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 before. 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 sle
epy 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 into Piers Anetakis’s office.
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 his 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.
His human resources manager for the island hotel picked up on the second ring.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Anetakis?” he asked once Piers had identified himself.
“Jewel Henley,” he bit out.
“Your new assistant?”
“Get rid of her.”
“Pardon? Is there a problem?”
“Just get rid of her. I want her gone by the time I return.” He took a deep breath. “Transfer her, promote her or pay her for the entirety of her contract, but get rid of her. She can’t work unde
r me. I have a strict policy about personal involvement with my employees, and let’s just say she and I have history.”
He waited for a moment and when he didn’t hear anything, he said, “hello?” He cursed. The connection had been cut. Oh well, he didn’t require a response. He just wanted action.
Even if he hadn’t already been extremely distrustful of situations that seemed too coincidental, his brother’s assistant had sold valuable company plans to their competitor. After that debacle, they’d all assumed very strict requirements for the people working closest to them. They could ill afford another Roslyn.
Still, his chest tightened as the car stopped outside his plane, and he got out to board. He wasn’t so much in denial that he could refute that the night had been more than just a casual one-night stand. Which was all the more reason to cut ties now. He wouldn’t give up any power, no matter how subtle, to a woman ever again.
Jewel sat in Margery’s chair behind her desk filling out a mountain of paperwork while Margery puttered around in the background making phone calls and grumbling at the printer when it didn’t spit out the appropriate documents.
She’d spent the morning on pins and needles, waiting for Piers to return so they could at least try and air things out and get it behind them. The old saying about an elephant in the room was appropriate, only Jewel felt like there was an entire herd.
At lunch, she went down to the small café and nibbled on a sandwich while watching the seagulls dive-bomb tourists who had bread to feed them. If Margery let her on the company computer this afternoon, she’d e-mail Kirk and let him know she’d arrived on the island and would be staying a few weeks.
He was her only friend, but they rarely saw each other. He was forever taking assignments to far-flung places, and she was equally determined to travel her own way. It amused her that they were essentially lost souls who wandered from place to place. Neither had a home, and maybe that was why they understood each other.
An occasional e-mail, sometimes a phone call, and every once in a while they crossed paths on their travels. Those were good times. It was nice to connect to another person even if it was only for a few hours. He was as close to a brother or family member as she’d ever imagined having.
After finishing her sandwich, she tossed the wrapper and walked back to the employee elevator. Would Piers be back? A flutter abounded in her stomach, but she swallowed back her nervousness and forged ahead. It wouldn’t do to let him know she was put off by their unintentional relationship. If he could be cool about it then so could she.
When she walked back into Margery’s office, Margery looked up, a grim expression on her face. “Mr. Patterson wants to see you immediately.”
Jewel’s brow crinkled. Maybe it was more personnel stuff to sign. Lord knows she’d had enough paperwork this morning to choke a horse. With a resigned sigh, she turned and left Margery’s office and went several doors down to the human resource manager’s cubicle.
He looked up when she tapped on the frame of his open door.
“Miss Henley, come in. Have a seat please.”
She settled down in front of him and waited expectantly. He cleared his throat and tugged at his collar in an uncomfortable motion. Then he leveled a stare at her.
“When you hired on, it was with the condition that it was a temporary position. You were to be Mr. Anetakis’s assistant for the duration of his stay here.”
“Yes.” They’d been through all of this and she was impatient to get on with it.
“I’m sorry to say that he no longer requires an assistant. He’s had a change of plans. As such, your services are no longer required.”
She stared, stunned, for a long moment. “Excuse me?”
“Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.”
She stood, her legs trembling, her fingers curled into tight fists. “That bastard. What a complete and utter bastard!”
“Security will escort you to your room and wait while you collect your things,” he continued as if she hadn’t let loose with her tirade.
“You can tell Mr. Anetakis that he is the lowest form of pond scum. Verbatim, Mr. Patterson. Make sure he gets my message. He’s a gutless piece of chicken shit, and I hope he chokes on his damn cowardice.”
With that she turned and stormed out of his office, slamming the door as hard as she could. The sound reverberated down the hallway, and a few people stuck their heads out of their cubicles as she stalked past.
Unbelievable. He hadn’t even had the courage to fire her himself. He let his personnel director handle it while he ran for the hills. What a crock.
Two security guards fell into step beside her when she neared the elevator. It pissed her off that she was being treated like a common criminal.