Seducing His Opposition (7 page)

“I wanted you in my room earlier,” she said.

“Not really,” he said. “I think you were trying to throw me.”

“I was,” she admitted. “But a part of me did want you here. It’s so much easier to start an affair before you have time to think of the risks involved.”

“Yes, it is. But we aren’t going to start one tonight,” he said.

“We aren’t? Why not?” she asked.

He leaned down and kissed her because he was human and a man who wanted her very much. The kiss was passionate and intense, all the things he’d known it would be, but at the same time the taste of those minty mojitos she’d been drinking all night lingered on her tongue. She wasn’t herself tonight. And he wanted her to be fully aware of what she was doing when they did become lovers.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tipped her head back to look up at him. “I like the way you feel in my arms.”

“I do, too. I’ve never had a woman fit so well in my arms before. Your head nestles just right on my shoulder, your breasts are cushioned perfectly on my chest,” he said, and he slid his hands down her back to her hips, “and your hips feel just right against mine.”

She swiveled her hips against his. “Yes, they do. Are you sure you don’t want to stay with me tonight?”

“No, I’m not sure,” he said, but he wasn’t going to. He wanted Selena but he wanted her on his terms. And that meant having her respect. She was going to be a vacation fling, not a one-night stand. So he slowly drew
her arms down from his shoulders and gave her a kiss that almost killed him when he pulled away.

“Good night, Selena,” he said and then walked out of her suite and went down the hall to his.

Vacation affair be damned, he already cared about her more than he wanted to admit.

T
wo days later, Selena wasn’t too sure how she found herself on Justin’s yacht sailing around Biscayne Bay.

True, he hadn’t given up his pursuit of her at all. She’d been surprised when he’d taken a suite on the same floor as her at the Ritz but she shouldn’t have been. He was a very thorough man.

“I forgot how much I like Miami,” she said.

“And the nights here?” he asked. She stood next to him in the cockpit while he piloted the boat. He’d told her when they arrived that he had a staff of three, but most of the time preferred to do short trips by himself.

“Definitely. I love the nights,” she said, putting her hand on his shoulder and rubbing it. She liked the way his hard muscles felt under the cloth of his dress shirt.

“I thought the committee meeting went well today,” he said.

She shook her head. “We’re on vacation, so we can’t talk business.”

He arched one eyebrow at her. “Are you sure?”

She nodded. She’d had fevered dreams of Justin for the last two nights. Since she’d met him he was someone she just couldn’t turn her back on, and tonight with the sea breeze in her hair and the smell of the ocean surrounding her, she realized she wasn’t going to just walk away from Justin Stern. It might not be the smartest thing she ever did but she knew she was going to have an affair with this man.

She wanted to know the man beneath the clothes. The one that few others had seen and that would belong to only her.

Belong to her? she wondered. Did she really want him to be hers? She wanted him in her bed taking care of her sexual needs, but for anything else?

“Very sure. But it’s a fling, Justin, it can’t be more than that.”

“I agree. Do you mind helping me out with dinner?”

“Uh, I guess not. I should tell you my culinary skills are limited,” she said. “I live on takeout and microwave dinners.”

“They must agree with you,” he said, skimming his gaze over her body, lingering at her curves.

“They do. What do you need from me?” she asked.

“I have a picnic basket on the table in the galley and a bottle of pinot grigio chilling in the wine refrigerator. Will you bring them up?”

“Yes, are we dining on the deck?”

“Yes, aft…you’ll see where the cushions are set up. I’m going to find a safe place to drop anchor and then I’ll meet you down there,” he said.

She moved to go past him down the short flight of stairs but he stopped her with a hand on her waist. “Yes?”

“I’m very glad we have this time together,” he said. It was one of those awkward things that he sometimes said that made her heart skip a beat. He was sweet when he wasn’t so arrogant and cocky.

“Me, too,” she said.

He leaned down and rubbed his lips over hers. His breath was minty but when he opened his mouth and his tongue swept into hers she tasted
him.
She held on to his shoulders; he deepened the kiss and she realized this was what she’d been craving. This was what she needed.

She’d been alone too long. Working to forget the pain she’d run from and afraid to take a chance on being with another man. Now Justin seemed like he was the remedy.

They hit a wave and it jarred them off balance. She fell into Justin, who was careful to keep them both on their feet.

“I better pay attention to where we are going,” he said.

“Yes, you better. I have plans for you,” she said.

He wriggled his eyebrows at her. “You do?”

“Indeed…you mentioned a bottle of wine and I might need a big strong man to open it for me.”

He threw his head back and laughed. She smiled at him. This was what she needed. A nice break from a long day of negotiating. And it didn’t matter that she was with the man who’d been arguing with her all day.

She climbed down the steps and went into the galley. She’d been on yachts before and though there was
luxury in every inch of the boat it didn’t make her feel uncomfortable. Justin had made this place homey. Selena’s favorite touch was a picture on the galley wall of Justin and his brothers, all shirtless and looking yummy, playing a beach volleyball game.

She leaned in closer for a better look at the photo and realized that Justin had a scar on his sternum. Reaching out she traced the line and wondered how he got it. There was so much more to him than what she knew from the boardroom, but she knew she had to be cautious with him on their personal time.

If this was going to be a fling, then she shouldn’t know too much about him. How was that going to work? She wanted to know everything about Justin. She needed to figure out what made him tick so she could make sure he didn’t get the upper hand on her.

Could she do it?

Hell, she knew she was going to try. She wasn’t about to walk away from him whether that was wise or not.

She heard the engine stop and the whir as he dropped anchor and realized she was staring at his photo instead of doing what he’d asked of her.

She opened the wine refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of Coppola Pinot Grigio and then picked up the picnic basket, which was heavy.

She emerged from the galley just as he came down from the pilot deck.

“Let me get the basket,” he said.

She handed it over to him and followed him to the back of the boat where he’d already arranged some cushions. With a flick of a button, music started playing. She shivered a little as she realized that this evening was part of a fantasy she’d always harbored. Not one she’d
ever told another soul about but somehow Justin had gleaned enough from her to know that this was what she’d always wanted.

Justin had always loved the water. It was the one place where he and his brothers had been alone with their father. Since his mother got seasick she never came out on the boat with them.

His dad had taught all three of the boys everything they needed to know about sailing—and navigating the waters around
her.
But that was it. He didn’t have any useful lessons when it came to women. As Justin and his brothers had gotten older, their father merely warned them not to fall in love.

Love is a sweet trap, my boys,
Justin remembered his father saying.

Sitting on the deck in the moonlight, listening to the soft voice of Selena, Justin couldn’t see what his father had meant. Not with this woman.

“Dinner was very nice,” she said. “Though I don’t know that your culinary skills are any better than mine.”

“Just because I had a little help from Publix?” he asked.

“Yes. And I am going to treat you to dinner tomorrow night.”

“You are?” he asked. Perfect, he already planned for the two of them to spend every night together. It would be difficult later in the month as he started to have commitments with the tenth anniversary celebration. He knew he needed to make every minute with her count.

“Definitely. I will even cook for you. The one dish I know how to make.”

“What is it?” he asked, suspecting that she must be
able to cook even though she said she mostly had others cooking for her. He did the same thing because when you only cooked for one it wasn’t that much fun.

“A traditional Cuban one. I’m not going to say any more. I want you to be surprised.”

“I already am. I thought you were never going to ask me out,” he said with a mock frown.

“I haven’t had a chance. You’ve been hitting on me since we met. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.”

“It’s your fault.”

“How do you figure?” she asked.

“You are one hot mama! I knew I couldn’t let the chance to get to know you pass me by.”

She put her wineglass down and moved over so she was sitting next to him. She had her legs curved under her body and as she leaned forward her blouse shifted, and he glimpsed the curve of her breasts encased in a pretty pink bra.

“I am so glad you didn’t,” she said in a soft, seductive voice.

Everything masculine in him went on point and he knew that he was tired of waiting. Tired of playing it safe with her. Life seldom offered him a chance like Selena represented. She was everything he wanted in a woman.

He reached out and touched her, tracing the line of her shirt and the soft skin underneath. She shifted her shoulders as she reached for him.

“Unbutton your shirt,” she said. “I want to see your chest.”

“You do?” he asked.

She nibbled on her lower lip as she nodded at him.

“You do it,” he said.

She arched one eyebrow at him. “I should have guessed you’d want to be in charge here.”

“I am always in charge,” he said, bringing her hands to his mouth and placing a wet, hot kiss in the center of her palms before putting her hands on his chest.

She took her time toying with the buttons, caressing his chest as she undid each one. She paused at the scar on his sternum; she traced the edges of it with her forefinger.

“How did you get this?”

“I wish I had some glamorous tale to tell you but it happened when I was in college—young and a little bit reckless, I’m afraid.”

“How?”

“It’s not sexy, let’s not talk about it,” he said.

“I want to know. I have a long scar on my thigh which I might show you if you tell me how you got this,” she said, running the edge of her nail over the line of the scar.

He shuddered in reaction, loving her hands on his body. He was intrigued, too, wanted to see her thighs and what she was talking about.

He took her hand in his and rubbed it on his chest where she’d been stroking him. “Frat party plus pretty girls plus impulsive need to show off equaled this scar.”

She started laughing. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for the show-off type.”

“I guess I’m not trying hard enough if you can’t see me strutting my stuff to get your attention.”

She leaned in close, coming up on her knees and putting both hands on his shoulders. “You have my attention, Mr. Stern. What are you going to do with it?”

He put his hands on her waist and drew her even
closer to him until she was straddling his hips and her skirt fell over his lap. When she shifted, he felt the core of her body brush over his erection.

“I guess I have your attention,” she said.

“You do. Now about that scar on your thigh,” he said.

“I haven’t decided if you’ve told me enough to get to see it.”

“I am going to see it,” he said, sliding his hands up under her skirt and caressing every inch of her thigh. He couldn’t feel anything on her left thigh but on her right one there was a slight abrasion. “I think I’ve found it.”

“You have,” she confirmed. Then she leaned down to kiss him and he let her take control of this moment.

Justin’s hands slid up and down her back and she forgot everything but the sensations he evoked in her. She put her mind on hold and just reveled in the sensation of being on the sea on this beautiful warm night with this man who wanted nothing but her body.

There was a freedom in this that she had never experienced before. A freedom to be here with him. It didn’t matter that later she might regret this. Right now it was exactly what she needed.

“Why did you stop kissing me?” he asked.

“I’m trying not to think,” she said. “It’s not working.”

“Then I’m not doing my job,” he said. “I should be sweeping you away from your worries.”

“You should be…I think talking isn’t going to help. Why don’t you put your mouth on me and make me forget.”

He arched one eyebrow at her. “Do I have that power over you?”

“You have no idea,” she admitted.

She had tried to justify this attraction, to blame it on the fact that she was back in Miami. But that wasn’t it—she knew it was Justin, pure and simple.

She wanted his mouth on hers. She needed his hands sliding over her body, and she had to touch him. She was tired of being good and living an honest life. Not that there was anything dishonest about this, but she just needed a chance to let loose and Justin had offered her that.

“Kiss me.”

“Yes,” he said. His mouth found hers. He sucked her lower lip between his teeth and held it gently there while he suckled.

She swept her hands under his shirt enjoying the warmth of his skin and the strength of his muscles under her fingers. She liked the light dusting of hair on his chest and how it felt as she ran her hands over him. She lingered at his scar, tracing the outside edges of it and then followed the trail of hair as it narrowed on his chest and dipped into his waistband.

She pulled back so she could see him. He lounged back against the pillows and cushions with his shirt open. He looked like a pasha of old and she felt like a willing sex slave sent to please him.

She shifted back so her thighs rested on her heels. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he pulled his arms out of it.

He reached for the sash on the left side of her blouse and undid it. As the fabric fell open he put his hands on her waist and drew her up and back over his thighs. He reached under her shirt, his large hands rubbing over her bare midriff and then spanning her waist.

“You are so tiny,” he said.

“I’m not,” she said. She was an average-size girl; it was just that Justin was a big man with big hands.

He pushed her blouse off her shoulders and it fell off her arms behind her. He brought his hand up and slowly traced the pattern of her bra. Traced it from her clavicle down her chest to the curve of her breast.

He ran his finger down the edge where the cup met the other and then back up. She had goose bumps on her chest and her nipples stirred inside the cups of her bra. Wanting to feel that firm finger of his on them.

He reached behind her and undid the clasp and then carefully peeled the cups away until her breasts were revealed to him. He dropped the bra on the deck where her blouse was.

He cupped both breasts in his hands, letting his big palms rub both of her nipples in a circular motion. The sensation started a chain reaction in her. She loved the feeling and shifted her hips against his erection to satisfy the ache that started at the apex of her thighs.

He spread his fingers out, caressing the full globes of her breasts, and then slowly drew his right hand up to the tip of her nipple. But he didn’t linger there.