The Price of Seduction (15 page)

Sh
e looked up at him through lowered lids. “You might think I’m your plaything but you’ve got it the wrong way round. You’re mine.”

She covered his mouth with hers
. She wanted him and nothing else mattered

There was nothing else in the world, only the two of them, only their desi
re and longing. Tomorrow she might have to return to the real world but tonight she would be with him. This evening there was nothing else, no job, no responsibilities, no other people, no future.

There was only tonight, only these moments together.

She closed her eyes and took her time, savouring the moment of limbo before their bodies were pressed against each other and there was no turning back.

Never before had she felt so isolated, so far from the rest of civilisation. She recalled that sense of remoteness and isolation, that feeling of being in the middle
of nowhere up at Il Bosco.

T
hat was how she felt now. If anything, being in the middle of a bustling city only made her feel more isolated. It intensified her feelings, drove them deeper.

Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Conrad’s piercing blue eyes but this time she saw a softness in them as though he cared and wanted her to stay with him. Was it love she saw in his eyes or merely lust?

Bree didn’t care. She wanted him.

She flung one leg over him to sit on his lap
facing him. Cupping his chin in her hands, she slid her fingers down over the bare bronzed skin of his chest.

“You should always wal
k around bare chested,” she said.

“So should you.”

A girlish giggle escaped her lips.

Sh
e drove her hands around the back of his neck and pulled him close, her mouth open and hungry with desire. Brushing her lips against his, she initiated the kiss, pressing her mouth against his gently at first, then with increasing pressure. His lips now parted, she flicked her tongue in briefly, testing the waters. As he responded, she increased the pace until their mouths were locked in a passion that sent sparks of pleasure sizzling through her body.

Wrapped in the velvet cloak of his arms, Bree felt sec
ure and safe. His embrace made her feel small and delicate. He was her protector. He’d keep her safe.

His
mouth slipped down over her neck as he peppered the bare skin with little kisses. The broad scooped neckline of her top slid off one shoulder and he trailed kisses to her shoulder tip then back to her throat. She arched her neck upwards, inviting him in, trying to expose more skin for him to ravish.

The apartment was a capsule in which they were cocooned. It was an enclosure which kept them trapped together. And within the cocoon of the apartment their bodies were wrapped together in an embrace from which there was no escape.

Conrad ravished the bare skin of her throat and neck, his kisses burning her skin. Jolts of electricity shot through her.

She could bear it no longer as
she reached down to the hem of her silk jersey tee shirt and pulled it over her head, tossing it onto the floor behind her. His hands were on her immediately, massaging her breasts, caressing the sensitive skin, then rubbing it more firmly.

Looking down briefly, she saw how large and manly
his hands were. Still the generous flesh of her bosoms spilled over as he held them. His eyes were alive with lust and yearning, his lips parting as he lowered his head to ravish her nipples with his mouth.

He was gentle at first. That didn’t last long
as he pulled on her nipple. She moaned. He knew he was hurting her, knew there was a fine line between pleasure and pain, knew the ache that would come when he stopped.

For Bree, he was lover and tormentor both.

He wrapped one arm around her to pull her closer while the other hand dropped between her thighs. Straddling him, she felt highly exposed even though she was still partly dressed. She felt as though there was nothing between them, no hiding her desire.

His fingers br
ushed the outside of her pants. His touch was so gentle yet it scalded her with its intensity.

His mouth was on her neck, then back down to the taut nubs of her breasts. Bolts of sexual pleasure shot down to
the pit of her belly. He slipped his fingers inside her pants and her yearning intensified. He knew exactly how to touch her and taunt her. Knew exactly the right balance. A cry escaped her lips, her heart racing, her whole body ready to explode.

Enveloping her in his arms, Conrad reclined her
onto the sofa. She quickly slid down the zipper of her skirt. He hooked his fingers around the waistband and swept away both her skirt and panties in a single movement. Staring at her naked body with hungry eyes, he slid off his trousers and underwear with the speed of a man consumed, for that’s what he was.

He looked magnificent naked,
shoulders broad, chest strong. Every inch of his manliness was exposed. Nothing had ever felt more natural.

Conrad went down on her. His tongue felt hot. Within seconds,
her whole body was aglow. Waves of ecstatic pleasure surged through her as she climaxed.

Her
body felt like a mass of hot viscous liquid as Conrad repositioned himself. Glancing down, she saw him slip on a condom yet she hadn’t even seen him take it from his trousers.

He entered her in one swift move, his body propped up on his elbows
. The first few strokes sent waves of renewed desire through her.

She could never get enough of him and it surprised her every time.

“Conrad.” She whispered his name over and over with each deep, masculine stroke.

As he increased his pace, he rested his strong muscular chest on hers and she found herself enveloped between the leather of the sofa behind her and the expanse of his torso on top of her.

Their bodies intertwined in the most intimate way possible, there was no escape. Not from her feelings for him.

She said his name again and again, faster and faster, until
she screamed it out and the waves of her second orgasm radiated through her.

Opening her eyes through the mist, she saw Conrad looking at her, his mouth open. He closed his eyes briefly as his whole body jerked and she knew his own climax was rocketing through him.

He propped himself back onto his hands, his gaze sliding over her breasts before returning once again to her face.

And as her eyes lingered on his, she
knew nothing would ever be the same. Her world had changed over the last few days in a way she hadn’t thought possible and there was no turning back.

She knew it instinctively without words or evidence or proof.

If she looked at the facts, they were just two people who hadn’t known each other very long who had spectacular sex together. Tomorrow they’d return to the real world, their own jobs and their own apartments. Nothing life changing had happened.

But sometimes the facts were meaningless and logic misleading. Sometimes true knowledge lay deep beneath the surface.

Conrad stroked her face with his fingertips, his voice a quiet but firm whisper. “This place, this apartment feels so much more like home now that you’re here.”

She replied with a dreamy smile, her insides still weak from her own personal revelation.

They had done this to themselves. They’d created their own personal hideaway, turned his apartment into their nest and now, whether Conrad knew it or not, her world had changed irreversibly.

There was no point denying it to herself.

She was in love.

As she reached across her desk for the telephone the following Friday, Bree couldn’t believe the phone was ringing again. She’d been flat out all day but
relaxed back into her chair as soon as she heard Conrad’s voice.

“Tonight we’ll be celebrating,
” he said.

“And what are we celebrating?”

“This morning we cut through the rest of the government red tape and the final signatures are on paper for Il Bosco. Settlement is in two months. As of today I am the new owner of Il Bosco.”

“You’re kidding. That’s great. How does it feel?”

She could hear the excitement in his voice. “Really good. We’ve opened up a few bottles of Bolly at the office but I’d like to celebrate with you tonight. Just the two of us.”

“Just the two of us,” she repeated.

“Tomorrow night we’ve got that fortieth and you’ll meet lots of my colleagues and friends but tonight I’d like it to be just me and you.”

“Sounds lovely,” she said.
“So now you own a million acres of wilderness.”

“We’ll have to go up there again soon. Hand-over won’t be for another two months but I won’t be able to wait that long to see the place.”

“Sure.”

“Would you
pass the good news on to Olivia,” he said. “She’ll be pleased to know there’ll be more business heading in her direction.”

Bree laughed. “That’ll make her very happy.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven. I’ll make a reservation at Maxima’s.”

“Won’t it be booked out at such short notice?”

“I think they’ll find a way of making room for us.”

Bree hung up the phone, marvelling at how her life had changed so quickly.

Only a few weeks ago, she’d been immersed in work because that was all she had. Her career was still important to her, there was no doubt about that, but now there was something else in her life. Conrad.

How had she become involved in a life like this?

Still, there was something that made her feel uneasy even though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It was probably just her period and her hormones bringing her down. She hadn’t had the usual premenstrual tension which warned her about the onset of her period and that at least was a blessing.

Her cycle had
only lasted a day or two and was very light but that wasn’t worth fretting over. She reminded herself she should be grateful in more ways than one. At least she didn’t have to worry about being pregnant.

“Bree.” She heard her name and looked up to see Olivia hovering in the doorway. “There are a few of us going to the Langley for lunch today. Did you want to come along too?”

“Not today, thanks,” Bree replied. “I’ve got a lot to get through but I’m glad you dropped by. I was just on the phone to Conrad.”

“And how is that going?”

“I’ve got some good news. Conrad is officially the new owner of Il Bosco and he asked me to let you know there’ll be more work coming our way.”

“That’s fabulous.
I was a bit worried you might be putting in a lot of effort with Conrad without getting the result we wanted but you’ve closed the deal, so to speak. You’ve done an excellent job.”

She’d closed the deal? Bree couldn’t help but wonder what
her boss meant.

“I have a personal relationship with him and a professional one
,” Bree said. “I’m also sure Conrad wants Kelly Communications for our PR skills, mine included.”

“Of course, he wouldn’t send business our way if he thought us incompetent but there are lots of PR firms he could have gone to. I’m well aware why he chose us.
Because we’ve got you on our team. I just hope you make the most of it while it lasts.”

“Make the most of what?”

“Of your relationship with Conrad. I’m sure he can be very generous and you’d be crazy not to take advantage of it. Let’s face it, a man like him, he’ll be with you for a limited time and then he’ll move on to someone else. That’s the way these things works.”

Bree
looked up at Olivia blankly, then the older woman continued. “It’s not like he’s going to marry you. And you’re way too smart to have fallen for him. You should make sure
you
get something out of it too.”

It struck Bree that although Olivia was a ruthless woman, she was being genuine, giving advice from the heart.
Her boss was well versed in the ways of the world and didn’t wanted Bree to get hurt as other young women in this industry sometimes did.

“Must dash.” Olivia slipped away quietly, unaware of the devastation she’d left in her wake.

Bree’s gaze shifted back down to the phone on which she’d been speaking to Conrad only minutes earlier.

Was she fooling herself?

Perhaps it was unwise. Perhaps it was downright stupid, but that didn’t change the fact that she’d fallen in love.

She hadn’t even seen Conrad since the previous weekend, only spoken to him on the phone. That was as much time as he could make for her during the week. Surely that told her something. There was no way he shared the depth of her feelings.

Olivia thought Bree was way too smart to have fallen for him. Well, they were Bree’s emotions and they weren’t smart or crazy or right or wrong. They were her feelings.

She was still staring at the phone when it rang yet again. Clearly it was going to be one of those days.