High-Powered, Hot-Blooded (8 page)

The steady pace caused her to tense. He seemed to know exactly where and how often and just the right pressure. She had trouble breathing. She wanted to part her legs and press against him, but told herself to stay in control. Only, control seemed impossible.

Back and forth, back and forth, he moved his tongue against her. Her muscles tightened, she strained toward a heat, a force she couldn’t understand and didn’t want to stop. Her heart pounded in her chest. Then he slid one finger between her legs, pushing into her and rubbing her from the inside in perfect rhythm with his tongue.

Her climax exploded without warning. She opened her legs wider, wanting to feel all of it. The pleasure flooded her, making it difficult to stay standing. Her body shook and trembled, her legs threatened to give way. She called out his name and hung on as the pleasure slowly faded.

She’d barely found her way back to normal when he stood and swept her up in his arms. No one had carried her before, but she was too boneless to do anything but hang on.

He took her to the other side of the condo, into a large master suite. Light spilled in from the hallway. She had a brief impression of a large bed, a fireplace and more tall windows, although these were covered. He lowered her to the bed.

Somewhere along the way, she’d lost her shoes. Naked, she sat up to watch him quickly undress. When he pulled off his shirt, she saw the muscles she’d only felt before. He was as big and powerful as she’d imagined. He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his socks, then removed his pants and briefs in one quick movement.

His erection was impressive and a little scary. He pulled a box of condoms out of the dresser drawer, then slid next to her on the bed. But instead of going into his arms, she sat up so she could look at him. She put a hand on his chest and felt the sculpted muscles there. She traced the length of his thigh, smiling as his arousal jumped slightly as she moved by without touching. She explored the hair angling down his belly and ran her fingers along the outline of his six-pack.

Once again she was aware of his physical power. That he could crush her without breaking a sweat. She looked into his eyes, then reached for his erection and stroked the length of him. His mouth curved in a satisfied male smile.

“Want to be on top?” he asked.

“Next time.”

What she really wanted was to feel him over her, moving in her. She wanted to run her fingers across his shoulders and arms, reveling in the force and power of him.

Without warning, he shifted. Suddenly he was kneeling over her and she was on her back. He put on the condom, then eased open her thighs.

She reached down to guide him in. He pushed into her, moving slowly, steadily, stretching her, filling her until the pressure was beyond exquisite. He braced himself and thrust in her again.

She lost herself in the sensation of him inside her. She gave herself over to their lovemaking, wrapping her legs around his hips and hanging on for the ride. Happy nerve endings came to life again. She’d wanted to watch his face as he got closer, but found her eyes slipping closed as the pleasure filled her, taking her beyond where she’d ever been before.

There were several problems with that statement. Usually he preferred to be at the woman’s place so he could control when he left. But between the twins, Kami and what he would guess was a small, girly bedroom, his place made more sense. There was also the fact that last night hadn’t exactly been planned. When he and Annie had set up their deal, he’d promised her he wasn’t interested in sex. Apparently he’d been lying.

While making love with her had been pretty damned great, he was concerned about what happened next. Annie wasn’t like his usual women, nor was she the affair type. Would she read too much into what had happened between them? Would she expect things? He also didn’t want her to get hurt.

He heard footsteps in the hall. She walked into the kitchen, wearing the same cocktail dress she’d had on the night before. Her hair was still damp from the shower, her face free of makeup. She looked pretty and innocent and not at all the woman who had surrendered so passionately just a few hours before.

“You’re looking tense,” she said as she picked up one of the mugs he’d left on the counter and poured coffee. “Afraid I’m expecting a proposal?”

Shocked, he quickly said, “No.” Proposal? As in…

She smiled. “I was thinking that a simple ceremony would be best, under the circumstances. The twins and Kami will want to be bridesmaids, of course.”

He’d thought she might be confused or upset or even embarrassed. He’d been wrong on all three counts. It had been a long time since a woman had surprised him in a good way.

He crossed to her and took her free hand in his. “Will you wear white, my darling?”

She sighed. “I was trying to make you nervous.”

“I was playing along.”

“You were supposed to be scared.”

He kissed her. “Maybe next time.” He released her hand.

“You’re too in control of every situation,” she complained, then sipped her coffee. “While you were snoring away, I had to stumble through a conversation with Jenny, trying to explain why I wasn’t coming home without mentioning the fact that we’d had sex.”

He looked at her. “Why would she have to know anything?”

“Because everyone would have noticed my empty bed and been worried.”

“Life is easier without family.”

“You’re too cynical. One phone call is a small price to pay for having the girls in my life and don’t pretend you don’t understand that.”

He did understand but didn’t agree the price was worth it.

She smiled. “Now you have the thrill of them knowing about your sex life.”

Something he could have lived without. Not that he didn’t like the girls, but didn’t this fall under the category of too much information? “Tell me they didn’t ask any questions,” he muttered.

“Only if you’d used a condom.”

Annie kept her chin high as she spoke, but he saw the flush on her cheeks. She was an interesting combination of shy and determined, bossy and yielding.

“What did you say?”

She cleared her throat. “I said you had…. All three times.”

He held in a grin. “And?”

“Jenny hung up.”

They laughed together.

Annie looked good in the morning light. The riot of still-damp curls seemed to glow, like a halo. Her mouth was full, her cheeks still pink. Hers was a quiet beauty, he thought. One that would age well. She would be even more striking in her fifties. If he’d met her before he’d met Valentina, he would have been intrigued by the possibilities. Or maybe not. Maybe the appeal of the bad girl would have been too strong. Maybe he’d needed to be burned to learn his lesson.

And learn it he had. Trust no one. Don’t give away anything for free and never, under any circumstances, risk his heart.

“You know this can’t be more than it is,” he said flatly.

Annie sipped her coffee, then drew in a breath. “Is that your way of saying not to get my hopes up? That this is simply a business arrangement with benefits?”

“Something like that.” Too late he remembered he’d promised that sex had no part in their bargain. “When the holiday season ends, so do we.”

“I’ve never had a relationship with an expiration date,” she said, staring into his eyes, a faint smile on her lips. “It’s okay, Duncan. I know the rules and I won’t try to change them.”

“I’m not sure I believe you. You’re a happy-ending kind of woman.”

“It’s what I want,” she admitted. “I want to find someone I can love and respect. A man who wants desperately to be with me. I want kids and a dog and some hamsters. But that’s not you, is it?”

“No.”

Years ago, maybe. Now, the price was too high. Getting involved meant putting too much on the line. He only played to win and in marriage, there was no guarantee. Valentina had taught him that, as well.

“You weren’t supposed to sleep with me,” she said.

“I know.” He couldn’t figure out her mood. Was she teasing or pissed? “Do you want me to apologize?”

She drew in a breath. “No. I want you to promise that when this is over, you won’t tell me you want to be friends. It will just be over. You have to promise.”

“We won’t be friends,” he said, and then felt an odd sense of loss at the words. Annie was one of the few people he liked. He would miss her. But he
would
let her go.

As she walked to the mailbox, she felt the lingering soreness in her legs and hips. Muscles not used to being stretched and used complained a little. Not that she minded. It was a good kind of ache—one that reminded her what had happened the night before. In Duncan’s bed.

No regrets, she’d promised herself and that was how she felt. No regrets. Being with him had been spectacular. Her body had done things she hadn’t known were possible. The time in his arms had shown her what she wanted in her life. Not just a great love, but also great passion. With the two other men, she’d been settling. She hadn’t realized it at the time, but it was true. She would never settle again.

“Big words for someone who isn’t even dating,” she murmured, picking up the envelopes and flipping through them. “Well, not real dating.” No matter how much she wanted him to, Duncan didn’t count.

She reached the last envelope and winced. It was from the college, probably reminding her that tuition had to be paid. As she opened the envelope, she thought about her sad little bank account and wondered where she was going to find the money. Everything was so expensive. Maybe after the holidays she should get serious about finding a second job. One that…

Annie stared at the single sheet of paper. The one that said the tuition had been paid for for the rest of the year. Not just the quarter but the year. Paid in full.

Just looking at the total made her feel queasy. But the big “Paid” next to it wasn’t possible. She hadn’t and it wasn’t as if Jenny had suddenly come into a bunch of money.

Annie walked into the house and looked through the mail again. There was also an envelope from Julie’s college. The letter said the same thing. Tuition was paid for for the rest of the year. In full.

The shock made sense. The information, not to mention the action required, was unexpected. Before last night she might have been a little upset but more grateful. Now she felt all twisted up inside. Confused and slightly tarnished.

Dropping the rest of the mail, she returned to her car. The drive to Duncan’s office wasn’t far. His shipping empire was run out of a huge complex of buildings close to the Port of Los Angeles. She gave her name to the guard at the gate and had to wait while a series of calls were made. Finally she was given a visitor’s parking permit and directions to where she should park.

She passed large warehouses and eighteen-wheelers waiting to be loaded. There were dozens of people walking and driving in every direction. Following the signs that pointed to the corporate offices, she managed to find the visitors’ parking spaces and make her way into the six-story building.

It was an empire and a half, she thought as she stood in the lobby of Patrick Industries. A huge lit board showed a world map. Thousands of lights indicated the location of various company vehicles. Little icons indicated trucks, railcars and ships.

Annie had always known Duncan was a rich, powerful man. But those were just words. They hadn’t been real. An intellectual understanding wasn’t the same as looking at that map and seeing how incredibly successful he was.

She tugged at the sleeve of her oversize sweater, aware that the Christmas elves dancing across the front and back of it were great for a kindergarten classroom but a little out of place in corporate America. There was a big paint stain on her skirt and the back was wrinkled from the time she’d spent sitting on the floor while reading to her students.

“Ms. McCoy?”

Annie turned toward the speaker. A well-dressed woman in her thirties smiled.

“Mr. Patrick is expecting you. If you’ll follow me, please.”

Annie nodded.

They took the elevator to the sixth floor and stepped out onto a quiet floor of conference rooms and offices. People in suits moved purposefully, barely glancing at her. She followed the woman to an open double door. Inside, a middle-aged woman nodded.

“You can go right in.”

Annie stared at the tall, wood door in front of her. It looked heavy and impressive. Unexpected nerves danced in her stomach.

Still clutching the letters from the colleges, she opened the door and walked into Duncan’s office.

The space was even larger than his condo. Big windows overlooked the shipping yard on one side and the lobby on the other. Apparently this particular king enjoyed looking at his empire.

His desk was practically big enough for a plane to land on. There was a grouping of sofas in one corner and a conference table in another.

The man himself sat looking at a computer screen. He tapped a few keys, then glanced at her and raised his eyebrows.

“An unexpected pleasure,” he said as he stood and walked around the desk.

He looked good. Too good. She’d seen him in his tailored suits before, so that wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Maybe the problem was less than twelve hours ago, she’d been in his bed and they’d both been naked. They’d slept in a tangle of legs and arms, only to awaken and make love again.

He stopped in front of her. “Everything all right?” he asked. “You look pale. Don’t you feel well?”

Apparently unable to speak, she thrust the letters at him, then managed to find her voice. “You did this, didn’t you? I won’t even ask how you got the information to make the payments. It was the twins, wasn’t it? You talked to them.”

One corner of his mouth curved up. “I thought you weren’t going to ask.”

She shook the papers. “This isn’t funny. You can’t go around doing this.”

“Helping people? I would have thought you would approve. Aren’t you the one who told me it would be easier to actually
be
nice than to hire you and pretend?”

“What?” She dropped her arm to her side. “Duncan, why did you do this?”

“Because I could. Are you the only one who gets to be nice?”

“Don’t be reasonable.” She was tired from lack of sleep and felt the beginnings of a headache. “It makes me uncomfortable.”

His smile faded. “That’s not what I wanted. It’s just a check, Annie. Don’t make it into anything else.”

“A big check. Two big checks.” She glanced around to make sure they were alone, then lowered her voice. “We had sex. You can’t buy me stuff.”

The humor returned. “Most women would tell you the opposite. That after sex is when the buying begins.”

“Maybe. If we were dating. But we’re not. We have an arrangement. A deal. This isn’t part of the deal.”

“You’re complaining because I’m giving you more?”

No. She was worried that if he was nice, if he was approachable and kind, she wouldn’t have a chance of getting out of this with her heart in one piece.

The truth slammed into her and it was all she could do to stay standing. Of course. Why hadn’t she realized it before? Duncan was a force of nature and she was just a regular person. He was rich and strong and powerful and unlike anyone she’d ever known. She’d been in trouble from the second they’d met.

“I…” She swallowed. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I wanted to.”

“It will make things a lot easier. Thank you.”

He moved close and cupped her face in his large hands. “Was that so hard?”

“No.”

He was going to kiss her and she was going to let him. It was already too late to try to protect herself. The best she could do was see this to the end and pray she wasn’t totally devastated when it was over. A test of strength, she thought. A trial by fire.

His mouth moved against hers in a way that had become familiar. There was always the taking, but it was tempered somehow. Maybe by her own hunger, her need for him.

She released the papers and let them fall to the floor so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He drew her against him and she went willingly. The kiss deepened. Passion swept through her. Now, she thought, burning with hunger. She wanted him now.

She squirmed to get closer and felt his arousal, thick and hard against her belly. It would be so easy, right here on his big desk. The one in the room with all the windows. Where anyone could see or walk in.

He drew back and looked into her eyes. “Reality check.”

She nodded. “There are a lot of people all around.”

“At the time, the windows seemed like a good idea.”

Now it was her turn to smile. “And today?”

“Not so good.”

He kissed her again, more lightly this time. Then he released her.

She stepped away reluctantly. He picked up the papers she’d dropped and handed them to her.

She folded them and put them in her purse. “Thank you for doing this. It really helps.”

“You’re welcome.” He put his arm around her and guided her to the door. “My uncle Lawrence wants to meet you.”

“I’d like to meet him, too.” she said. Maybe find a moment to ask what Duncan had been like when he’d been younger.

“How about Sunday for dinner? My place?”

“I’d like that.”

She’d like a lot more, she thought as she made her way back to her car. A chance to make this all real. A foolish wish, she reminded herself. Duncan had been clear about what he wanted from the beginning. From all that she knew, he wasn’t the kind of man who changed his mind about anything.