divide between his families? Either way, even she could see it would never work with a son used to being in control like Ryder. Or Seth, from what she'd read of him in the papers.

“What will you do?”

“Obtain a majority in my own right.” His jaw was set. That was obviously nonnegotiable for him.

Suddenly, everything became crystal clear. She swallowed. “That's why you want to buy my father's company. It has some stock in Bramson Holdings.”