Feel the Heat: A Contemporary Romance Anthology (20 page)

“You are?” Meg was exceedingly pleased with his comment. “I mean, I’m attracted to you too. Very much so.”

“Stay with me this weekend.”

“What?”

“It’s a weekend for romance. We’ve established we both desire each other. Why not give ourselves the weekend off from our responsibilities and explore it a bit? Take a break from our real lives, our real personalities.”

“Be who we want to be?” she asked. “Break out of our normal mold?”

“Exactly. Just be ourselves without worrying about the outside world or other people’s expectations of us.”

Rob’s proposal appealed to her more than she cared to admit. She’d spent a lifetime caring for others and the idea of taking a weekend for herself, giving herself the chance to do anything she wanted without fear of recrimination was tempting.

“I really want to sleep with you.”

“Thank God.” Rob pulled her into another deep, passionate kiss.

A knock at the door soon interrupted them.

“That’ll be dinner,” he said. “Why don’t you grab a quick shower while I set it up?”

“Okay.” Her clothes felt as if they were stuck to her and she couldn’t wait to feel clean again. “I’m looking forward to getting out of these clothes.”

“Tease.” He pulled her against him, letting her feel his hard cock against her stomach.

She laughed and pushed him away. “Food—now. I’m starving. I won’t be a minute. Promise.”

T
wenty minutes later
, Meg walked into the living room area of the suite, feeling like a new woman. The steaming hot shower had relaxed every stiff, cold muscle in her body. Rob’s clothing hung loose on her hourglass frame and made her feel tiny for once in her life. Although she wasn’t what anyone would call fat, she wasn’t pencil-thin either. Grandma used to tell her she was a healthy girl with meat on her bones and she should thank the Lord she wasn’t one of those emaciated-looking women that television seemed to consider beautiful. Meg had long ago gotten used to the fact that she was never going to wear single-digit sized clothing.

“Well, don’t you look cute.”

“Ugh,” Meg groaned. “Cute is for puppies and babies.”

Rob ruffled his hand through her freshly combed curls. “Sorry, Meg, but you look very cute right now.”

She smacked his hand away. “Stop messing up my hair. The only time I can get a comb through these damn curls is when they’re wet.”

“I love your curls.” He wrapped one around his finger as if to prove it. “Part of what makes you so cute.”

“Oh, you’re a regular comedian.”

Grinning, Rob gestured toward the table by the big windows. Outside the rain was still falling, although it seemed to be weakening in intensity. Of course, that was probably just wishful thinking on her part.

“Still hungry?”

“Ravenous.” She looked at the huge array of food. “My God, you’ve ordered enough for an army.”

“I figured you’d need a little help keeping those sweatpants up. Tiny as you are.”

“Ha ha. If I eat all this, I’ll never fit into the new clothes in my suitcase I starved myself for months to buy.”

“I hope you’re joking about that. You’re perfect the way you are.”

Meg dismissed his compliment with a wave of her hand. “Oh right, I’m a veritable goddess. Actually, I think I missed my time. Clearly this figure was meant for the Renaissance, not the twenty-first century. What is that?” She gestured to a small bowl on the table.

“Beluga caviar.”

Meg wrinkled her nose. “Fish eggs?”

“Have you ever tried it?”

“No, they don’t usually serve that in the school cafeteria.”

“Well, you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Rob said. “It really is exquisite.”

“I don’t suppose you’d let me take your word for it?”

“Absolutely not.” Picking up a cracker, he placed a healthy sized dollop on top. “This is my favorite treat. Here.” He presented the cracker to her. Meg started to reach for it, but he shook his head, placing it at her lips, determined to feed it to her. “Open up.”

Meg opened her mouth, accepting the cracker. Chewing slowly, she decided the taste wasn’t as bad as she might have expected.

“Well?”

“It’s pretty good,” she admitted, “although I don’t think it’s going to knock barbeque potato chips off the list as my favorite snack.”

“At a hundred and fifty dollars an ounce, you’re probably wise to stick with the chips.”

“How much?”

Rob was taken aback by her dismay. “A hundred and fifty dollars.”

“How much did I just eat?”

“Half an ounce?” Rob guessed, confused by her response.

Slapping a hand across her mouth, Meg shook her head.

“Are you okay?”

“You should have warned me it was so expensive,” she chastised him. “I would have chewed longer. Hell, I wouldn’t have eaten so much. My God. Do you know what you can do with that kind of money?”

* * *

R
ob tried
to stifle the laughter welling up inside of him at her words because he could see she was serious. Finally, the laughter won out. “Chewed longer?”

Meg rose from the table, her arms akimbo and her eyes narrowed. She pointed a finger at him. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Your company is nice enough to give you a free place to stay and to pay for all your meals and you take advantage of that. If I were your boss, I’d take that caviar out of your unappreciative hide.”

Shaking his head at her impassioned words, Rob stopped laughing and considered her point of view. From her perspective, he certainly did look like a greedy employee and for a moment, he considered confessing his true identity. His entire life he had lived a lifestyle most people could only dream about. He was born to an affluent family and, during his adulthood, he’d worked hard to increase his own personal wealth.

No doubt his upbringing and standard of living had blinded him to the travails of the middle class who worked hard to chisel out an existence. He felt humbled by this teacher’s words. For him, eating hundreds of dollars worth of caviar in a single sitting meant nothing, but to Meg, such extravagance seemed greedy and wasteful.

“I’m sorry to upset you, Meg. I thought you knew how expensive caviar was. I should have warned you of the cost and let you make the decision.” He was amazed to hear himself apologizing. Rob Madison was not a man to apologize for his actions and certainly not for something as innocuous as offering a woman caviar.

“Damn.” She closed her eyes. “I sound like the biggest bitch on earth. I’m sorry, Rob. Just so you know—I’m a pain in the ass to all of my friends. I’m way too out-spoken and opinionated.”

For the first time in his entire life, Rob was making a friend based on his own personality and not by how much money he had in the bank. He was sick of having women throw themselves at him merely because they desired the power of his name and the bottom line on his paycheck. He’d grown up in a world surrounded by the rich and famous and, aside from his employees, he couldn’t remember ever meeting and befriending a real person.

“Don’t worry about it, Meg. What do you say we dig in?” He was desperate to get them back on solid ground.

Smiling, Meg agreed and they talked and ate until nearly dawn. Underlying their entire conversation was Rob’s intense sexual desire for her, but strangely, he felt no rush to take her to bed. He enjoyed getting to know her as a person and he sensed this time together was going a long way toward setting her own mind at ease. Meg truly wasn’t the type to hop into a stranger’s bed.

He glanced out the window. “I’m afraid this foul weather is going to upset some of the festivities today.”

“That’s right. There’s supposed to be a parade of some sort, isn’t there?”

“Yes. There is a big parade down Main Street, lots of bands and heart-shaped floats. Bit ridiculous really. Venus and Cupid ride in on the last float and officially declare Lover’s Lane open.”

“Lover’s Lane?”

“It’s the marketplace in the city center. All the merchants hawk their romantic wares.”

“Dare I ask what’s considered romantic wares?”

“Oh, you know, aphrodisiacs, lingerie, leather, sex toys, whips…that kind of thing.”

She choked on her cup of coffee. “You’re kidding!”

“Nope. Don’t worry, Meg. As soon as the weather clears, I’ll take you. I wouldn’t let you miss it. I’m already thinking about all the things I want to buy you there.”

Meg narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “You are?”

“Yep.”

She tapped her lips as if considering his plan. “Just so you know we’re skipping the booth with the whips.”

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss the idea.” Rob didn’t miss her quick intake of breath—it wasn’t one of fear as much as interest—and his arousal hit fever pitch.

Turning to her, he reached out and pulled her closer, releasing the reins on his building need and taking her lips in a kiss utterly different from the first. He wanted Meg with a passion that bordered on painful and the thought of buying her sexy clothing, body lotions and toys—and yes, even a whip—had him rock hard.

Unwilling to wait another minute, he reached down and pulled his oversized T-shirt over her head, pleased to discover she hadn’t put her bra back on after her shower.

“Rob.” She attempted to cover herself, shocked by the suddenness of his motion.

“No.” He pulled her hands away. “You’re beautiful.”

Matching his words with actions, he bent down and took one of her nipples in his mouth, relishing the sound of her delicious moan and the feel of her hands tangling in his hair. Sex with Meg would be different. He could feel it in the way her hands lovingly caressed his back as if she wanted his pleasure as much as she wanted her own.

He plucked at her other breast with his free hand, loving the sound of her rapid breathing and excited whimpers. She tugged on his hair, causing him to raise his head to look into her deep blue eyes, heavy-lidded with desire.

Her voice was a mere whisper and her body trembled with need. “It’s been too long. Please. I need you—now.”

“All you had to do was ask, Meg.” He picked her up easily.

Shock crossed her face. Rob was sure no one had ever whisked her off to the bedroom as she laughed with delight. “I feel like Scarlett O’Hara.”

He tossed her lightly into the middle of her bed before crawling over her on all fours.

Her laughter quickly turned to whimpers as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, kissing, licking and biting his way down to her breasts to continue his earlier torment. Straddling her hips, he bit back his own groan as she pushed herself against the painful erection smothering in his trousers. His lovely southern belle wasn’t idle as she worked quickly to shed his clothing. Her hands slipped beneath his shirt as she pushed it off his shoulders. Her quick intake of breath and wide eyes proved she liked what she saw.

Pulling his shirt off, he untied the drawstring holding his ridiculously large sweatpants on her waist, while Meg tackled the buttons of his pants.

“Hurry,” she cried.

Rob fought hard not to laugh at her impatience. Never one to dawdle, he found himself purposely trying to prolong the act. He had every intention of making love to Meg all night and he was in no rush to see this end. His little teacher, however, had a different lesson plan.

Stripping her pants off, he rose to shuck his own. He started to return to the bed, but Meg stopped him with an outstretched hand.

“Wait.” She sat up in order to see him better. Rob didn’t have a modest bone in his body, but her close scrutiny left him flushing a bit.

“You’re incredible. I mean, holy mother. You’re like Ryan Reynolds, Channing Tatum, and that new James Bond guy all rolled into one.”

“What, no Rhett Butler?”

Reaching over, he pulled her toward the end of the bed. He didn’t give her an opportunity to respond as he took her mouth again with a heated kiss. Gripping her knees, he pulled them apart until he stood between her legs as she lay across the bed. The height of the mattress was nearly perfect for his intentions leaving her wet opening level with his hips. Her excited little groans nearly drove him out of his mind, as he had to physically restrain himself for plunging into her. He ran his dick along her slick opening as they kissed.

So much for taking it slow.

“Rob,” she whispered when he came up for much-needed air. “Condom?”

“Shit.” Rob had nearly forgotten. Grabbing his pants, he retrieved the foil package.

“Wait. Let me.” She took the condom from him. The first tentative touch of her fingers on his cock staggered him. His breath caught in his throat and he had to lean forward to hold himself upright with his hands.

“Christ,” he hissed, as she teased him with her firm, slow touches as she unrolled the condom. “Much more of that, Margaret, and that lousy rubber will be useless before I even get inside you.”

Laughing, she finished her task, running her hands appreciatively along his chest, stopping to toy with his nipples. Rising up on her elbows, she stroked each one with her tongue, planting soft kisses all over his chest before chastising him. “What did I tell you about calling me Margaret?”

“Apologies.”

“I want you.” Looking into her lovely eyes, he could see she spoke the truth.

“I had planned to go slow. Savor the moment.”

“We have all weekend to savor the moment. Right now, I need you. Hard and fast, please.”

Thrilled by her demanding words, he moved. All rational thought and years of practiced patience left him as he took her at her word. He entered her in one strong thrust, stopping for only a moment to enjoy how tightly she clutched his cock in her pussy and how firmly her arms held onto him.

“Holy mother,” she breathed into his ear. He smiled at what was quickly becoming his favorite of her delightful expressions.

Unable to hold back any longer, Rob gave her exactly what she asked for. Hard and fast. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if his movements weren’t almost brutal, but Meg’s cries of desire and the fingernails digging into his back urged him on.

He had slept with movie stars, powerful businesswomen, hell, even a princess. Yet, somehow, Meg stirred things inside him he never realized had lain dormant until she awoke them.

On and on, he pounded inside her, vaguely registering as she climaxed twice, her pussy muscles clenching him like a vise, her screams of ecstasy driving him on. When he sensed she was approaching the cliff again, he prepared to jump with her. As their combined orgasms swept through them, only one thought permeated Rob’s mindless bliss.