hummingbird wings.
Unable to resist the temptation, he lowered his mouth to hers, wanting to taste her again. Just once. But
when their lips met, he forgot all about his intention to sample.
She responded hotly, her arms sliding around his body. Her hands burned into his skin, through the
material of his shirt as if it wasn’t there. His impatience grew. He wanted her naked. Wanted him to be
naked so he could feel her skin on his.
Thoughts of taking it slow, of seducing her in measured steps flew out the window as he drank deeply of
her sweetness. He wasn’t sure who was seducing whom, and at this moment, it didn’t matter.
His lips scorched a path down the side of her neck as his fingers tugged impatiently at the fastenings of
her dress. Smooth, creamy skin revealed itself, and his mouth was drawn relentlessly to the bare expanse
as her dress fell away.
She moaned softly and shivered as his tongue trailed over the curve of her shoulder. He pushed at the
dress, and it fell to the floor leaving her in only a dainty scrap of lacy underwear.
All his breath left him as he looked down at the full round globes of her breasts. Her nipples puckered
and strained as if begging for his attention. The tips were velvet under his seeking fingers. He toyed with
one and then the other before cupping one breast in his palm and lowering his head to press a kiss just
above the peach areola.
Her breath caught and held, and she tensed as his tongue lazily traced downward to suck the nipple into
his mouth.
Her taste exploded in his mouth. Sweet. Delicate like a flower. So feminine. Perfect. His senses reeled,
and he pulled away for a moment to recoup his control. Theos but she drove him mad. He reacted to her
like a man making love to his first woman.
Already his manhood strained at his pants, and he was dangerously close to flinging her on the bed and
stroking into her liquid heat.
Finesse. He must take it slower. He wouldn’t allow her such power over him. He would make her as
crazy as she made him, and then and only then would he take her.
Jewel grabbed his shoulders as her knees buckled. She needn’t have worried. He swept her into his arms
and carried her toward the bedroom just beyond the sitting area of the suite.
He laid her on the bed then stood back and began to hastily strip out of his clothing. There was
something incredibly sexy about a man standing over her as he undressed. His eyes burned into her,
heating her skin even from a distance.
First his shirt fell away revealing smooth, muscled shoulders, a rugged chest and narrow waist with
enough of a six-pack to suggest he wasn’t an idle businessman. Hair dotted the hollow of his chest,
spreading just to his flat nipples. It was thicker at his midline, trailing lower to his navel, tapering to a
faint smattering just above the waist of his pants.
She stared hungrily at him as he unfastened his trousers. He didn’t waste time or tease unnecessarily. He
shoved them down his legs, taking his boxers with him. His erection sprang free from a dark nest of hair.
Her eyes widened at the way it strained upward, toward his taut belly. He was hugely aroused.
Her question must have shone on her face. He crawled onto the bed, straddling her hips with his knees.
“Was there any doubt that I wanted you, yineka mou?”
She smiled up at him. “No.”
“Rest assured, I want you very much,” he said huskily. He lowered his head until his mouth found hers
in a heated rush.
Her entire body arched to meet him, wanting the contact, the warmth and passion he offered. It had been
so long since she’d purposely sought out the company of another person, and this man assaulted her
senses. He flooded her with a longing that unsettled her.
He pushed her arms over her head until she was helpless beneath him. He didn’t just kiss her, he
devoured her. There wasn’t an inch of her skin that didn’t feel the velvet brush of his lips.
Her gasp echoed across the room when he licked and suckled each breast in turn. His tongue left a damp
trail down her midline as he licked down to the shallow indention of her navel. There wasn’t a single
muscle that wasn’t quivering in sharp anticipation.
His hands followed, his palms running the length of her body, tracing each curve, each indention on they
settled on her hips. He tucked his thumbs underneath the thin string holding her underwear in place, and
then he pressed his mouth to her soft mound still covered by transparent lace.
She cried out softly, unnerved by the electric sensation of his mouth over her most intimate place, and
yet he hadn’t even made contact with her flesh.
His hands caressed their way down her legs, dragging the underwear with it. At her knees, he simply
ripped impatiently, rending the material in two. He quickly discarded it and returned impatient fingers to
her thighs.
Carefully, he spread her, and she began to shake in earnest.
“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured. “I’ll take care of you. Trust me tonight. You’re so beautiful. I want to
give you the sweetest pleasure.”
“Yes. Please, yes,” she begged.
He kissed the inside of her knee. With a brush of his lips, he moved higher, kissing the inside of her
thigh, and then finally brushing over the curls guarding her most sensitive regions.
With a gentle finger, he parted her. “Give me your pleasure, yineka mou. Only to me.” And then his
mouth touched her. She bucked upward with a wild cry as his tongue delved deep. It was too much. It
had been too long. Never had she reacted so strongly to a man.
“So responsive. So wild. I can’t wait to have you.”
He rolled away, and she gave a sharp protest until she saw he was only putting on a condom. Then he
was back, spreading her thighs, stroking her to make sure she was ready for him.
“Take me. Make me yours,” she pleaded.
He closed his eyes, his fingers tight at her hips. He spread her wide and surged into her with one hard
thrust.
Her shocked gasp spilled from her lips. Her fingers tightened at his shoulders, and she lay still, simply
absorbing the rugged sensation of having him inside her.
His eyes flew open. “Did I hurt you?” he demanded harshly, the strain evident on his face as he held
himself in check.
She touched his cheek, trying to soften the lines. His eyes glittered dangerously, and she realized just
how close he was to the edge of his control. In that moment, she relished her power, and she wanted to
taunt the beast. She wanted to experience the wildness she could see lurking beyond the iron facade.
“No,” she said softly. “You didn’t hurt me. I want you so much. Take me now. Don’t hold back.”
To emphasize her request, she dug her nails into his shoulders then lifted her hips in a move that lodged
him deeper inside her.
He made one last effort to hold back, but she wouldn’t allow it. Wrapping her legs tightly around his
waist, she arched into him, reaching for him, pulling him closer. She wanted him. She needed him.
He dropped down, surrendering with a growl. He gathered her close, fastening his lips to the vulnerable
skin of her neck as his body took over. Harder and faster, his power overwhelmed her. There was a
delicious mix of erotic pain and sensual bliss. Heaven. It wasn’t something she’d ever experienced
befo
re. It was like riding a hurricane.
“Let go,” he rasped in her ear. “You first.”
She complied without argument, surrendering completely to his will. Her orgasm flashed, terrifying and
thrilling all at the same time. She spun wildly out of control, her cries mixing with his.
Then he was moving faster, and harder, driving into her with savage intensity. His lips fused to hers
almost in a desperate attempt to staunch his own sounds, but they escaped, harsh and masculine.
Then he stilled inside her, his hips trembling uncontrollably against hers. He smoothed his hands, now
gentle, over her face, through her hair and then he gathered her close, murmuring words she didn’t
understand against her ear.
When his weight grew too heavy, he shifted to the side, pulling her into his arms. He slipped from the
warm grasp of her body then rolled away from her for a moment to discard the condom.
She waited with breathless anticipation. Would he want her to leave now or would he want her to spend
the night? She was too sated and boneless to even think about getting up, but neither did she want any
awkward situations.
He answered her unspoken dilemma by pulling her back into his arms and tucking her head underneath
his chin. A few moments later, his soft breathing blew through her hair. He had fallen asleep.
Cautiously so as not to awaken him, she curled her arm around his waist and snuggled deeper into his
embrace. Her cheek rested against the hair-roughened skin of his chest, and she inhaled deeply, filling
her nostrils with his male scent.
For the space of a stolen moment she felt safe. Accepted. Even cherished. It was silly if she dwelled on
it, but tonight she wouldn’t. Tonight she just wanted to belong to someone and not to feel so alone in the
world.
Even in sleep, he seemed to sense her disquiet. His arms tightened around her, bringing her even closer
to his warmth. She smiled and gave in to the sleepy pleasure seeping into her bones.
Piers awoke unsure of the time, a rarity for him. He usually woke every morning before dawn, his mind
alert and ready to take on the day’s tasks. Today however sleep clouded his brain, and uncharacteristic
laziness permeated his muscles. Something soft and feminine stirred his senses, and he woke enough to
realize that she was still in his arms.
Instead of rolling away, of distancing himself immediately, he remained there, breathing in her scent. He
should get up and shower, make it clear the interlude was over, but he hung on, unwilling to send her
away just yet.
She stirred when his hands smoothed over her back, down to her shapely buttocks and over the curve of
her hip. He had to have her again. One more time. Even as warning bells clanged in his mind, he was
turning her, sliding over her as he reached to the nightstand for another condom.
As her eyes fluttered sleepily, he slid inside her, slower this time, with more patience and care than he’d
taken her the night before. He didn’t want to chance hurting her, and if he was honest, he wanted to
savor this last encounter.
“Good morning,” she murmured in a husky voice that sent a shudder over his body.
He thrust deeper then leaned down to capture her mouth. “Good morning.”
She yawned and stretched like a cat, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him down again when he
drew away. Sleek and beautiful, she matched his movements, rocking gently against him.
If last night had been the storm, this was a calm rain afterward. Gentle and extremely satisfying.
He tugged her hair from her face, unable to resist kissing her again and again. He couldn’t get enough of
her. The thought that he didn’t want her to go rose in his mind. Before it could take root, he tamped it
back down, determined not to get caught in an emotional trap.
He’d existed for too long without such entanglements, and he’d be damned if he allowed it to happen
again.
She enveloped him in her tight grasp, her sweet depths clinging to him as he withdrew and thrust
forward. He set an easy pace, one that would prolong their pleasure.
And when he could no longer delay the surge of exquisite pleasure, he pushed them both over the edge,
leaving them gasping for breath and shaking in each other’s arms.
For a long moment he lay there, still sheathed deeply inside her, his face buried in her sweet-smelling
hair.
Then reality encroached. It was morning. Their night together was over, and it was best to end things
now before things had a chance to get messy.
He rolled away abruptly, getting up from the bed and reaching for his pants.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he said shortly when she did nothing more than watch him from her perch
in his bed, her eyes probing him with a wary light.
She nodded, and he disappeared into the bathroom, his relief not as great as his regret. And when he
returned a mere ten minutes later, he found her gone from his bed, from his hotel room. From his life.
Yes, she’d understood well the rules of the game. Maybe too well. For a moment he’d allowed himself
to wish that maybe, just maybe she’d still be lying there. Warm and sated from his lovemaking.
Belonging to him.
Three
J ewel stood outside the third floor offices of the Anetakis Hotel and smoothed a hand through her hair
for the third time. It was a bad nervous habit and one destined to bring down more tendrils from the
elegant knot she’d fashioned.
Instead she placed her palms over her skirt and removed nonexistent wrinkles as she waited admittance
She knew she looked cool and professional, a look she strove hard for. The woman who’d let loose with
such abandon two nights before no longer existed. In her place was an unreadable face devoid of any
emotion.
Still, despite her best efforts, thoughts of her lover drifted erotically through her mind. She’d left while
he was in the shower, but she’d hoped to run into him again. A chance meeting. Maybe it would lead to
another night even though she’d sworn it would only be one.
It was just as well. He was probably already gone back to wherever it was he lived. She’d move on
herself in a few more weeks, armed with enough money to sustain her travels.
At times, she wondered what it would be like to settle in one place, to have all the comforts of home, but
such an idea was alien to her. She’d learned long ago that a home wasn’t in the cards for her.
She glanced down at her watch. Two minutes past eight. She was to have been summoned at eight.
Apparently promptness wasn’t one of Mr. Anetakis’s strong points.
She clutched her briefcase to her and stared out the window to the waves crashing in the distance. The
sea lost some of its romance in the daylight. It was still beautiful and striking, but at night under the
flicker of torches and the glow of the moon, it took on a life of its own.
Her mouth twisted ruefully. She was still thinking of her dark-eyed lover. He was hard to forget, and she
knew she’d be thinking of him for a long time to come.
Behind her the door opened, and an older woman stuck her head out and smiled at Jewel. “Miss Henley,
Mr. Anetakis will see you now.”
Jewel pasted a bright smile on her face and marched in behind the woman. Across the room Mr.
Anetakis stood with his back to them, a cell phone stuck to h
is ear. When he heard them come in, he
turned and Jewel halted. Her mouth flew open, and her eyes widened in shock.
To his credit, Mr. Anetakis merely raised an eyebrow in recognition, and then he closed his phone and
nodded to the other lady.
“You can leave us now, Margery. Miss Henley and I have a lot to discuss.”
Jewel swallowed nervously as Margery quietly left the room and shut the door behind her. Her fingers
curled around her briefcase, and she held it almost like a shield as Mr. Anetakis stared holes through her.
God, how this must look.
“You have to know I had no idea who you were,” she said in a shaky voice before he could speak.
“Indeed,” he said calmly. “I could see the shock when I turned around. Still, it makes things a bit
awkward, wouldn’t you say?”
“There’s no reason things should be awkward,” she said crisply. She moved forward, holding an
outstretched hand. “Hello, Mr. Anetakis. I’m Jewel Henley, your new assistant. I trust we’ll work well
together.”
His lips twisted into a sardonic smile. Before he could reply, his phone rang again.
“Excuse me, Miss Henley,” he said in a cool voice. Then he picked up his cell phone.
He wasn’t speaking English, but it was obvious the phone call wasn’t to his liking. He frowned and then
outright scowled. He barked a few words into the receiver before muttering something unintelligible and
snapping it closed.
“My apologies. There is something I must attend to at once. You can see Margery in her office, and
she’ll get you…set up.”
Jewel nodded as he strode out the door. As soon as the door shut, all her breath left her in a whoosh that
left her sagging. Of all the rotten luck. And to think she’d hoped they’d run into each other again so they
could have a repeat performance.
On wobbly knees she went to find Margery and then prayed that she’d get through the next four weeks
without losing her composure.
Piers got out of the helicopter and strode toward the car waiting to pick him up. As they drove toward
the airport where his private jet awaited, he snapped open his phone and placed the call that he’d been
deliberating over since he left his office.