From Leather to Lace (6 page)

He swept his hands from her hips, underneath her, to between her thighs and used his thumbs to spread her folds wider, probing his tongue deeply into her slit and running a finger over her clitoris and massaging the delicate bud. She bucked and convulsed as he hit the sensitive bundle of nerves and she took him into her mouth even deeper until the tip of him brushed against the back of her throat.

She was close. The thrust of her hips became more frantic as she felt the quickening low in her belly, bringing her closer to that ultimate peak. As Maxwell’s tongue and fingers continued to penetrate her, the pleasure heightened to a throbbing sensation that surged through her before she reached that dizzying, mind-blowing pinnacle. She cried out his name as her body arched and stiffened in orgasm and her inner muscles contracted around his tongue and fingers. A moment later he stiffened beneath her and, still in the throes of her own orgasm, she stroked him hard to maximise his climax. He cried out loudly as his body went rigid and warm semen rained over her face and breasts.

Chapter Five

“Good morning, sleepy head.”

Sarah stretched and opened her eyes to see Maxwell kneeling beside the bed with a steaming cup of coffee in hand.

“Good morning, yourself,” she mumbled sleepily. “Hmmm, that coffee smells divine.”

She struggled into a sitting position and accepted the mug gratefully from Maxwell before she took a long sip. Sunshine streamed into the room, giving it a lovely, cheerful glow and making her spirits rise. She felt really good considering she hadn’t managed to get much sleep the previous night. Thinking about what she and Maxwell had done together the previous evening brought a flush to her cheeks.

Maxwell climbed onto the bed next to her and ran a finger lightly down her arm. “You look really good in the morning,” he whispered in her ear, sending a pleasant shiver through her. Sarah cast him an assessing look. He had showered and was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that accentuated his muscular chest deliciously.

“I’m not sure that dishevelled hair and morning breath are particularly attractive,” she responded with a raised eyebrow.

“That, my lovely, is definitely a matter of opinion,” he stated as he dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers in a featherlight kiss that sent her senses reeling.

“Ohhh.” Her nipples peaked and she pressed into him, inviting him to kiss her more deeply. He pulled away from her and brushed a thumb over one nipple and watched as it puckered and pebbled beneath his touch. He dropped his head to her breast and taking the nipple into his mouth he sucked hard. She moaned and brought her hand up behind his head to hold him to her while she thrust her breast deeply into his mouth. He chuckled and pulled away from her, leaving her panting and wanting more.

“Not so fast, my sweet, breakfast is waiting,” he said, swatting her playfully on the thigh before he climbed off the bed.

Sarah scurried out of bed and headed towards the bathroom. She needed to freshen up. She took a quick shower and, not having a toothbrush, she did what she could with toothpaste and her finger and a lot of gargling. Emerging from the bathroom, she wrapped herself in a bathrobe that Maxwell had thoughtfully provided for her and went to join him down below.

Sarah stopped as she surveyed the spotless living areas and kitchen downstairs. Not a beer can, bottle or overflowing ashtray could be seen as though the festivities of the previous afternoon and evening had never occurred.

“The caterers cleaned up last night and came back early this morning to pack up the rest of their equipment,” Maxwell answered her unasked question. “Come and join me.”

He was sipping coffee and reading the paper at the outdoor table, which was groaning under a delicious array of fruit, smoked salmon and fresh bread. She joined him on the patio and arched an eyebrow curiously at him and was rewarded with a self-satisfied smile.

“Despite what you might think, I am capable of putting together some breakfast, Ms Maddox,” he said with a smirk.

“Well, it looks fantastic and I’m famished,” she responded, taking a chair.

She heaped fruit onto her plate and topped it with a generous dollop of yoghurt. Maxwell smiled as he eyed her plate. Leaning forward, he grasped her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted her head up so she was looking into his eyes.

“I like a woman with a healthy appetite,” he said, his voice low and husky.

“I need to keep my strength up,” she whispered as her stomach performed flip-flops.
How does he do this to me with just a look and a touch?

He leered at her and bent to brush his lips very softly over hers before releasing her and taking up his paper. Sarah sighed inwardly at the lost contact and scooped up some fruit. Chewing slowly, she thought about how to broach the question that had been nagging at her.

“How serious were you and Angelique?” she asked, her voice deliberately nonchalant.

Maxwell looked up in surprise, his eyebrows raised. “Well, from my perspective—not very. We have some things in common, a similar circle of friends. It was a relationship that was…” He waved a hand in the air. “Convenient, for both of us,” he finished.

“Did
you
break things off with her?”

“I initiated it, yes—and she agreed.” His eyes narrowed. “Why these questions about Angelique?”

“No reason,” she responded hurriedly. “Just curiosity and I wanted to be sure that it is completely over between you.”

“As I told you last night, Sarah, it is over,” he stated with finality. “But I could ask you some questions about James—do you two have a history?”

How did he turn this around to me and James?

“I have no history at all with James. I have only met him a couple of times and don’t forget that it was your ex-girlfriend who conveniently interrupted us on the balcony last night.”

He sighed heavily and set his paper aside. “We have been over this, Sarah, and besides, the last I saw of James he was making himself very acquainted with you,” he said coolly.

She didn’t want to go down this road and didn’t want to recall the incident with James. Anyway, she had no right to question Maxwell about past girlfriends—it wasn’t as if they were in a serious relationship. The thought depressed her a little.

“You’re right,” she said in a conciliatory tone, “I won’t mention Angelique again.” She decided she needed to tread on more neutral ground. “Owning your own company must be challenging, you must be very busy.”

He looked at her in surprise. “It is challenging, and yes, I am busy. How about you and your job?” He was looking at her intently, head cocked to one side.

“I work in hospitality so my hours can be erratic. My job is very boring,” she said dismissively. She hoped he couldn’t detect the flush that crept across her cheeks. Over the last twelve hours she had managed to push her job to the back of her mind as she did her feelings of guilt for deceiving him. Of course she didn’t want him to know what she really did in her evenings—something told her he would not be impressed.

“Are you available Tuesday night?” he asked.

Sarah conducted a mental check of her diary. She was working that evening. “I’m working.”

“What about Thursday?”

She thought quickly. It wasn’t unreasonable in the hospitality industry to work evenings—in fact, that was exactly why she used hospitality as her pseudo job description—but she really didn’t want to make Maxwell suspicious and encourage too many difficult questions.

“I’ll check my schedule,” she said. “Perhaps I can rotate some shifts.”

He fixed her with a penetrative stare then shrugged and smiled at her silkily. “Have you had enough to eat?” he asked in his low, sexy voice.

“Yes,” she all but whispered. The raw, aroused way he was looking at her took her breath away and made her insides liquefy.

“Come,” he commanded, standing up and holding his hand out to her.

Shakily she rose to her feet, her mouth suddenly dry with anticipation. She took his outstretched hand and followed him back upstairs and into the bedroom.

Chapter Six

Sarah thought about the weekend she had spent with Maxwell and smiled. After a leisurely Sunday spent lazing about in each other’s company, Maxwell had driven her back to her apartment. Her mind drifted back to him walking her to the door and her surprise at finding a huge bunch of flowers waiting for her.

She picked up the box and plucked the card from the centre. The flowers were from James.

I’m sorry. Please let me make it up to you… James.

She glanced up at Maxwell who was leaning casually against the wall. “Secret admirer?” he asked, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly.

Sarah unlocked her door, balancing the huge box of flowers in one hand as she did so. “They’re from James,” she said, placing the flowers on a hall table as she entered the apartment. “Apologising for…” Her voice drifted off and she waved a hand in the air. They both knew why James was apologising.

Maxwell snorted and eyed the flowers suspiciously. “I’m still planning to discuss that little incident with him,” he said. “He is obviously attracted to you, Sarah, you would have to be blind not to see it.”

“That might be so, Maxwell, but I am not attracted to him, at least not in that way. It was sweet of him to send the flowers.”

As the words left her mouth she could have kicked herself. Maxwell obviously had a lot of adjectives to describe James and ‘sweet’ was not one of them.

“Are you serious?” he growled at her. “The guy practically assaulted you in my bathroom.”

Sarah sighed heavily. “You’re right, his behaviour was totally inappropriate. I just meant that it was sweet of him to apologise and send the flowers. He obviously feels bad about the whole situation. He did have too much to drink and, as I mentioned previously, I believe he thought that I knew it was him,” she pointed out. “Please let’s not discuss this any further. It was a lovely weekend, Maxwell, and I don’t want it to end on a sour note.”

He shoved a hand through his hair then roughly pulled her to him. “I agree it was a lovely weekend,” he said as he cupped her chin and tilted her head up so she was looking into his eyes. He brushed his lips softly over hers and she melted against him.

Shaking herself out of her reverie, Sarah focused on her closet and tried to decide what to wear. She had got lucky that evening and had been able to leave work earlier than usual owing to the fact that some of her clients had fortuitously cancelled their usual sessions. This meant that she was able to meet up with Maxwell.

They had decided to meet at one of the new clubs in the city. It was one of Roxy’s usual Thursday night haunts, so she suspected that her friend would also be there. She selected and discarded a number of outfits before deciding on black skinny jeans teamed with a low-cut sequinned top and silver silk bomber jacket. She applied smoky eye makeup and nude lipstick and piled her hair loosely on top of her head. Lastly she decided on a pair of studded Louboutin heels and matching clutch. She checked her watch and headed out of the door.

* * * *

Max was already at the club waiting. He had organised a private booth and VIP entry for Sarah. He checked his watch—eleven p.m. She would be arriving soon. He wished she had accepted his offer of a car to pick her up but she had insisted on making her own way. He ordered a Scotch from the waitress and a bottle of champagne and scanned his surroundings. The club was starting to get crowded and the music was becoming a little louder. Across the floor he spotted Roxy and Adam. His eyes narrowed as he noticed that James was with them.

He didn’t know James well, only as a friend of a friend, but after his behaviour last weekend he didn’t want to know him any better. In fact, after the stunt James had pulled he was pretty sure that he had the guy’s measure. He still intended to discuss that incident with the bastard but he decided that there was a time and a place for everything and he didn’t think Sarah would be impressed if he got into anything with James at the club.

He was going to have to keep an eye on him. Sarah might prefer to believe that James’ sending the flowers was an act of sweet apology but Max didn’t buy it for a second—he saw the way James looked at her and knew that given half an opportunity the bastard would be trying to slip into her sweet little panties and would probably try anything to do it.

Max took a long swallow of his Scotch, savouring the burn as it slipped down his throat, temporarily taking his mind off the uncomfortable direction his thoughts were taking him in. He couldn’t recall ever feeling so possessive of a woman. Of course, in past relationships he had expected total monogamy but the mere thought of another man touching or even looking at Sarah made his blood boil. It was a peculiarly new emotion for him and one he didn’t quite know how to deal with.

His thoughts were interrupted as the subject of them walked into the club and his breath caught at the sight of her—those long legs encased in tight black jeans and that barely-there top. She had piled her gorgeous hair in careless disarray on top of her head—it made him think of bedroom hair, sexy and wanton. He watched as the men she passed stopped and stared. He knew exactly what they were thinking, as he was thinking the same thing—imagining those gorgeous legs wrapped around him. He smiled smugly, knowing that she was there to see him and that he would be the only man those legs would be wrapped around, and stood up to greet her.

* * * *

As Sarah walked into the club she caught sight of Roxy almost immediately. Her friend spotting her at the same time let out a cry of delight and swooped in to hug her.

“I didn’t know you were coming here tonight,” Roxy yelled to be heard above the music. “You’re usually working.”

“I had a few cancellations, Maxwell asked me to meet him here.”