The Billionaire's Gentle Rescue (The Sisterhood) (11 page)

Zoe looked down at her dress and realized that it did look a bit too loose. She sighed as she pushed away from the counter. “So why won’t you let me see what’s in the bag?”

He pulled the wine out and tore off the metal top. “Tell me what’s wrong first.”

She crossed her arms over her stomach and looked at the wine bottle, unable to hold his gaze. “Nothing’s wrong. Why would you think something is wrong?”

He chuckled and shook his head as he pulled down two wine glasses from her cabinet. Zoe wondered how he knew exactly where she kept them, but had to focus on him instead of letting her mind wander. He was in his “genius-mode” she thought. She’d seen it several times over the past few weeks when he was discussing business. There was just a look about him, an excitement to discover something that made his eyes a bit more intense. She’d thought it was a turn-on when he’d directed that look at someone else but now that he was sharpening that gaze in her direction, she was terrified.

“Why would you think something is wrong?”

Marco wasn’t sure if he wanted to shake her or kiss her until she was delirious. Maybe start with one and end with the other, he considered. Trying for patience, he handed her a glass of rich, red wine and waited until she’d sampled the excellent vintage before continuing. “Zoe, why are you afraid to trust me?” he asked softly.

Zoe’s eyes darted up to his, then quickly away. She wandered over to the sofa and sat down, pretending to enjoy the wine. “Marco, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m fully capable of handling the business.”

He studied her carefully, considering the best way to approach her so she wouldn’t be hurt. He took the chair opposite her and watched her features. “When I grew up, I used to watch my father carefully. I always knew when he was doing legitimate business or something a bit more nefarious because of his body language. He was a great poker player, but being on the sidelines and allowed to observe, I learned a great deal more than my father might have wanted me to know about. The most useful thing though, was to watch him interact with his deputies. They were all terrified of him, worried that if they messed up even in the smallest detail, my father would snuff them out.”

“He never did, did he?” she asked, fascinated despite her abhorrence for violence and criminals.

“Of course he did. Although I wasn’t sure how that order was conveyed, I knew the pecking order and when someone didn’t show up for a meeting, I knew that he’d been taken care of.”

“That’s horrible.”

“That’s the mafia. And I didn’t like it either.”

“So are you telling me that if I don’t get things straightened out, you’re going to snuff me?” she teased.

He smiled briefly, but shook his head. “No, I’m trying to point out that when someone in my organization is messing up, the worst thing she or he can do is hide it like my father’s deputies used to do. It’s never good and the problems only get worse. But if they come and ask for help, they always get it and I never think worse of them for it. In fact, I consider their request for help a sign that they’re actually maturing in their management skills since they know when to ask an expert.”

“Are you always the expert?”

He chuckled. “I’m usually the one in the meetings asking the questions. I hire the experts in their field and demand assistance when there’s a problem.”

“And you’re saying I need to ‘fess up and ask for help?”

“Exactly.”

She took a deep breath and the tears formed in her eyes. She blinked to keep them at bay but she wasn’t sure if she was successful. “I can’t keep up with the work that’s been coming in. I don’t have the personnel to accomplish all of the orders, we’re running on fumes now and we don’t have the time or personnel to find additional space. We’re so swamped with orders from all the publicity you’ve generated for us that we’re drowning in it and I’m falling behind on my normal schedule.”

With that, she took a long, deep breath and let it out, feeling enormously better for admitting it to him. “And I can’t even consider how to make things better. There’s only so much time in the day.” She put her wine glass down on the coffee table and angrily walked over to the window, but she didn’t see the lights of the city as the sun set. All she saw was her work table covered with papers and another weekend where she had so much paperwork to do she couldn’t even design, something she needed as a mental outlet, not just as a business task.

He came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders, soothing her when she jumped. “Does it feel better now that you’ve told me all that?”

She hiccupped out her laugh. “Not at all. You’re the big boss man who’s probably never done anything wrong in his life when it comes to business. So admitting that I’m basically an organizational failure is not liberating, it’s humiliating.”

She heard him chuckle behind her and wanted to turn around and smack him. “This is not funny, Marco!” she growled.

“What’s funny is you thinking I haven’t done anything wrong in business. I wish that were the case, but it’s simply not true. Don’t put me up on that pedestal. I’m not perfect. I might have more experience, but I’m definitely fallible.”

She turned around and looked up at him. “Okay, so who do I turn to for help?”

“Well that would still be me.”

“But you just told me you don’t have the answers.”

“I have many answers, both business and personal. The business ones you just have to ask me the questions and I’ll give you some ideas and will help you implement anything you decide.”

She knew she shouldn’t ask, but she did anyway. Some compulsion, or curiosity deep down inside her, a penchant for danger perhaps, forced the words out of her mouth. “And the personal questions?”

“Ah, I have the answers to that too.”

“What are the questions?”

“When are we going to become lovers is at the top of your mind,” he said softly, his thumb rubbing against her lips. “What will it be like once you finally give in and taste the full passion we can have together, is another.”

“I’m not thinking that,” she whispered, mesmerized by his touch and the heated look in his eyes.

“Yes you are,” he argued before his lips touched hers carefully.

“No I’m not,” she countered, trying to shake her head.

But he stopped her by covering her mouth with his, taking her gasp in his mouth. “You’re lying, Zoë,” he said softly, and deepened the kiss.

When his lips took over hers, she couldn’t resist the allure of his scent any longer. She gave in to the need to touch him and reached up so her fingers were skimming along his neck. When she became frustrated at the lack of skin, she pulled his tie loose, and then unbuttoned several of the buttons so her fingers could feel more.

She didn’t know how it had happened, but when she felt the cooler air on her shoulders, she realized that Marco had somehow undone the tie on her dress and was in the process of pulling it down her shoulders. She wanted to help him, but her fingers wouldn’t leave the warmth of his skin on his chest long enough to get rid of the fabric.

“Zoe, please tell me you don’t wear things like this all the time under your clothes,” he said, looking down at her black lace bra and thong underwear. Her black garters were trimmed at the top with lace and he groaned as his fingers circled her tiny waistline.

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?”

He groaned as his hands slid down her back, cupping her bottom and bringing her closer. “You have got to be the sexiest woman I’ve ever met,” he said before his mouth covered hers again. He lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he carried her upstairs.

Laying her on the bed, he stood back up and ripped the tie off, tossing it behind him before working on the buttons of his shirt. “Stay where you are,” he said when she started to sit p. “I’ve wanted to see you like this for so long and it’s better than my fantasies.”

She smiled seductively up at him with those words, her hands moving up to the straps of her bra, slipping one off her shoulder as she watched his eyes. Marco’s eyes never left her hands, waiting, his fingers frozen against the front of his shirt as he waited for her to move it lower.

“Keep going,” he demanded when she stopped.

Zoe licked her lips, her nervousness disappearing with the intensity of his gaze. She felt powerful, sexy and desired. She moved the strap lower, slowly shifting the fabric down. When her breast was revealed, she saw the shift in Marco’s eyes. Gone was the patience, replaced with a fire so hot she wasn’t sure what to do. But she didn’t have time to be concerned. His hands stopped working the buttons and simply pulled the fabric over his head, dropping it on the floor before moving back to the bed, his head zeroing in as his mouth covered her breast, sucking on the nipple, teasing it until she was screaming with need before moving to the next, pulling the strap down on the other side just as she’d done, but without the hesitation.

“You’re beautiful,” he growled as his mouth moved down her stomach, nibbling on her hip bone before moving lower.

Zoe gasped when his head kissed her inner thigh. “Open for me Zoe,” he coaxed and she sighed when his fingers moved softly against her body. His mouth moved lower, blowing softly against the curls hiding her core.

She held her breath, waiting for him to touch her and when he did, she wasn’t disappointed. His mouth was warm, hot and fantastic as he tasted her, his tongue moving against her as his finger slid inside her. She screamed out when he moved his tongue and finger at the same time, arching up against him. She hadn’t wanted to climax like this, but he was too skilled, too magnificent to hold back and her body vibrated as her orgasm shuddered through her, her fingers clenching the comforter on either side of her body.

Marco moved up, kissing his way to her neck. “That has got to be the sexiest thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said just as his mouth took her earlobe, biting gently. “Will you do it again?” he asked, tossing the rest of his clothes off to the side as he watched her come down from her orgasm.

Zoe immediately shook her head, her breathing still rapid as her body slowly recovered from his tender ministrations.

He laughed softly. “Let’s see, shall we?” he asked and pulled her knees up so they were around his waist. As he slid slowly into her, Zoe’s body reacted sharply. No longer was she relaxed and recovering. With his movement, her body arched back again, pushing against him as she moved to take all of him inside her. When he continued to fill her, she gasped at his size, at how perfectly he felt. Her eyes widened in alarm, but he pulled back, then eased in deeper and Zoe closed her eyes, feeling incredibly good as he started moving.

Soon though, the slow, methodical movements were no longer enough. She wanted more. She wanted faster. She wanted him deeper and her arms gripped him, her hands moving down his back so she could hold onto his hips. She tried to make him move faster, but he wouldn’t let her, setting the pace and watching her face, her reactions.

Marco gritted his teeth, holding back his own until he knew she was almost upon her second climax. When he felt the shivering begin, then he let go, at which point, the control he’d established over his body was released and he couldn’t hold back anything. He watched in fascination and awe as Zoe’s orgasm spasmed out, throbbing around him and pulling him deeper, intensifying the explosion.

Long minutes later, Zoe stared up at the high ceiling of her loft, trying to slow her breathing to something more manageable. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on catching her breath, and stopping the shivering that had taken over her body.

“Are you okay?” Marco asked, looking down at her as he lifted himself up on his elbows.

Her hand lifted slightly to try and touch his shoulder, to reassure him that she was okay, but she couldn’t lift her arm, too weak from that last explosive climax to do anything other than nod slightly.

He rolled over onto his back, taking her with him so she was draped over his side. “You’re lovely,” he said, pulling her hair off to the side, his fingers sliding through the long, dark brown tresses. “Does it take you a long time to take care of all this hair?” he asked.

Zoe had to laugh. She’d just had the most incredible moment of her life and he wanted to know about her hair. “Yes,” she finally said through her laughter.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, his hand moving from her hair down her back to rest on her bottom.

She shook her head and sighed. “Nothing.”

“At least nothing you’re going to tell me, I’m guessing,” he said, his eyes looking at her soft features and lovely smile. He was curious, but at this point, he didn’t really care. She was in his arms, the place he’d wanted her to be for more than ten years and she looked deliriously happy. He’d put that smile on her face and she felt too damn good to do anything more than shift her weight slightly so he had better access to all that delectable skin. “I hope you’re not very hungry.”

“I’m starving,” she said.

“Too bad,” he replied and covered her breast with his mouth. Zoe gasped as the electricity shot through her, going straight to her core as her legs wrapped around him tightly. His hand moved to the other and she reached up to grab his wrists, initially to pull them away because the sensations were too intense, but then she simply held him there as his fingers teased and tested, his other hand moving downwards to test more sensitive areas and Zoe cried out as his fingers found her, slid inside and made her writhe in pleasure so intense she could barely see straight.