The look in his eyes got darker. “Audrey . . .”
“I’m serious. If it’s because you’re sleeping with me, well then, that was a bit ridiculous, don’t you think? I told you that we don’t have anything going on between the two of us. You should have taken her deal.” Her fingers might have stroked his arm through that dark sleeve, feeling the cords of his muscles. “That was a stupid move.”
“I don’t need a lecture from you,” he said, his mood still black. But he wasn’t pulling away any longer.
“We both know it was stupid, though,” Audrey continued, her voice getting husky. “Stupid and very un-Reese Durham of you. Playboy Reese Durham would have slept with her and demanded the business deal, and then kicked her out of bed once you had it.”
“That’s right,” he said with a bitter laugh. “The male gigolo.”
That hadn’t been what she’d meant. At least, not at the moment. So she simply stroked her hands up his arm, unable to stop herself from touching him. God, he was cute in Cade’s awkwardly tight clothing, but in his own? He had this savage, predatory grace—a businessman out to break hearts and drop panties. And it was doing wicked, wicked things to her.
“Nothing but sex,” she said lightly. And she meant for it to come out as some sort of rebuttal or clarification, but instead it sounded breathless and incredibly, wildly turned on.
One hard hand moved to her waist, and then in a flash, Reese was grabbing her and jerking her against him. Audrey’s breath stole out of her lungs as his head bent to hers and then he gave her a crushing kiss, full of pent-up frustration and longing and laced with eroticism.
It seemed that she hadn’t been the only one feeling the sparks between the two of them. Good. If she was crazy, at least they were crazy together. Audrey moaned, her arms going around his neck, and his mouth drove against her own, his tongue sliding into her mouth with a fierce intensity that promised all kinds of things that made her core ache.
He groaned low in his throat and then he pushed her back up against the counter, the kiss taking on a hot, wild edge. With his hips pinning hers against the counter, he thrust against her in a suggestive motion, letting her know exactly just how into this he was. And he was hard as a rock.
Just the feel of him against her made Audrey breathless with need. She whimpered and her hands went to his shirt, frantically plucking at the buttons. She needed skin, wanted to feel him against her.
He followed her lead and began to drag at the waist of her jeans, then headed for her fly. The kisses he pressed to her mouth became quick and abrupt, as if he needed to pull away and couldn’t seem to do it, continually heading back to her mouth for one more round, one more kiss, one more slick of tongue against her own. “You want to do this here?” he breathed against her mouth. “Where are Daphne and Cade?”
“Out for a walk,” she told him, then leaned in and took his lower lip between her teeth, then sucked on it.
“To my room, then.” Reese grabbed her by the hips and pulled her into his arms. Audrey squeaked in surprise, her arms flinging around his neck in fright at being lifted off the counter.
“Put me down!”
“Hell no,” Reese said, and buried his face in her cleavage. “I like you just like this.”
For some reason, that made her feel playful . . . and he didn’t feel like he was straining to hold her. So Audrey relaxed a little and locked her legs around him, then rubbed her breasts against his chin as he carried her toward the stairs.
He gave a soft little groan when her hard nipples scraped against his jaw. “God, you have the most perfect breasts. I think I need them in my face more often.”
“Get me into your bed and you can have them in your face in about thirty seconds,” she said.
Reese carried her up the stairs and they headed down the hall to the last room, the one that Reese had been staying in. He flung open the door and strode inside, then tossed Audrey down on his bed with a bounce, his eyes watching her with avid interest.
She leaned up on her elbows, surveying his room. It was kind of a disaster area—no neat freak here. Dirty laundry was strewn all over the floor and the bed wasn’t made, which was a far cry from her own room. She liked seeing that. It only emphasized the differences between her and Reese, and she liked those differences a lot. They were what made him so much fun to be with, so different. So incredibly arousing.
He kicked the door shut and then strode over to the bed with a gleam in his eyes that made her breathless. She quivered when he loomed over her, and then he undid a few buttons on his shirt, then yanked the entire thing over his head, exposing his hard, delicious body and that fascinating tattoo on one arm. Her fingers itched to touch him, but she forced herself to continue laying in bed, propped up on her elbows, and simply enjoy the show.
As if for her benefit, Reese tugged at his belt with rapid jerks, zipping it through the belt loops and then flinging it against the wall. His jeans were down in a flash, and again he wasn’t wearing anything underneath, his thick cock springing free and erect. “Do you ever wear underwear?”
“Too confining,” Reese told her. “You should try it some time.”
“I don’t think so.”
For some reason, her distaste at the thought made him grin. “Damn, I love it when you talk all prim and proper to me.”
She flushed. It felt a bit like an insult, even though she knew he didn’t mean it that way. Time for her to change from prim and proper, then. She reached for her bun, intending to pull her hair down.
To her surprise, Reese stopped her. “Leave it up.”
Audrey looked up at him. “Leave it up?”
“Yeah.” He climbed over her on the bed, sliding between her legs as if he belonged there. “You must be getting to me, because seeing that tight little bun turns me on now.”
“Oh?” Her voice came out with a bit of a wobble, the heat pooling between her legs at the feel of him pressing there.
“Maybe it’s because I know that underneath that efficient, wholesome exterior, there’s a wild woman just waiting to get out. And I know that I can coax her to come out and play.” His hand stroked over the fullness of her breast, then plumped it, his gaze fascinated as he watched her.
She moaned, dropping her elbows and laying flat on the bed. She was his to touch, his to play with.
“I can feel your nipples through the fabric, Audrey,” he told her, circling one through the layers of bra and T-shirt and driving her wild. “You know what that does to me when I see that?”
“The same thing my bun does?” she guessed.
He chuckled, and then his fingers were reaching for the zipper of her jeans, even as he leaned in and nipped at the tip of her breast, then buried his face in her cleavage again. “So fucking sexy.”
She did feel sexy in his arms. Like her curves were an incredible turn on to him instead of a turn off. Like she wasn’t the plain, boring Petty sister. She was uninhibited and delicious and just for him. And she loved it. She cupped her breasts and pushed them toward him, letting him nuzzle at the valley.
He tugged at her jeans again, and then groaned. “You need to take these off.”
She lifted her hips slightly and began to reach for the buttons, but he stilled her hands. “I have a better idea.”
“Oh?”
“Flip over for me.” His eyes were hot on hers.
Her throat went dry. Anal? Now? She wasn’t sure she was ready. “I—”
Reese’s eyes widened and he chuckled, burying his face in her breasts again. “I lost that bet, remember?” His hand slid along the curve of her thigh in her jeans. “I just wanted to take you from behind.”
Her face flamed with embarrassment. “Oh. Of course.” She got up from the bed and undid her jeans, then let them pool to her feet and stepped out of them. Next went her cotton bikini panties, and then she stripped off her plain shirt and her bra. Reese watched her every move, his gaze caressing her.
When she was naked, she glanced at the bed and then slid i
nto his arms. She wrapped hers around him and pulled his head back to her breasts.
“Mmm.” He nuzzled at one of her nipples again, lightly licking the tip. “So lush and gorgeous. I love your big, heavy breasts. I could play with them for hours.”
“But I ache so badly for you,” Audrey told him, shivering when he grazed her nipple with his teeth. “I don’t think I could last for hours.”
“No?” Reese gave her a hot look, then ran a hand along her ass and lightly smacked it. “Get down on all fours, then.”
A quiver ran through her body and she did as he commanded, feeling a bit exposed as she did so. He got up out of the bed and she glanced over her shoulder to see him at the nearby dresser, rolling a condom onto his cock. Reese moved back to the bed and she glanced away, staring at the headboard, waiting for his touch.
She didn’t have to wait long. His hands slid over her ass again, feeling her smooth flesh, caressing her skin. “Look at all this beautiful ass,” he murmured appreciatively. “Not a freckle on it. You’ve never gone sunbathing naked, have you?”
“No,” she breathed, pushing back against him just a little. “I’m not brave enough.”
“I’d make you brave,” he told her in a low voice.
“I know you would.” And he would. He made her a bolder person, and she loved it.
His hand continued to trail along her hip, caressing the indentation of her waist, then traveled to her spine and moved along it, stroking her like he would a kitten. “I could stare at you for hours.”
She whimpered, letting him know just how much this was torturing her, and nudged back against him again.
“But I won’t,” he murmured, and then she felt the head of his cock at the well of her sex a mere instant before he pushed deep inside her in a single hard thrust.
Audrey’s breath caught in her throat, and her muscles locked as she drank in the sensation of him seated deep inside her. He felt good. His cock seemed to be so big and thick that he rubbed inside her just perfectly. And there hadn’t been a bit of pain when he’d sunk deep, which meant that she’d been incredibly wet and ready for him. She leaned forward on her elbows a bit, moaning with pleasure and lifting her ass for him.
“Ah, beautiful,” he told her, and his hands gripped her waist. Then he slid out, almost all the way, leaving only the tip inside her, and pushed back in with one hard thrust. He repeated the motion, his hands clasping her waist and dragging her back against him.
Her breasts, now loose from her confining bra, swayed with every rough stroke, and Audrey moaned, pressing her cheek to the bedding as he continued to pump into her. Faster and harder he stroked into her, and she could feel the build starting low in her pussy, need spiraling inside her. He continued to rock into her, rough and hard and demanding, and she leaned into each driving thrust with her hips.
“Touch yourself, sugar. I want to have you come with me.”
She whimpered again, and her hand slid under her body to her lifted hips, and then to her pussy. She dipped her fingers delicately between her wet folds even as he continued to fuck her roughly from behind. Her fingertips lightly scored her clit, and erotic pleasure exploded through her body. “Reese,” she said with a ragged breath, and began to circle her clit with her fingers with a rapid pace that wouldn’t last long. “Oh, God, need you so bad. Oh, Reese.”
“That’s right,” he gritted, and his thrusting took on an even harder, rougher edge. “You belong to me, don’t you, Audrey?”
“Oh, God, yes.” Her fingers circled faster and faster,. The tension built in her legs and she curled her toes, feeling the clench of her building orgasm in her calf muscles.
“Tell me that, then. Tell me you don’t want anyone but me. Tell me you won’t let that fucking sexy little bun down for anyone but me.”
She moaned, rubbing herself even faster. “No one but you, Reese. Don’t want no one but you.”
“Good,” he growled, and the word was so animalistic and utterly satisfied that it took her by surprise. Not that it mattered, because then she was coming, her body launching into orgasm, and she gave a choked cry of his name, her muscles clenching and working around him even as he continued to stroke deep into her from behind.
And then he cried out her name, and she knew he came., His strokes were growing jagged and wild and so rough that she could hear his balls slap against her skin, could feel him smacking against her pussy. And it made her quiver all over again, the orgasm continuing to rip through her for long, intense moments.
And then it slowed, as it always did, and she panted, cheek pressed to the sheets that smelled like Reese, and felt him peel out of her to dispose of the condom. She breathed heavily and sat up, considering her surroundings. She was in his room, an intruder. Should she get quietly dressed again and head into the shower? He hadn’t wanted her around him earlier, at least not until he’d exploded and they’d more or less dragged each other to bed.
But she wasn’t just a quickie fuck, so she grabbed his covers and slid underneath them, waiting for him to return to bed once he’d cleaned himself off. He’d have to deal with her and the conversation she wanted to have. If he didn’t, well, that was too bad for him, because she was determined to talk.
Reese returned to the bed a few moments later and slid under the covers with her, then tugged her against him. He pulled her on her side and spooned her against his now-softening cock, snuggling close. His head buried against her neck and he began to nibble on her ear. “God, I love touching you.”
She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his. This felt so good. She felt warm and delicious and wanted in his arms.
Which meant he was probably trying to distract her. She wasn’t fooled for a minute. “So tell me about the business deal.”
“Not right now, Audrey.”
“Right now is a perfect time,” she pointed out. “You’ve just taken the edge off and you’ve already chased Camilla away, so you might as well tell me about it. It’s not going to affect things any more either way.”
“Hmm,” he said, and she could tell he was thinking it over. It was almost like he didn’t want to ask for help. Not that she had much to give, but he seemed reluctant to open up about any of it, as if that might convey a weakness of some kind.
“Come on,” she said with a nudge. “It might help you to bounce ideas off someone else.”
He hesitated a moment more, then slid his hand over her hip, caressing her skin. “I made a bad investment last year.” His fingers stroked her curves and she lay perfectly still beneath him, sensing he was about to open up and that it was difficult for him. “My company’s private, so no one knows exactly how bad off we are except myself and my board. It was a gamble on medical technology. Cade told me not to invest, but I thought I knew more than him and took a risk.” He shrugged. “Turned out he was right. It was a bloodbath and I lost a fortune. I was close to making my billion and now I’m at risk for losing everything.”
Her throat locked. “Your . . . billion?”
“Mmmhmm.” His fingers stroked down the inside of her thigh. “All of us have at least a billion, except me.”
“All of who?”
He slid his fingers to the curve of her knee and played with the soft skin there. “It’s not important.” He leaned in and kissed her shoulder, then grazed his mouth over her skin. “I’ve had to fight for every dollar that came my way. If I’d been patient and listened to Cade’s advice, I’d have made it by now. Instead, my company’s drowning and I thought that pairing up with Camilla’s father on a celebrity cruise line would be the way out.”
“Except Camilla doesn’t care about the business half as much as she cares about having fun with you,” Audrey told him, leaning into his casual caresses.
“Something like that,” he murmured. “So you see my problem.”
“You’re friends with billionaires,” she pointed out, her breath catching when his hand moved abruptly to her nipple and began to tease it. “Why not ask Cade or Log
an to help you out?”
“Pride,” he told her bluntly. “Out of our group, only Cade and I came from nothing. I won’t be the one who asks for a handout.”
Our group? she wondered, but didn’t ask. It was like she was only getting half of the story, and he was distracting her with caresses instead. Not that she minded the caresses, but she wanted to help him, prove that she was different from the women he normally dated.
And then she wondered to herself why it mattered, but somehow it did.
“So why not approach Camilla’s father directly?” she asked him. “Tell him that his daughter’s not taking things seriously and you want a real business investment. Camilla will be mad at you but if her father truly wants to invest with you, then maybe he’ll understand.”
“Mmm,” he said again, his noncommittal response she was becoming all too familiar with. “We’ll see. I don’t want to think about Camilla right now.”
And his hand slid between her thighs, cupping her pussy.
Audrey rolled over in bed to face him, her mouth seeking his even as his fingers slid deeper, spreading her pussy and gliding over her clit. Even as she kissed him, she recognized the stalling tactic, and for some reason, it bothered her.
Why was it okay to talk business with brainless Camilla but not her? What made her different?
And why on earth did it bother her? She knew Reese was just a fling and had known that going into things. So why did she care now?
Chapter Ten
By the time Daphne and Cade returned from their long walk, Audrey had climbed out of bed with Reese, showered, and changed into new clothes. She read a book while Reese prepped dinner, and when that didn’t hold her attention, she gave up on the book and simply stared out the window.
Her mood was pensive. She should have been happy, or at least content. She’d just had mind-blowing sex with an amazingly hot guy who found her sexy and attractive. Her sister was on the way to recovery for the moment. Life should have been good.
But she was bothered by Reese’s confession about his finances. Had their fling ruined his business deal? If she hadn’t had sex with him, would he be romancing Camilla right now and securing his business’s future? Had she cost him a multi-million dollar contract simply because she’d been flattered that he wanted to have sex with her instead of Camilla?