Carried Away (2010) (4 page)

checked their surroundings. Clear. Then he removed his jacket, swung her around toward him and placed it over her shoulders. She clutched the lapels securely to her in the wind, but did not look at him as she murmured her thanks. Within a few minutes, the launch came. Both of them remained silent. Their camaraderie had died and Grant suddenly felt like a teenager, unable to reestablish it with any finesse. They strode along the calle quickly toward their hotel, her high heels clattering on the stones, the wind whipping higher and cooler. Restaurants were closing for the evening, proprietors closing the shutters, pulling down the grates over the doors. The walks were virtually empty. No one was following them. 30 Carried Away In the elevator, at her door, he knew what he wanted to do, but told himself to wait for her lead. They were going to be together for a long time, days, weeks. Hed have time to enthrall her, make her want him in her bed. Yes, fool that he was, he was so far gone in lust, he knew hed take her bed again, even if even though she never wanted him permanently any other way. She dug out her key from her purse. He had given it to her after hed spoken to the desk clerk and arranged for the addition of this room to his own bill. The man had been curious about Grants need for the room, but he cut him off, saying the previous occupants had been noisy and he was willing to pay for peace. Let me open it, he told her as he took it from her fingers. With her eyes, she asked a thousand questions about his intentions. I want to come in to check that no one has been in to search your things. Or plant anything. Fear made her frown. You wouldnt think someone would do that here? You never know. He slid the plastic in its slot. The lock clicked and he turned the handle. Look around. Try to remember how you left things. And no. He caught her arm when she began to slip off her heels in her old habit of getting out the contraptions as soon as she could. Just examine. She was paused in the doorway, her breasts tight against his chest, her gaze dreamy and yearning but frightened. Youre making me scared. I want to make you come. Loud and crazy and more than once. I dont mean to. Now do this. Tell me. What do you see? With regret, he closed her door and took his jacket from her. Lucky he could walk with the boner he sported, he deliberately marched around the sitting room with his coat in front of him. The place, a mirror image of his, seemed empty. Bare of humanity. Well, Coco never traveled with a lot of luggage. Wheres your suitcase? The bedroom, she told him, spreading her fingertips above her closed laptop on the desk. Nothing looks moved here. 31 Cerise DeLand He examined the tracks in the carpet. All seemed to be hers. Slim, size seven. Strolling into her bedroom, he noted the chocolate truffles on her pillows. The maid had been in for the evening rounds to turn down the bedding and plop treats on top. Had anyone come with her? Might she work alone? Hed ask the desk in the morning, just for the info. Just in case. Hmm. He strolled around the foot of the king-size bed. Cocos camera bag lay open on the floor. Inside laid one palm-sized camera, one larger, and a Nikon, two telescopic lenses, her battery, and containers for all the odds and ends photographers used. Her little red suitcase lay open right next to it. Shed emptied it of the white cotton dress. He could see it hanging in the open doors of the armoire in front of him. He also saw the white linen suit hanging next to it. His gaze drifted back to the camera bag. Something about it niggled at him. What? Well, hello? He bent over to peer more closely at one item that knocked the air from him. He fingered the tissue-thin fabric a major chemical company had perfected only a few years ago. A suit of this fit its host like white on rice. Whats more, the wearer could be fried, frozen, shot and stabbedand survive. Coco, babe, what the hell are you doing with a suit of para-aramid? And how did you get something only deep cover agents ever acquire? Your job requires you to break and enter? I dont see anything here, Grant. From the sound of her voice, he could tell she was headed his way. He stepped away from her bag and over to the window. He fisted his hands to stop the quake that ran through him. He spun to look at her through the new perspective the suit gave him. What are you not telling me? I dont think anything has been moved in here. But what do you see? She strolled around the room as if she were window-shopping at Macys. She stopped when she spied her camera bag open, and with only a moments freeze to note the sight of the black cat suit, she announced, No. Nothing amiss in here. Check the bathroom. 32 Carried Away She walked away. He fisted his hands. How many secrets did she have? She came back in and approached him. All clear. He caught her upper arms. Im going to say this. And I dont want any arguments. Okay. She sounded tentative. That connecting door stays open tonight. No locks, no privacy. Being harsh was definitely not the way he meant to end the night. A man could always hope to get lucky, right? But the suit got to him. Sleep tight, he said, trying for some of the congeniality theyd built over dinner. He turned on his heel and left her standing alone by the window. He didnt look back. If he did, hed sweep her up and carry her to his bed. There, within arms reach, he could ensure safety for her. But he couldnt save her from herself, could he? He undressed and out of frustration, threw himself into a freezing cold shower. It didnt calm his mood or his erection. So, naked, he went into his sitting room, paced, stood at the window for god-knew-how-long and watched the moon travel the sky. Running his hands over his head, he decided to move the chaise longue to angle toward the window, the view of the black velvet night and what he could see of her suite. Then he parked himself in the thing, hoping hed wear himself out. But he began to hear sounds from her room. She shuffled things. Left her light on for a while. Reading, maybe. She got a drink out of the mini-bar and he could hear her fiddle with the bottle and the glass. Then she went into her bedroom. After a half-hour or so, he heard her click on a lamp and he could see rays dapple the carpet. Once more, she got up, this time to get a drink of water in the bathroom. She padded back to bed. Yeah, babe. Hard to sleep, isnt it, when there is so much more to say? 33 Cerise DeLand He sat, reclined in the chair, one hand over his mouth, eyes glued to her room near the window. He waited. Thats one thing he was so good at. She came into sight as she drifted toward the window. Dressed in a floor-length gown of some clingy stuff, she leaned on the credenza in front of the window. Her nipples were poking the fabric, her tortured face lit by moonlight, her eyes closed. Forgetting what we had? Remembering? Steady, Warwick. It may be only her secrets that she thinks of. Not you. Why you? She moaned and faced their door. He dared not breathe. Then she walked forward. On cats feet, she came to the doorway, paused and there in the silvery light, her gaze found his. He let her look her fill. God knew, he was riveted to the chair. Whatever she saw, she glided forward. His belly convulsed. His cock lay on his thigh, stiffening with interest. She came to stand next to him and sank to her knees. With a gaze his heart described as loving, she put two fingers to his lips, chasing his own hand away. Dont talk? Babe, I cant utter a word. Then she moved closer. His brain melted down in the fragrance of her perfume as she reached one arm around his neck and pressed her face to his bare chest. The warmth of her flowed over him. He shut his eyes. Opened them. This silken body in his arms was really hers, and not some fantasy. She kissed his shoulder, pressed her lips to his sternum. He heard her sniff and knew she fought tears. Thats when his arms clamped around her and hauled her up to splay her upper body over him. He planted his lips in her hair. Her soft curls. He caressed her back. Sleek flesh and bones. He put one palm over a cheek of her ass and squeezed. Come up here, babe. I need all of you. 34 Carried Away She let her head fall back. Her eyes glistened with torment. She gazed at him, wanting, pleading for so many things. Comfort? Affection? He had that and more for her. Hed never stopped wanting her. Couldnt, wouldnt now that she was here within reach. He might be all kinds of a chump, but at the moment, he didnt care a thing about his reputation. Only about claiming her once more. He put his hands on either side of her head and smiled sweetly at her. But she struggled up. Stood. He panicked. She was leaving? The lump in his throat dissolved when she shimmied out of the gown, letting it puddle on the floor, and climbed onto the chaise with him. Lying along his side, she rested on his chest. The feel of her skin on his was like a stroke of satin. Hed dreamed of this, her, but hadnt recalled how exquisite she felt. He decided he needed to touch all of her, from head to toe. He planted his big hand in her hair and rumpled her curls. She smiled against his chest. He traced the shell of her ear and pulled her earlobe. She wiped away tears on one of her cheeks. He grinned and began the descent from her delicate jaw down her elegant throat, defining its length with one knuckle. Until he reached her cleavage and halted. To go on was the question. Check it, Warwick. If he caressed her, if he showed her how badly he had missed her, how he still yearned for her, did he risk anything? Other than his sanity, all over again? Or could he take whatever she was offering here and enjoy it for now? For the moment? Why she had left him, he might never learn. What she was doing with the cat suit, he would demand to know. But why she came to him here, he understood. He could tell from her insomnia and her tears. She wanted him, missed him. And by god, that meant hed welcome her. He inhaled and slid his hand to cover her breast. She undulated, mewled in the back of her throat, and he crushed her close. His thumb circled her nipple and it blossomed for him. He moaned and sent his open palm down her rib cage. Curved but taut, her belly was such a turn-on. But not as much as what lay below. He splayed his 35 Cerise DeLand fingers and dropped into the wealth of hair over her mound. She stopped breathing. Christ, he might never need air again either, she felt so moist, so soft. He let his hand dive lower and his fingers found her seam. He sank inside. She was wet and warm, swollen for him. He rose up and whirled her beneath him. With brute strength and wild need to keep her, he pinned her to the chair. Her gaze on his was beseeching him for understanding or mercy, he could not tell. Her lips parted. Darling, she murmured, Im so sorry I left. He lowered his face to her shoulder then. Pride wouldnt let him show her the raw emotion that wrecked him. Grant, she whispered. Look at me, please. Youve got my hands trapped, honey, and I want to kiss you. 36 Carried Away Chapter Four As he drew away, Coco could see written on Grants face what she had known for three years. He had cared for her far and above the mind-blowing sex theyd shared. She had felt the same madness for him, and yet, the timing then had been so bad. Her job not done. Her devotion divided. No heart to enjoy a love affair. No time to be honest or stay and nurture a relationship. She meant to change whatever had been wrong then. Now he took one of her hands from between their bodies and buried his lips in her palm. She freed her other hand to frame his face and lean up to press her mouth to his. This first taste of him made her ravenous. Shed hungered for him for three long years. Today, shed tamped it down. His looks, his offhand charm were manna for her soul. Always had been. Had he known that? Could she show him? Warm and responsive, he let her kiss him as she pleased. Oh, she pleased. Sweetly. Lightly. Brushing her lips over his, she sampled him time and again. Remembering and discovering anew his flavors, his textures, she learned once more his willingness to let her enchant him. The same way he enthralled her. She wrapped her arms around his massive shoulders and rubbed her nipples into his heavily muscled chest. Oh, she had missed him. She placed her hand on the back of his head to hold it steady, and with an eager mouth, sucked on his lips, licked the outline, kissed him with the desire to erase the empty years without him. Patient, he breathed deeply as she took him higher and drank of his lips longer, harder. Rough, tender, she set her mouth on his again and again, shaping, savoring, devouring. He began to groan and she knew shed made her point. Time to make another, and so she took his lips once more and sent her tongue inside his warm cavern. He gripped her nape and let his tongue tangle with hers. 37 Cerise DeLand She broke away, breathless. I thought I remembered you, your body, this. She took another sample of his mouth. I hadnt. No dream compares to flesh and blood. Pulling her down to sprawl flat over the chaise, he captured both her wrists and shoved them above her head. He thrust one leg between hers and spread hers wide. Against her mound, she felt the long steel of his cock. She shifted, trying to position him near her seam and take him inside. He jerked up. Not yet, he growled and bit her earlobe. She arched against him, blissful. She could give him time. Give him anything he wanted. Its what shed come for. What shed planned for. If hed let her. If he still wanted her. And from what she was feeling and hearing, he did. She cried out in joy and wiggled beneath him, abrading her nipples against the rich fur of his chest. She hooked a leg over one of his hips and rocked her pussy on his thigh. He slid down her body, eluding her, making her moan in frustration, his hands still gripping her wrists like manacles. Nonsense on his lips, he murmured something torrid to the spot behind her ear. Trailing his tongue down her throat, he stopped and pressed his mouth to her pulse. Something that sound like alive and here escaped him. She was, yes, finally she was. His fingers slid down the backs of her arms and he placed his mouth to her sternum. He cupped her breasts. She mewled. Her nipples yearned for his teeth, his tongue, his kisses. Her breasts were so full, so hard, so needy, she could feel them reach for him, demanding his loving. He gave it. Oh, sweet god! Her hips rose up off the chair as he took both breasts in his hands and with a rasping tongue, he laved her. Round and round, he bathed each completely, kissing the undersides and licking her cleavage. She gasped for air, her hipbones grinding up against his, searching for relief. He didnt give any. Instead, his fingers played with her nipples. Tweaking them, twisting, then rewarding them with a hard suck deep into