Roses are Red (2 page)

She smiled brightly, and they agreed to meet at eight p.m.

Rhett knew that most, if not all, of the staff should be finished for the day and they would be afforded some solitude. He told himself that he wanted privacy so they wouldn’t be disturbed, but deep down he recognised that he wanted to get her alone for less honourable reasons.

Chapter Two

Lucy parked her car then checked her makeup in the mirror. She thought she looked quite good considering she had put in a full day of work. Her palms were clammy and her stomach was fluttering, making her slightly queasy. She told herself that her nerves were owing to the new job, but she knew that it was really the prospect of seeing Rhett again. God, he was one hot piece of male. When she had spotted him for the first time, waiting at their table earlier that day, her knees had gone weak and her tummy had performed somersaults. He’d reminded her of Channing Tatum and she had barely managed to keep her composure as she’d walked towards him.

She thought about her first impression of Rhett. He had dark blond hair that was a little too long and curled around his collar. His eyes were dark emerald green and he had a strong, chiselled jaw. When he’d stood to greet her, the sight of his powerful physique and the way his dress shirt stretched over his muscular shoulders and broad chest had made her mouth go dry. He had the body of a sex god and he obviously worked out—a lot! She’d taken a quick peek at his tailored dress pants and hadn’t missed the definite bulge at his crotch, and the way his slacks had hung on his lean hips had been almost sinful. As she’d drawn closer to him, she couldn’t help but notice the look of pure lust that was smouldering in his eyes, eyes that seemed to be undressing her as she walked towards him, making her heart rate stutter and her sex grow damp. Then, when she had held out her hand in greeting and he’d given her that panty-dropping smile, she’d almost swooned.

Through her research on the law firm, she’d learned that Rhett Hunter was twenty-eight and well on his way to becoming one of the most highly sought after commercial lawyers in Sydney. He had made in excess of five million dollars last year, but not just through his lawyerly pursuits. Apparently, Rhett Hunter was quite a whiz at predicting the stock market and invested in high-risk, high-return options. She recognised that he was too young for her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fantasise about him. What red-blooded woman wouldn’t be affected by such raw and powerful masculinity?

Shaking herself out of her reverie, she climbed out of the car and locked it before heading into the offices of Hunter & Associates.

As Lucy entered the building, the resounding quiet was a little disturbing. There was no general business melee and each office she passed was deserted. She made her way down the plushly carpeted hallway until she came to a large corner suite where light shone from within. She knocked on the door and a deep, masculine voice invited her to enter.

Rhett sat at a large desk, jotting notes onto a legal pad. He looked up when she entered, and she caught her breath. If possible, he looked even better than he had at lunch. His hair was sexily mussed and he gifted her with his awesome, panty-dropping smile before standing to greet her.

“Come,” he invited, motioning her in the direction of a lounge suite. “Would you like something to drink?” He turned towards a bar fridge and extracted a bottle of semillon sauvignon blanc.

“Please.” She took a moment to look around his office.

It was very masculine. A bookshelf full of legal tomes took up an entire wall. A mahogany desk sat under the window, through which the vast expanse of the city was framed. The lounge suite was upholstered in dark brown leather. A matching chair was to the side and a mahogany coffee table was positioned in front.

Rhett handed her a glass of wine before taking the seat to her right.

“Cheers,” he said, raising his glass to her and taking a sip.

Lucy took a drink of her wine, then placed the glass on the coffee table and crossed her legs. She fished in her briefcase for her decorating information and put the folder on the seat next to her, ready to discuss her ideas further.

Rhett studied Lucy over the rim of his glass. She was gorgeous. She reached for her folder and opened it, studying the images inside and glancing around his office. Her tongue crept out of her beautifully plump mouth, and she licked her bottom lip in concentration. When she recrossed her right leg over her left, he caught a glimpse of a garter belt as her skirt rode up her thigh. The sight of that racy piece of lace sent a scorching heat straight through him. Fuck, she wore suspenders. How fucking hot. There was something extremely erotic and enticing about the fact that she wore sexy lingerie under her business attire. She was like a present that he wanted to unwrap, desperate to get to the satin and lace underneath.

Suddenly the air in his office grew heavy. He reached up and undid the top button of his collar and loosened his tie. He decided then and there that he had to have her. He hadn’t missed her obvious interest in him over lunch, and unless his radar was off, he was pretty certain that she found him attractive too.

She stood and walked over to his desk, running her hand over the woodgrain before studying the window behind it.

Rhett made his way slowly towards her. He knew he was playing with fire. His father would be furious if he fucked things up with Lucy Whiticker. He understood that Robert Hunter wanted this decorator above all others, and if he, Rhett, scared her off by coming on to her, Robert would never let him hear the end of it. But he had to try. He knew that he wouldn’t sleep. He expected that her image would haunt his dreams and fantasies and he would torture himself with imagining how she tasted, how she would look when she orgasmed and what her body would feel like beneath his.

He drew level with her and pressed his front against her back before he leant down to whisper in her ear, “I’m jealous of the way you are caressing my desk right now.”

Chapter Three

Lucy jumped at the unexpected contact. Rhett’s body was definitely as hard as it looked. His powerful solidity enveloped her and his warmth flooded through her when he pressed his chest to her back.

At the close contact, her breath stuttered and her heart rate hammered. When she didn’t move, he brought his hand up to caress the length of her arm. His breath tickled her ear, sending goosebumps flaring across her flesh and making her nipples pebble into hard points.

“Turn around, Lucy,” he demanded, his voice low and husky.

She spun about and looked up at him. He was tall—she guessed him to be six foot two—and in such close proximity, he towered over her much shorter five-foot-five frame.

She licked her bottom lip, a nervous habit, and shivered when he rubbed his thumb over the spot where her tongue had just been.

“You love licking this lip,” he murmured. “I want to lick it after you.”

She nodded slightly, then he dipped his head to hers and flicked his tongue lightly across her mouth. A moan escaped her as she slumped against him. He banded his arms around her waist and he held her weight easily.

She parted her lips, and he plunged his tongue into her mouth, caressing hers with his as he kissed her with such demanding ferocity that it took her breath away, leaving her lightheaded and trembling.

Alarm bells were ringing in the back of her mind, trying to break through the haze in her brain and telling her that their relationship could get complicated if they took things further. But she wanted him. It was that simple, and that complex.

He swept one hand from around her waist, down to her backside where he squeezed hard and pulled her hips into his. He pressed his pelvis to hers and thrust against her with sharp little jabs, demonstrating to her what she did to him.

She moaned low in her throat at the feel of his erection against her stomach. If he was half as big as he felt, then he was very well endowed.

He pulled away from their kiss and, breathing heavily, he looked down into her upturned face. “You taste so sweet,” he said softly, brushing his thumb across her cheek.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she muttered.

He cocked his head to one side. “Why do you say that? I happen to think it’s a very good idea and I’ve thought of nothing else since I met you earlier today.”

“I’m too old for you, Rhett.”

He hadn’t released her. She remained locked within his embrace and the evidence of his arousal was still very much pressed against her body. And she couldn’t deny that it felt good to be held by him. It had been too long since she’d been in a man’s arms and even longer since the time when a magnificent male specimen like Rhett had been interested in her.

He leant back a little and gazed down at her intently. “How old is too old, sweetheart?” he asked with a smirk.

“I’m a forty-five-year-old divorcee with two adult children, Rhett. Hardly ideal girlfriend material, and what would your father think?”

He chuckled. “Lucy, we’re hardly planning to elope. First, I don’t care about your age, and besides, I don’t consider forty-five old. Secondly, I’m a big boy now and whoever I fuck is my business and no one else’s.”

Lucy blinked at his blatant crudeness, then blushed fiercely when she realised her
faux pas
with the girlfriend comment. She struggled in his grasp, desperate to get away, but he only held her tighter.

“Don’t fight me, Lucy. I know you feel the same way that I do.”

She turned her head to the side in discomfort.

He dipped his mouth to her ear and his hot breath whispered against her skin, “I know you want me, baby. Don’t overthink this.”

What the hell.
Why not have some fun with this gorgeous sex-on-legs hunk. They were both adults. Who were they hurting?

As if hearing her acquiescence, he trailed his lips from her ear down her throat where he sucked the soft flesh just above her shoulder. He bit her there, lightly. Pleasure and pain radiated outwards, forcing a sharp gasp from her. She dipped her head to one side to give him better access to her neck. He swept his mouth in slow circles over her fevered skin until she was clutching him and thrusting her hips against him shamelessly.

He chuckled against her throat. “I think someone’s getting a little anxious. Do you want me to relieve the ache, baby?”

“Oh God, yes,” she moaned.

He inhaled deeply and swept his hands to her backside, pulling her hard against him. “You smell so good. I can’t wait to taste you.”

Her insides quivered in anticipation of the bliss that his words promised. He pulled away from her, untucked her blouse then spun her around so that her back was to his chest.

“I saw your garter belt. That was the end of me. I had to have you.” He ran his hands in slow, sensual circles across her stomach then up to her breasts, where he palmed her nipples and caressed the stiff peaks through the lace of her bra. He moved one hand south, across her abdomen and down her thigh until he reached the hem of her skirt.

Her breath hitched when he dragged the fabric up, keeping one hand at her breast, teasing and squeezing her nipple. His breathing turned choppy and hot at her ear and he inched his hand closer to that sweet spot between her thighs.

She needed to feel him there, wanted to feel his fingers inside her to relieve the ache at her core that was throbbing relentlessly.

He knew what he was doing to her. He deliberately drew out the sensations, intentionally teasing her with slow, inexorable hand movements up her inner thigh and around her pubic bone. He traced the outline of her panties, not quite reaching the lips of her sex, and keeping her waiting anxiously with bated breath for that first explosive touch.

“Please, Rhett,” she begged.

He brought his other hand down to join the teasing between her legs, sweeping delicious circles on the soft skin of her inner thighs with his hands. All the while, he kissed and nibbled the sensitive flesh below her ear, focusing on that area that did delicious things to her insides. She was so overwhelmed with lust that her panties were drenched and she was breathless with desire.

“I want you to strip for me,” he demanded hoarsely and stepped away from her. “I need to see you in that sexy lingerie.”

It took a moment for Lucy to regain her equilibrium. She looked up to see that Rhett had moved to the lounge and was waiting for her to undress. He was cool and composed, but the smouldering lust darkening his eyes told her just how much she affected him. His obvious arousal gave her the confidence she needed to remove her clothes in front of him. She’d never stripped for anyone before, let alone someone as sexy and virile as Rhett, and the prospect fired a hot flame low in her belly.

She gathered her composure and slowly undid the buttons of her blouse as Rhett moved to an iPod dock in the corner of the suite. The next moment, romantic music filled the room.

He turned back towards her. “Continue, but keep the lingerie and the shoes.”

She slipped her blouse off her shoulders and tossed it onto the floor. Next, she undid the back zipper of her skirt.

She swayed her hips sinuously, moving to the measured tempo and using the melody to calm her nerves. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband and shimmied her skirt down her hips until it pooled at her feet. She stepped out of it and kicked it into the corner.

Now in nothing but her lingerie, garter belt, hose and high heels, she felt incredibly sexy and powerful. He stalked in her direction with predatory intent until he was in front of her, looking down into her upturned face.

“Do you realise how hot you look right now?” He pulled each of her bra cups down until her breasts spilled over the top of the underwire and jutted above the black lace. He dipped his head to one breast and suckled a nipple, rolling the tip between his tongue and the roof of his mouth.

Lucy yelped in pleasure and threw her head back, thrusting her breast harder against him. He sucked a moment longer then trailed his lips across her cleavage to her other breast and bestowed the same delicious treatment on that rosy bud.