Vengeful Love (13 page)

“I thought I did.”

“You thought you did?”

I feel my brows furrow. It’s something I’ve never admitted before but Gregory seems to have an ability to draw out sides of me that I didn’t know were buried. “My mother left my father when I was a child. The first time I realised she wasn’t coming back I wanted to, I don’t know, hurt her maybe, the way she hurt my father.”

“And you don’t feel like that anymore?”

I shake my head. “I’ve grown up, moved on, and I guess she’s become a smaller part of my life. I still feel angry when I think of my father alone. He should have someone. He shouldn’t be going through this illness by himself.”

“He’s got you.”

“He has. He has me and he has Sandy but it can’t be the same for him. He hasn’t really been with anyone since my mother, that I know of. I think everyone deserves to love and be loved in return, don’t you?”

He stares at me but doesn’t respond. It’s the kind of look I want to box and keep forever.

A waiter places a main course of steamed fish dressed with scallops and langoustine in front of us. Gregory glances from his plate to me and back to his plate.

“It smells delicious,” I say.

“It does,” he says without picking up his knife and fork.

“Aren’t you hungry?” I ask.

“Starving.”

My thighs pulse in response to him. I can see him consider moving closer to me but he hesitates, looking questioningly at my untouched plate of food. I inch it away from me with the tips of my fingers.

“I’ve lost my appetite for food,” I whisper.

Amerigo is at our table in seconds.

“Charge my account,” Gregory says.

* * *

Jackson is waiting outside but doesn’t step out of the car.

“How does he always know what you’re doing?” I croak through my dry throat.

Gregory smiles, a delectable half curl of his lips. He reaches to open the door to the back of the Mercedes and I press my hand over his, keeping the door closed.

“Look,” I say, pointing to the clear, starlit sky. “It’s so rare there’s a night like this in the city.”

“It’s really something,” he says.

His eyes fall from the stars to meet mine and he gently turns me, pressing my back against the side of the car. He tucks a loose curl back behind my ear. I absorb every line and curve of his face as it moves toward me. His lips meet mine with a full embrace. It’s like a blackout. All I can think and breathe is Gregory.

“You’re amazing,” he whispers.

“Kiss me again.”

My soul ignites with the second touch of his wicked lips. His mouth moves roughly against mine until my body is begging him to take me. My pelvis pushes into his and I can feel his hard length against my stomach, the final confirmation I need that the attraction is not just mine.

“I think we ought to step inside the car,” he says.

“Why? Has something come up?” I cheekily bite my bottom lip.

Despite himself, he’s suppressing a smile as he opens the car door and ushers me inside.

The privacy screen is up, shielding us from Jackson, or him from our furious kiss, but when we hear his voice over the speaker Gregory pulls his fingers away from the lace garter of my stockings.

“Ah, where would you like me to go?”

Gregory looks to me for confirmation then tells Jackson to take us to his place.

“Naturally, you live in the Shard,” I joke as the Mercedes drives into the underground car park of the tallest building in London and one of the tallest in the world.

Jackson holds open the door for me and tells Gregory he’s going to check on things in the basement—guy code for,
I know exactly what your intentions are and I’ll leave you to it
.

Gregory nods, then takes my hand and leads me into the lift vestibule.

When the lift doors eventually open we step inside, where Gregory types a code then presses the button for floor 64
.
I run my hand from his shoulder blade to the small of his back and down to his thigh. He turns, pushes me up against the lift wall and attacks me with his kiss. I return the ferocity, showing him everything I’ve felt and suppressed since that first pitch in his boardroom. The looks, the touches, the sense of something in the air when we’re together that awakens a passion deep in my core. His hips flex into mine and he pulls my body into him.

It’s game over, Scarlett Heath.

I let go of my lines, my black-and-white world, and I savour the feel of our bodies welding together.

The lift announces we’ve reached our destination, the sky.

Dim mood lighting automatically turns on when Gregory opens the large white double doors into the enormous main room. It’s a bachelor pad, no mistaking. There’s a lingering scent of hardwood floor polish and leather interiors. The brilliant white walls contrast the black leather furniture and the hanging art is abstract, emotionless. The lounge is a huge open space with a breakfast bar and kitchen to one end, two doors to adjoining rooms at the other and a spiral staircase in the middle, close to the door where I’m standing. One black marble sculpture of a naked torso rests on a tall, Coliseum style podium, a feature piece almost central in the room.

The night’s stars are visible through the wall of windows that runs the periphery of the apartment. The lights of London’s bridges and skyscrapers burn orange and red.

“I feel like I just stepped into a dream,” I say as I walk to the window, towering above the bustling city. “You really do love the high life.”

The rising hairs on my skin tell me he’s stepped toward me. I turn to watch him, primal lust whirring inside me.

“It makes me feel closer to God,” he says with a smirk.

“Makes you feel closer to God or makes you feel like you
are
God? It’s an important distinction.”

His smirk dissipates and he’s staring at me, deadly serious. “Why’s that?”

“Because you don’t look like you’re having very holy thoughts right now.”

“Are you?”

“I’m having the most ungodly thoughts I’ve ever had in my life.”

I turn back to the window to shield my blushes. He steps behind me, so close that I can feel his heated breath on my neck. He takes my bag from my hand and throws it onto the large, black leather sofa. His firm pecs press against my back and he kisses the skin behind my ear.

“Tell me.”

My shoulders lean into his chest and I take my hands back, dragging my fingers through his hair.

“Tell me what you want, Scarlett.”

He trails kisses, one after another, down my neckline to the top of my back. I watch his faint reflection in the glass, following each kiss.

“I want you.” My words are drenched in need. Just admitting it aloud sends heat exactly where I want him to be.

He traces a finger down the length of my spine and follows it with his lips.

I whimper under his touch.

He pushes the thin straps of my dress over my arms, the material falling to the floor, pooling at my feet. His hands and arms are warm against my bare waist, exposed in only stocking ensemble and heels.

“Where do you want me, baby?”

I reach behind me, digging my nails into his thighs as he kisses my neck again.

Holding my chin in his hand, he forces me to look at our reflection. “Show me where you want me.”

I move my hand over his on my stomach and slide it south until his fingers cup me over my thong, all the while watching the erotic sight of two strangers in the window. I groan as he firms his hold, pressing my swollen lips against my clit.

With his hands on my shoulders, he turns me to him, Gregory Ryans, in his fine tailoring with his stunning intensity. The way his hungry eyes take in each curve of my body makes me feel more woman than I’ve ever felt.

My fingers trace the line of his jaw and I roll my chest against him, feeling the delicious chafe of his shirt against my stiff nipples. Our lips crash against each other fiercely and I swallow the vibrations of his moan when his tongue parts my lips. We match each other stroke for stroke, lapping, sucking and biting frantically.

My need to have him throbs between my legs. The touch of his warm, moist mouth on my neck has me throwing my head back, baring my skin to him, wanting more. He cups my naked breasts in his hands as his tongue moves across my collarbone. I gasp as he tweaks the hard tips between his finger and thumb. Then he moves his mouth over the sensitive skin, sucking hard before pulling the end through his teeth on an animalistic growl. The wicked sensation of pain and delicious pleasure makes my back arch, my breaths heavy.

“You like that.”

I run my tongue across my thirsty lips. “Yes.”

My hands grope his toned chest. Impatient to see what’s beneath his clothes and feel his skin on mine, I push his blazer to the floor. Looking down to where the fabric of his trousers is pulled tight across his bulging package, I loosen his belt then the button of his trousers with trembling fingers. Then I unfasten his shirt, slowly trailing kisses from his chest to his navel, finding the strength to maintain control. I remove his cufflinks one by one then push his shirt back and down his arms, taking a moment to appreciate his sublime, lean torso, his toned muscles beneath his olive skin, the trail of hair leading to exactly where I want to go.

This can’t be real. This apartment. This man. He wants
me
and in this moment, I think there’s no price I wouldn’t pay to have him. Nothing I wouldn’t give
.

He traces my collarbone with his lips, his tongue sweetly licking my flesh as he kicks off his shoes. A breathy moan leaves his chest as I move my hand inside his trousers, cupping his solidness over his tight boxers. The sight of him, looking at me through lust-filled, hooded eyes drives the muscles inside my sex crazy. Keeping my eyes on his, I bend to my knees, taking his trousers down with me, and remove his socks. His chest rises with a heavy breath and he leans his head back. I take his boxers in my teeth and slowly lift them from his hips.

I gasp when his hard cock is exposed. It matches his body—tall, broad, strong. I have no idea whether I’ll be able to accept it but anticipation has me licking my lips. His index finger lifts my chin so I’m looking into his seductive browns. Following my gaze, I stand, rubbing my pelvis against his shaft as I rise. The tip of his length grazes my clit, driving me to a place beyond desperation.

My head is spinning and the only thing that’s clear to me is how much I need him to fill me.

“Like what you see?” His words are deep, sultry.

“Fuck me, Gregory. Please.”

He pushes me back against the window and pins my wrists above my head with one hand. With the entire city beneath us, he kisses me passionately, pushing his body against mine, growling as his hips circle against my pelvis. My legs part to allow his erection to press between them. With his free hand, he parts my labia, his movement smooth against the slick flesh, and teases my taut knot with the head of his cock. Then he holds my face with a hand on my neck and takes my mouth, his tongue swirling around mine with the same purposeful, controlled rhythm of his gyrating hips.

Unlike in every other part of my life, I want to lose myself. I want to relent control to him. “Now, please.”

He traces his fingertips down my body, every nerve ending tingling in their wake. Then he cups my sex and strokes a finger up my centre, driving the air from my lungs. He stares deep into my eyes as he moves his finger to his mouth and sucks my wetness from them the way he took the juice of my strawberry just hours ago. My hips rise at the sight of him indulging in my taste. I’m close to orgasm just watching him.

“You taste so fucking good, Scarlett.”

“Please, Gregory. Take me. Please.”

My eyes close and I swallow, trying to suppress the burning need. Then two fingers are thrust inside me and as my breaths come thick and fast, his thumb moves over my clit, lifting me to the brink.

“You’re drenched.”

I open my eyes, watching him through the haze of ferocious hunger. “I want you inside me.”

He withdraws his fingers and crashes his lips against me. “I need to get something.”

He pushes back from me, leaving me craving more. I’m too desperate. Too close to the edge. Grabbing his forearm, I pull him to me. “I can’t wait.”

It’s reckless. It’s not like me. But I have to have him now.

“Fuck.” He growls into my mouth, grinding his pelvis against me. “Do you know what a fucking turn on it is to know I’m going to feel you around me with nothing between us?”

I push my fingers into his hair and pull, yanking him to my mouth, my tongue attacking his. “Now.”

He lifts my leg to his waist. Then with one hard, punishing drive, he crashes into me, reaching the end of me with a strike of decadent pain. I throw my head back on a cry of satisfaction as he consumes me, mind and body, transcending euphoria.

“Jesus, Scarlett, you’re so tight.” He holds us still. “Give yourself a chance to adjust.” He words are a croak, betraying his outward control.

I look down to see where he’s entered me, the sight so erotic my muscles clamp down on his erection, held on the precipice.

Leaning forward, my teeth find his chest. Then he begins to move, withdrawing slowly, stroking the hidden spot that no other man has ever found. He crashes forward, the shock driving me wild, my panting breaths drawing my world to a blur. As he pulls out and pounds back into me, his breaths come hot and heavy against my neck.

“Fuck, Scarlett. You’re so damned beautiful.”

I wrap my tongue around his and groan into his mouth as the next blow comes. He lifts my leg higher on his waist, the angle pulling him against the most sensitive part of my wall. My hips rise to meet each thrust and my back bows, every muscle in my body tensing.

“Gregory, I’m going to come.”

He bites my neck. “I know baby, I can feel you.”

His words and relentless rhythm build me to climax. His solid cock swells inside me, then I can feel him starting to pulse as my muscles spasm around him.

“Gregory!”

He withdraws and smashes into me again. “Let go, baby. Give it up for me.”