Teach Me To Ride (5 page)

He might not see it yet, but her coverage could be the way to get Lewis off his back once and for all. The first thing they needed to do was make Lewis think Caroline was as interested in his side of the story as she was Michael’s. Even if nothing could be further from the truth.

Michael had to make a decision. Would he ride or wouldn’t he?

Rare guilt skittered over the surface of her skin. She was a journalist. Michael knew that. What did he expect? She wanted a story. She hadn’t hidden that goal from him. He wanted her help. He hadn’t hidden that need from her either.

Turning the paper face down, she grabbed her bag and got out of the car. It was show time. She smoothed her dress down over her thighs before looking up at the white-painted brick and chrome façade of Michael’s apartment complex. She released a low whistle. He might have been ostracized by his mega-rich father, but the man had done good all by himself.

Taking a moment to get her racing heart under control, she fluffed at her hair just as Michael appeared at one of the upper windows. Caroline froze. He stared down at her. For a long moment, she did nothing as her body numbed with nerves. She literally felt the heat of his gaze despite the distance that separated them. She swallowed and forced a wide smile, even managed to raise her hand in a wave.

After a moment, he raised his hand and then turned, disappearing back inside. Caroline released her held breath. She had to find her usual cool. The man had her trembling for his touch and that could only be a bad—naughty—thing.

Inhaling a long breath through flared nostrils, she headed for the main door and pressed the bell to apartment five-twenty.

“Come on up.” Michael’s masculine and abrupt command crackled through the intercom. The door clicked open.

Caroline pushed through it and entered the lobby.
Here goes nothing.

She took her time walking to the elevator. She had a snippet of his father’s side of the story…now she needed Michael’s. He was going to be upset about the day’s copy, but she would make him understand the ball was firmly in his court…or stable. His side could be on tomorrow’s front page, if he was willing to share what was going on.

Stepping into the elevator, she pressed the floor number and slumped against the metal wall. Whatever happened from there on in, she didn’t want to see the frustration and anger that had been in Michael’s eyes yesterday when he’d spoken of his father. She might be a lot of things, but she didn’t hurt people in the name of a story. She’d make him see that.

But she wouldn’t apologize for doing her job. Yes, Michael had somehow managed to stir every suppressed emotion inside her, but he was temporary, her career wasn’t. The bell dinged at the fifth floor and the doors slid open, revealing a plush carpeted corridor. Caroline exhaled through pursed lips and stepped outside.

Her skin tingled with anticipation as she moved toward the closed door of his apartment. She wanted him. It was useless denying it. His teasing eyes and knowing looks, his sexy, delicious kiss and powerful hands had knocked her focus from who he was—the banished son of
the
Lewis Canton, the Cotswold’s infamously successful show jumper. Yet Michael lived in a realm she was afraid to resist tasting and then regret when their paths inevitably parted.

She slowly walked along the corridor, the trembling in her legs abating even if her heart still beat like a freight train. After she’d exhausted every bit of information on Michael last night—and rid herself of some of her frustration—she was more determined than ever to bring Lewis Canton down a peg or two. Maybe that’s what Michael had in mind. Maybe he had something on his dad that could leave his reputation in tatters.

Excitement skittered over Caroline’s skin.

She stopped outside his apartment door and her smile dissolved. Fondness for the guy twisted inside her stomach. Michael’s eyes blazing with fury, the heat behind his kiss, and the clutch of his hands reverberated in her mind.

She wanted to do this the right way—whatever that was.

Lifting her hand, she rapped her knuckles against the door.

Chapter Six

Michael put the plates of scallops down on the dining table and stared at his apartment door. He flexed his fingers as tension for the unknown whispered through him. She was here. He closed his eyes and the image of today’s paper flashed behind his closed lids. Why had she done that? Hadn’t he warned her how dangerous Lewis was? Warned her what he’d do if he got his claws into her.

Another knock at the door and Michael moved forward, hesitating with his hand curled around the handle.

When he’d watched her get out of the car, he couldn’t deny his needs any longer. He wanted her in his bed as much as he wanted her in his corner. Dressed in a short, black dress that clung to every curve, her tanned, lean legs were shown to maximum effect, tapering down to slender ankles and feet encased in strappy, illogically high heels. His heart picked up speed and his dick twitched just from watching her.

He took a deep breath and pulled the door open.

Their eyes locked and the seconds beat out in silent intensity.

She smiled, though her gaze remained wary. “Hi.” She held up a wrapped bottle of wine. “I brought provisions.”

His irritation wavered as he slid his gaze over every inch of her. From the top of her head to the painted toenails encased in the sexiest pair of heels known to man. His desire for her soared. Not trusting himself to speak, Michael he took her hand and pulled her inside. With his free hand, he slammed the door and took her fully in his arms. He stared down at her. Her stunning blue eyes were wide as they searched his; her cheeks flushed pink and her body trembling. The atmosphere lit up with sexual tension.

He slid the wine from her hand and placed it on a bureau beside him.

Frustration, anger, lust, and need ripped through him. He couldn’t think straight, didn’t know what to do or say to her about his father. Show jumping, his future, his life all whirled inside him. His dick ached with the need for release for this woman. Until he sated the lust running through his veins, his words wouldn’t be worth the air they were spoken on.

He inhaled a deep breath, taking in her scent of musk and flowers. “We need to deal with this.”

The skin at her neck shifted and she nodded. “I know.”

“We need to deal with it now.” His voice rumbled from deep within his chest.

Her mouth tightened as she swallowed, her gaze dark. “I know.”

The bag she carried thudded to the floor and she cupped his jaw in her hands, bringing his face roughly to hers. Her lips were like flames of fire, her tongue hot and demanding. Christ, she was all he could think or feel. He returned her kiss with ardent ferocity before smoothing his hands down over her waist, lower until he gripped the bottom of her dress and yanked it upward.

Her gasp whispered between them but his gaze never left hers. With her dress up around her hips, Michael lifted her off her feet and she bolted her legs around his waist. He firmly grasped her round, luscious ass and carried her into his bedroom. He kept his lips locked on hers, stealing her breath and inhaling her scent as if he’d die if he didn’t.

His blood pumped and his body heated as he carried her blindly toward the bed and toppled her onto it. The air filled with the sound of their breathing, animalistic grunts, and growls as they kissed and tussled. Her on top of him first, and then they rolled over until she straddled his hips. She pulled away and stared down at him, her eyes wild with lust, her lips swollen red.

She sat up, her pussy pressing against his erection. God, he could feel her heat, her moisture seeping into the cotton of his trousers. If she wore panties, they couldn’t be more than a scrap of material. The idea sent his brain hurtling to his cock.

Her smile was impish yet demanding. “Do you have anything?”

He nodded and swallowed the damning words that itched on his tongue. The inert need to tell her she messed with his head, sent his body into combustion, rose hot and wild inside him. He wanted to taste her, smell her, and devour every inch of her. All things he shouldn’t say or even be thinking. What the hell was happening here?

His forced the scowl from his face and winked. “I have everything we need.”

Her smile stretched to a grin. “That’s all I want to know right now.”

Still sitting in his lap, she reached behind her and lowered the zipper of her dress. It fell down over her shoulders, revealing naked breasts. His erection ached at the sight of her creamy white, perfect tits with nipples big and dark. He licked his lips and moved forward to suck one hard tip into his mouth. Her gasp sounded above him.

Her skin smelled of something sweet and sexy, innocence mixed with danger. He inhaled deeply as he grazed her pebbled nipple with his teeth before reclaiming her mouth. Her tongue was rigid and demanding against his as they fought for supremacy.

Rolling her over, he shimmied the dress down her body and tossed it to the floor. Naked, but for tiny satin panties, darkened by juices at her clit, Michael didn’t think he had ever seen a woman look more beautiful. He drank in every inch of her, knowing deep inside that this might be the only moment he’d ever see her like this. The only chance to take her, to watch her enjoy unadulterated pleasure. God, he wanted to give her pleasure.

“Michael…”

He snapped his gaze to hers. She watched him. Her eyes were heavy lidded, screaming for him, wanting him. Male pride surged like a fireball behind his ribcage. He crawled up beside her and kissed her, his fingers trailing over her breasts, lower over her torso before diving into her panties.

She was wet. Soaking wet.

His hand glided over her narrow strip of pubic hair to her rigid clit. He circled, stretched, and teased, then moved lower until his fingers found her slit, his blood roaring in his ears. He felt alive masculine and powerful. Her legs opened and he thrust two fingers deep inside.

“Mmm…” Her response was nothing more than a soft whisper of breath.

He longed to feel that hot, sweet pussy around his cock, but he had to see her come, had to see this amazing, strong, ambitious woman in a relaxed, vulnerable state for just a moment. To know he’d done that to her, to know she was equal to him in her needs.

“What do you want, Caroline? What do you want me to do to you?”

“I want you to fuck me. Make me come. I wanna come with you, on you. God, Michael. Please.”

****

Caroline trembled as his dark and dangerous gaze bore into hers. His intensity, his anger, his domination ripped through her defenses, smashing her ego to pieces. She was ambitious and single-minded in her career. If she slept with a man, it was on her terms, in her way. Nothing personal. No overzealous commitments or promises. Yet here, now, with Michael, he held the control, the power. She was helpless to his demands. They both knew she was his for the taking, and she didn’t care that the knowledge shone bright in his gaze. When it was over, when her body had been given what it craved, she would let him know how this was going to work.

For now though, she was his.

He turned her over and the breath left her lungs as lust seeped from her pussy. She gripped the bed cover and gritted her teeth as he smoothed her juices roughly around her pussy lips, dipping his fingers in for more before running her wetness up the seam of her ass. She groaned as sensations swamped her and heightened every inch of her sexual instinct, making her want to get on all fours and howl at the moon.

She clenched her ass together when his fingers circled her puckered hole. Heat infused her cheeks. She barely knew him and he was playing with her ass. What was she doing? Her confidence faltered.

“Relax, Caroline. I’m going to look after you. All of you.” The previously heated demand in his tone had vanished. His words were soft and sincere. “Will you let me do that?”

“Uh-huh.” She had no choice. She trembled with need.

She slumped onto the bed as he moved away from her. The sounds of a zipper and the swish of clothes being stripped away filtered through the air. Her heart picked up speed as she waited for him. Her pussy throbbed and her nipples ached. She curled her fingers harder into the bed clothes as the urge to finger her pussy and masturbate her clit became harder and harder to resist. She heard the rip of the condom packet…

He eased her legs wide apart and she closed her eyes in blessed anticipation. The cool air licked at her willing softness. Gentle, exploring fingers ran up her inner thighs and over her open and aching lips. He pushed his fingers deep inside her and she groaned as he pressed against her highest and most needful spot. She stretched her legs wider and hitched her hips off the bed, biting into the pillow when she felt the first whispers of his warm breath against her damp, eager pussy.

Yes, yes, please God. Please.

He fed on her open lips and clit like he was starving. Licking and sucking, pushing his hot, rigid tongue deep inside her slit until her pussy pulsed with the first sensations of orgasm. She wanted to feel him inside her when she came. As tempting as it was, she didn’t want to come on his face. She’d barely known the guy more than a few days. Her smile tugged at her lips, and then dissolved when he drew her clit into his sweet, hot mouth.

“Michael, please.”

He moved away and she trembled with anticipation. Seconds passed as tears of frustration burned her eyes. Never before had she yearned for a man’s cock like this. Emotions roared and tumbled inside her, lust burned and scolded. He was so damn sexy and angry and hot for fucking…

His hands roamed over her waist and hips before he slid over her ass for another fondle of her pussy. Around and around he spread her juices, teasing and driving her crazy. She bit down on her bottom lip when his fingers where replaced with the hot, teasing tip of his cock. He nudged his hardness at her pulsing slit and then he thrust deep inside.

“Oh, shit.” She moaned, her mouth curving with a satisfied smile. The man was big.

His cock filled her to the hilt and she tipped her head back, pushed against him and met him eager thrust for eager thrust. She pushed her ass high into the air until she was on all fours, her ass wide open for him to see. He gripped her hip with one hand, the fingers deliciously painful as they bit into the flesh. The other came round and rubbed at her clit.