Taming The Boss (Billionaires In The City Book 7) (9 page)

But the real selling feature of the house was the lake view. He was looking into the cost benefit of adding a dock feature in the water, but even with only the view, it was breathtaking.

The house was three stories tall, and the main living area was open for all three stories, allowing for a giant wall of windows. Each of the panes was around six feet tall, and the view of the bay was completely unobstructed by trees. The dim lights in the house combined with the moonlight reflecting off the water and gave the entire house a soft glow.

“Are you sure you’re not going to move in here instead?”

Rourke shook his head. “Nah. This place is pretty, but there’s nothing like your first.”

Cali let out a sigh. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to leave. This place is beautiful.”

He looked at the woman next to him, her face illuminated by the moonlight, and he had to keep himself from telling her that she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She ran her hands up and down her arms and he realized that she must be freezing. “Let me start up the fire.” He went to the wall opposite of the windows, where the gas fireplace was.

“You don’t have to do that,” said Cali.

“Well, do you have anywhere better to be?”

“You know I don’t.”

“Then I might as well make us comfortable here.”

“Are we staying for a while?”

“Until I manage to piss you off again.” He shot her a cocky grin over his shoulder.

“So sooner rather than later?”

The fire roared to life, the flickering glow licking over the large room. “Or, you know, later. Hold on.” Rourke stood. “I’ll be right back.” He ran out to his truck and pulled his emergency blanket out of the spot behind the driver’s seat before he ran back inside, where Cali was looking out at the water again. “There’s no furniture, but at least this way you can sit on the floor without worrying about a stray nail or anything. Construction isn’t the cleanest process.”

“Well, aren’t you romantic.” Even so, once he set the blanket on the ground, she tugged on the corners closest to her to make it as straight as possible. “This is sounding more and more like a real date by the second.”

“Can’t remember the last time I said no to someone this much on a date.”

Cali bent down to take off her shoes before she sat on the blanket, wincing as she sat. “Not the most comfortable.”

Rourke sat next to her on the blanket over the original hardwood in the house. “No complaining about the floors. These are one of the saving graces of the house.”

“Not the view?”

“That and the view.” He held out his arm to her. “Come here.” He half expected her to say no or move away, but instead she scooched closer and rested her head on his shoulder as they looked at the fire.

Not that she was completely complacent. “Would be nice if it was wood-burning.”

“I’m not replacing the fireplace.” Even though he agreed with her, the cost benefit of the renovation just didn’t make it worth it. Having a fireplace increased the value of homes by thousands of dollars, but switching from one type to another made almost no difference in price.

“What are we doing here?” she asked quietly even as she snuggled closer.

He leaned in and took a deep inhale, the smell of her shampoo somehow being the sexiest thing imaginable to him at the moment. “We are...” He trailed off. He didn’t know what to tell her. “Hanging out,” he finally supplied.

She let out a snort. “My college boyfriend and I used to ‘hang out.’ Don’t think I don’t know what that means.”

“I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it.”

“I see through your nefarious plan. Take me out to a romantic spot on the most uncomfortable seat in town to get me buttered up. Very smooth, Devereaux.”

“We can leave if you want.”

“Now I didn’t say that, did I?” she said softly.

“Why didn’t you?” He didn’t know what he was doing, but she’d seemed pretty damn sure of herself from the second she’d pounded on his door. Why wasn’t she slapping him in the face and demanding he take her home?

“I don’t know,” she said carefully. “I suppose because you feel good and I’m trying to take a bit of a mental vacation?”

“That sounds like a bad reason.”

“Do you think I should leave?”

“Haven’t I been telling you that since you showed up in town?”

“I mean right now. Do you think I should leave?”

“I think...if you stay, I’ll show you a good time.”

“A good time? How can a girl pass that up?” Even though the words sounded joking, she said it in a serious, almost somber tone.

“There’s something between us,” said Rourke.

“That doesn’t mean we need to be stupid about this. I mean—”

But Cali never finished the thought. Because then Rourke was kissing her.

Cali tilted her head back and let Rourke kiss her. Thousands of thoughts rushed into her mind. Namely, the thousands of reasons she should stop this kiss and order him to take her back.

But damn it, he felt good. He felt warm and secure and safe. But was safe a good enough reason to risk her entire reason for coming here? Just because she knew he wasn’t an asshole was no reason to climb into bed with someone. Or onto the floor with them, in this case.

He tilted his head and kissed her deeper. Roughly.

No. This wasn’t just about safety. She sure as hell didn’t feel like this when Easson kissed her. When anyone kissed her, for that matter. This was something deeper, more unique. Even if things couldn’t really go further between them, she wasn’t going to give this up.

So, spurred on by a boost of confidence she’d never felt before, Cali cupped the back of Rourke’s neck and pulled him in close. Rourke felt the change and he became bolder with his kiss, his tongue teasing the seam of her lips as his hand traced the curve of her body until it came to a rest on her hip.

His kisses trailed down, and she tilted her head back to give him better access to her throat as she ran her fingers over the sexy stubble along his jaw. Every touch of his hands or mouth sent sparks of pleasure shooting through her, and when Rourke nipped at the sensitive skin where neck met shoulder, she couldn’t hold in a little moan.

The hand on her hip moved lower until he caught the hem of her skirt and pushed up. When his fingers hit the edge of her panties, he let out a little growl. One more reminder of just how wild the man in her arms was. Heat pooled low in her belly at the thought.

Rourke pulled back and ripped his shirt off in one quick motion, setting it on top of the blanket before he gently pushed her back until she lay in front of him. He knelt on his heels toward her feet and Cali took the moment to fully appreciate the view. Rourke had finely tuned muscles from the manual labor he did; it obviously worked well for him.

He set his palms on her ankles and widened her legs so he could fit between them. For the first time since they started kissing, a flash of worry shot through her. “What are you doing?” she asked nervously.

Those dark eyes met hers, and he looked so confident that all of her concerns melted away. More than confident, he looked hungry. Hungry for her, and that was the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

“Trust me.” His hands now snaked slowly up her legs.

She leaned back as he pushed the skirt of her dress up higher and higher. And when his fingers hooked in the waistband of her panties, she lifted her hips, allowing him to pull them inch by delicious inch down her legs.

Until they were completely off.

Even though it was only one piece of clothing, she might as well be completely naked with how vulnerable she felt.

But then his hands traveled back up again. Every millimeter traveled sent a new wave of pleasure through her. But that all came to a crazy frenzy when he reached the sensitive folds between her legs. At first, he simply pressed his palm against the mound, and she rubbed greedily against him. The friction against her clit sent shivers through her.

Then his skillful fingers slid in. Too thick to be just one... And while he tortured her from the inside, his thumb brushed her clit in the briefest touch, and that was all it took for Cali to arch her back as a bolt of lightning shot through her.

He kept up, not relenting for anything, and right when she thought it was too much, he abruptly withdrew. Before she could ask what happened, his hands pushed her thighs wide apart as he ducked his head between her legs, his mouth taking the place of his fingers.

At the slightest touch of his tongue against her clit, the orgasm hit Cali. All her stress and worry just shot out of her in one big whoosh as wave after wave of pleasure replaced it.

She opened her eyes to see Rourke had climbed up her body and stared down at her. “Damn, you’re beautiful,” he said in his deep, husky tone.

She smiled up at him. “You’re not too bad yourself.”

But he didn’t smile back. Instead, he leaned in, kissing her deeply as his hips rested between hers. His erection had to be painful inside his jeans, but he’d seemed to be focused on her.

Except what would make her happier than anything would be if he took those jeans off.

One of her legs snaked around his, rubbing her bare foot against the thick denim as she arched into him, telling him with her body exactly what she wanted from him.

“God, Cali,” he growled against her ear. Then he ripped himself away from her; his shaking fingers tore at the fly to his jeans and pushed them and his boots off in frantic movements. He leaned forward to grab a condom out of the back pocket of his discarded jeans. He started to open the packet, and Cali sat up, setting a hand over his to stop him. “Let me,” she said in a breathy voice that didn’t even sound like hers.

She ran her fingers over his and took the condom. She looked down at his straining erection, surrounded by thick, curly hair, a shade darker than his sun-lightened locks. He leaned against the blanket as she rolled the latex over the thick head of his cock, and it was his turn to gasp under her touch. She smiled in victory at his reaction before she rolled it the rest of the way down.

“Come here,” he ordered, holding a hand out to her.

She took his hand as she slid up his body. But as soon as her hips were within reach, he grabbed her and pulled her up, until her parted thighs were right above his erection and her chest was pressed to his. His bare skin pressed to her dress and she wished desperately she was naked against him.

But then he was pushing into her and she didn’t care anymore. All that mattered was getting as much of his length inside her as possible.

He held her up for a few long, agonizing seconds as just the tip was in her. But she wanted more. Needed more. She wiggled in his grip and he finally gave in, letting her slide down his cock until he was fully seated inside her.

They both gasped together as they got what they wanted. What they’d been craving. His hands reached around her until he found the zipper to her dress and slid it down until the top half sagged against her shoulders, but she couldn’t move to take it off until he released her arms. As soon as she was free, she pushed the dress down her arms until it was bunched at her waist.

Rourke leaned in to kiss her now exposed shoulder, hooking her bra strap in his thumb and kissing the trail left behind as he pushed it off her shoulder. As his lips teased her, his other hand reached behind to unhook the bra in a quick, efficient motion.

And then she was topless in his arms. He stared reverently at her breasts and Cali couldn’t hold it back anymore. She rocked against him, slowly taking in the double sensation of his cock deep within her as the friction rubbed against her clit.

The sensations shot up as he caught a nipple in his mouth. His hands gripped her hips and at first he let her set the rhythm, slowly rocking back and forth, savoring the feel of his touch. But soon enough, he gripped her tighter and showed her exactly how he wanted her to move.

Once they sped up, it didn’t take long for another orgasm to rock her. She let her eyes close and her head fall back. Rourke’s fingers bit into her hips as he thrust deeper and harder within her.

He held her tightly as they both came down from the high. His hands stroked her back, helping to warm her as reality started to slowly creep back in. Even though they were in front of the fire, the temperature was still chilly, and she held Rourke a bit tighter, appreciating the warmth. Not wanting to have to let him go and face what she’d just done.

He shifted beneath her and she suddenly remembered the hard floor they were on. “I’m so sorry,” she muttered as she started to climb off.

“I don’t mind.” He held her closer as he nuzzled at her neck and kissed the sensitive skin.

She let out a laugh as she tilted her head back to give him better access. “You’re a cuddler? Who would’ve known?”

“Little known fact about me. I’m actually full of surprises.”

“Oh really.”

“Yep. Come back to my place, where there’s actually a bed, and I’ll show you even more.”

She smiled against his head, enjoying the subtle scent of his masculine shampoo. “I’d have to stop at Mary’s to pick up some overnight things. And I know she’d talk.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”