Ruthless Temptation (12 page)

Madison
could barely eat now, but she wasn’t about to waste the best food she’d ever
tasted. She was stuffed by the time they lingered over coffee and dessert.
They’d been there three hours when they rose to leave, and their picture was
taken several times as they left the restaurant.

She
was used to Viggo’s security staff now, and noticed this evening how easily
they deflected the photographers who would likely follow them to the apartment
if left to their own devices. Viggo grabbed her hand as they walked, and
Madison smiled. Words weren’t necessary. She didn’t want them to dull what he’d
said to her earlier. She wanted to bask in it a while longer.

And,
she couldn’t wait to make love to him tonight. She had a feeling it would
surpass anything they’d done so far.

Chapter
Thirteen

Viggo
was in big trouble and he knew it. This charming girl had crawled so far under
his skin he was acting like a lovesick teen, kissing her every moment he could
in public and holding her hands in a restaurant. The really disturbing part was
that he didn’t mind.

No
breaking out in a cold sweat. No waking up at night, finding her next to him,
and wondering how the hell he could ask her to sleep in another bed that night
without turning the request into a raging argument. No inventing reasons to
push her away or break up. No feelings of claustrophobia, and no nitpicking at
her quirks to find a petty reason to end the relationship.

He’d
asked her to Dominic’s and Angela’s wedding, for God’s sake. Well, okay. To be
fair, what he’d actually done was tell her he had planned on taking her. But,
to be equally fair, he hadn’t brought a date to Ace’s and Harper’s wedding, or
to Emmett’s and Liane’s.

And
even more amazing was the fact that she hadn’t jumped on his mention of it and
started talking about her own wedding, or hinting that she couldn’t wait to get
married one day and have shitloads of kids.

He
didn’t know how to deal with this. He kept waiting for it—expecting it—but it
never came. Instead, she’d understood the urgency behind Dominic and Angela,
Kane and Julianne, Damien and Sela, Addison and Nadine, Barclay and Rissa,
Grayson and Valerie, Oliver and Blair, plus Atticus and Emma each moving their
wedding dates up, and agreeing to have them in Central within a few months of
each other. She knew why they’d done it, and that had been her focus. The fate
of the planet.

Not
the flowers, or the dresses, or the band, or the cake, or the event itself.
She’d asked him what they were going to do about stopping The Madeline Project.

Just
as if she was already one of them, and cared about them as much as she would
her own family or best friends.

Then
he’d changed the subject, but not because he didn’t want to talk about
weddings. And then he’d told her those things. Those romantic, heartfelt things
that he’d never said to
any
woman.
And he
meant
them. God help him. He
had meant every single word.

She
looked at him like he hung the moon. The
real
moon. The one that was still up there somewhere, waiting for all of them to
return to the surface one day and gaze at it. They would write songs about it
once more, and poems, and they would marvel at its beauty and majesty.

Viggo
believed this with his whole heart and soul. He had to, otherwise there was no
point in continuing down here. There was no point in holding Madison’s warm
hand right now, or gazing down into her beautiful face, so full of promise and
excitement. He had to do this for all of them. He had to do this for her.

God
help him. He was falling in love with this extraordinary woman.
Holy shit
.

****

Madison
put her arms around Viggo and kissed him as soon as they stepped across the
threshold. He captured her mouth in a kiss so hot she was sure the tile
underneath them would melt. He released it and lifted her into arms as if she
weighed no more than a leaf.

A
retort about her weight sprang to her lips, but she held it back. She hadn’t
put herself down all week, and she wasn’t about to spoil this evening. He held
her gaze for long moments, and his expression was impossible to read. Those
deep blue depths were a mystery most of the time, but she’d grown used to that.

His
words from earlier still reverberated in her head as he carried her up the
stairs and into his suite. He didn’t even break a sweat. His breathing had
barely become labored as he placed her on his feet and kissed her again,
shoving his tongue into her mouth. The man wasn’t human.

Her
arousal was through the roof now. The man could kiss like nothing she’d ever
experienced. His hands were tangled in her hair, holding her face against his.
She was his captive, and Madison didn’t want to be anywhere else.

She
pushed her body against his, rubbing her abdomen against the bulge in his pants.
Soft moans escaped their throats, and still he worked his lips and tongue over
hers. How could he stand it? She wanted him inside her in the worst way!

He
finally released her mouth, and she was breathless. He grinned in a way that
sent tiny jolts of anticipation to her throbbing clit.

“
Don’t move. I have something for you to wear.”

She
watched him walk toward the dresser, open a drawer, and pull out the most
exquisite camisole she’d ever seen. It was royal blue, satin, and trimmed in
delicate embroidery of the same color.

He
held it up. “Do you like it?”

“
Your favorite color. One of them, anyway.”

“
Will you wear it for me?”

That voice!
She’d do anything he asked when he
spoke in that tone. Madison shed her clothes then walked over to where he
stood, gawking at her naked body as if he’d never seen one. How did he do that?
How did he look at her as if he’d never seen her before? No wonder women fell
in love with him so easily.

Madison
froze as she reached out to take the camisole from him. He frowned slightly,
noticing her reaction.

“
What’s wrong, love?”

Love?
“Nothing.” She had to recover and
quickly. “Did you ever have one of those odd sensations that you’d forgotten
something important?”

“
Yeah. All the time. But right now, the only important
thing is you.” He held it high enough for her to lift her arms and allow him to
slip it on. Then she stood still while he eased it over her breasts and
abdomen. “There. Oh, I knew this would look fucking incredible on you.”

She
was so in love with this man. God help her. She’d done something guaranteed to
break her heart. She’d fallen in love with Viggo Ingram.

“
No panties?” Her question was automatic. She had to
keep talking. Keep acting normally.

“
Hell no. I need access to that hot, wet pussy of
yours. Sit on the edge of the bed.”

She
did as he asked, her body on autopilot now. Her mind raced. She’d never meant
for this to happen. Falling in love with this man was a huge mistake. He’d told
her from day one he didn’t do the happily ever after thing. This wasn’t what he
wanted.

Viggo
stood in front of her and stroked her hair, then moved his hands down to her
breasts. He kneaded them through the silky fabric, forcing soft moans from her.
She was eye level with the bulge in his pants, and only wanted him inside her.
She needed the familiarity of fucking him right now to ground her.

“
You’re beautiful, Madison.”

“
Thank you. So are you.”

He
chuckled softly. “I’m glad you think so.”

“
You don’t need me to tell you that.”

“
No, but I love hearing it from you, just the same.”

Would
he see the truth in her eyes? She couldn’t let that happen. She had to hide it
or he’d drop her like a hot frying pan. “Then I’ll have to say it more often.”

Viggo
leaned down and kissed her again, his hands still teasing her breasts and now
her nipples as well. Madison let her mind go and concentrated on the
sensations. The tingling feeling racing through her body, the fullness in her
groin, and the headiness as erotic images filled her mind. All of these things
were so familiar now, and she pushed everything else out.

He
released her mouth and gently pushed her back until she was lying down, then he
pulled a chair over and pushed it up against the bed. She cried out as he
brushed his hands up her legs, stopping short of her wet pussy, over and over
again. The grin as he watched her sent her desire level through the roof.

“
What do you want, love? Tell me.”

He called me “love” again
… “I don’t know.” She couldn’t
think straight.

“
Yes, you do. Tell me. Say the words.”

Madison
loved this teasing. Without making it obvious, he’d coaxed her from her shyness
about her body by asking her to talk about sex. The more she verbalized, the
less self-conscious she felt around him. How had he known that’s all she needed
to come out of her shell? Had he sensed it in her because of all his
experience?

Stop that. You’re the only woman
with him.

He
was watching her carefully. She had to focus. “I want you to lick my pussy.”

He
blew softly on her labia. “Mmm… What else?”

Love me back?

“
Suck my clit.”

A
month ago, she never would have said that to anyone, let alone the most
gorgeous man on the planet.

She
moaned louder as he licked her pussy lips. “Anything else?”

“
Oh,
please
…
I need you inside me.”

He
sat up straight and grinned at her. “You’re very eager tonight.”

“
I can’t help it. You do this to me.”

He
watched her for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed slightly, and Madison held her
breath. He didn’t miss much. One tiny change and he’d see it, and she did not
want to stop this. She needed to make love to him.

Madison
sat up and kissed him, hard. He groaned into her open mouth and returned the
kiss, clasping her hair in his hands and tugging on it until it hurt. But she
didn’t stop. No more pausing to gaze into his eyes tonight or she’d spill her
guts and say the words.

Finally,
he released the kiss, pushed her back onto the bed with a very sexy grin on his
face, and removed his clothes quickly. She suppressed a giggle as he almost
fell getting his pants off. “I could help, you know.”

“
I’m done.” He crawled on top of her in all his hard,
muscled, naked glory, and kissed her again. She arched toward his body,
desperate to feel him inside her. But he took his time, trailing his tongue
over her collarbones, between her breasts, and over her abdomen. He lifted the
camisole each time to reach where he wanted and then put it back in place.

She
clutched at his hair and begged, but all he did was continue his slow torture
down her body and back up again. Finally, he parted her labia and licked her
pussy, over and over, until she was poised on the edge of an orgasm. If he
didn’t let her come she’d go out of her mind.

“
Tell me what you were thinking earlier.”

What?
She pushed herself up onto her
elbows, her heart racing at the look on his face. It was a combination of evil
humor and curiosity. She’d been crazy to think she could get anything past him.
The man was a mind reader. She’d swear to it. “What are you talking about?
Please go back to doing that. I’m so close to coming.”

“
I know you are.” He sat back on his heels. “But I
won’t let you until you answer me. What were you thinking before?”

“
When?” He’d never believe it. She knew exactly
when
he referred to.

“
Between reaching for the camisole and my asking you
what was wrong.”

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
What the hell was she going to
say?

“
I have no idea.” She reached for him, but he caught
both wrists in one hand, which was so damn sexy and dominant it only served to
make her more aroused.

“
Yes, you do. Tell me.”

“
I don’t remember.”

He
cupped her chin with his free hand. “You’re a terrible liar.”

She
was trapped. If she tried to lie her way out of it, he’d know. But if she told
him, he might freak out. Was it right to keep such a thing from him? Wasn’t it
a violation of trust
not
to tell him?
Surely she wasn’t the first woman to have said it to him. Maybe all he’d ask
was that she not start dropping hints about marriage?

She
had no intention of doing that anyway. Madison wasn’t entirely sure that’s what
she wanted, even with Viggo. She’d only known him for two weeks. There was
plenty of time to get to know each other better, and let any future they might
have together develop out of their relationship on its own.

His
expression grew concerned. “Please tell me.” His voice was soft now, coaxing,
and she wasn’t sure if that was an act, or if he was imagining the worst.
Either way, she had to say
something
because he wasn’t dropping it.

“
Promise me you won’t be upset if I tell you.”

He
released her face and her wrists. “Whoa. I’m not sure how to respond to that.”

Shit
.
Fuck
. Madison had to blink back tears. “Just promise me.”

“
All right. I promise I will not be upset.”