Читать книгу Summer Beach Reads - Natalie Anderson - Страница 17

CHAPTER EIGHT

ELLIE woke in a crumpled but cosy ball. Stretching out of it was the problem, given her muscles were stiffer than they’d been the day before. Half beneath her was Ruben, toppled sideways on the sofa, still in his tux and destined to have a hellish crick in his neck

They’d spent their first almost platonic night together. There’d been that sleepy kissing session and that moment just before she fell so deeply into sleep—the teasing luxury, the supposed relief he’d given her.

But it was no relief at all. It was like having the merest taste of some decadent gateaux that was now locked behind a glass cabinet and for ever out of bounds. All she could do was look at it with longing. Yeah, she wanted to devour the gateaux now—to indulge in every last bit. She could feel his hard length pressed against her thigh. Who was she kidding about the ‘friends’ thing? The desire to have him was too intense. ‘Ruben?’

His eyes opened, his gaze warm and drowsy. Only as he woke he blinked a couple of times and a cool veil slipped down, masking that expression. She didn’t like it.

She shifted her thigh so his thick erection pressed closer into her softness. ‘You failed already.’

He shook his head. ‘You’re the one who got the “benefit” last night.’

‘You teased me into it.’ He was tempting her deliberately again now—wasn’t he?

‘You asked me to kiss you in the most inappropriate places,’ he said softly. ‘I was a complete gentleman.’

‘With your hand in my pants?’

‘You wanted my mouth there,’ he countered. ‘I went with the less intimate option.’

Oh, it was all intimate. Excitement skittered through her. Yes, the friends idea was a failure already...

‘We’d better get going,’ he said crisply, dropping his gaze from hers. He shifted slightly so he was no longer so intimately against her.

She slid off him—withdrawing too, chilling as she realised he wasn’t out to tease her. He really was drawing the line she’d asked him to. ‘You’re so right. We had.’

Ruben drove them to the airport. It wasn’t as foggy as the day before but it was still grey and wet. No doubt the flight would be bumpy. She sighed as they pulled up outside the terminal. The heartfelt sound gave away more than she meant it to.

‘It’ll be no problem,’ he said, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.

‘Of course,’ she said, not believing it at that point in time. ‘I’m off on a four-day tour next week.’

‘I’m heading up to Taupo in the latter half of the week.’

‘So there we go,’ she said breezily, covering the ache of his absence that was already twisting her heart. ‘Physical distance will take care of any last little itch.’

‘Absolutely.’

‘Don’t come in, you can just drop me,’ she said as he pulled into a park.

‘Okay,’ he answered readily. ‘I’ll be in touch.’

She wondered if that was a line. If the whole ‘sure we can be friends’ agreement had just been him being charming and polite to get through the weekend. Now she had some info for work, there was no reason for him to contact her directly again. He could do all the negotiations with Bridie and be absent if ever Ellie came on tour here. What a fool she’d been. She should have just taken his body for the weekend and been done with it, because she’d probably never hear from him again once she’d stepped from his car.

He seemed to read her doubts. ‘I want to be friends.’ He leaned across the car to brush a lock of her hair from her face. ‘Truth is I like you. I had fun.’

‘So did I.’

And not that kind of fun. Of course now the trouble was the yearning, for that was all she could feel right now. Especially after that sweet kissing session last night—those deep kisses had turned her heart completely inside out. It was one thing to have dynamite, animal sex. It was another to have tenderness and quietness and restraint. That had showed respect.

At the time she hadn’t wanted it, but it had been respect, not rejection, that had stopped him from going down on her. From taking everything she’d been offering in her most vulnerable moment. She got out of the car quickly and didn’t look back. She was in enough trouble without a longing parting glance.

Fortunately in the modern age there was that safe way to communicate—the text message. Where you could send just the smallest of sentences and wait to see what—if any—response you got. She was completely overthinking it already, mentally composing some silly thing she’d write the first time. Wondering again whether he’d even reply or whether he’d just been going along with her ‘friends’ idea merely for form’s sake over the weekend...

Just as she was rolling her eyes at her own pathetic thoughts her phone chimed. She read the text right away.

Is it within friend boundaries to say I miss you already? Can’t stop thinking about you.

She smiled and tapped out her reply.

No, I think that’s ok. Friends do miss each other.

Yeah but you don’t know what it is I’m thinking about doing with you.

That’s possibly too close to the boundary.

I like to bend boundaries.

Ellie flexed her feet to rid even a fraction of the amount of tension from her overwrought body. He was hopeless. But even so, she was happier to have him as a hopeless charmer than not at all.

I’m turning my phone off, my flight’s about to depart.

Ellie managed not to turn her phone back on after she’d landed—not ’til she was home and in her pyjamas and had one of her fave films loaded. It rang a mere five minutes later.

‘Are you watching a movie?’ He obviously heard it playing in the background.

She chuckled. ‘Yes.’

‘What is it?’

‘Casablanca.’

‘What happens?’

‘You’ve never seen it?’

‘No. Tell me about it.’

Somehow they ended up talking for over an hour.

* * *

A week and a half later Ruben lay back in bed and touched her name on his phone. He’d called her almost every night. He hadn’t meant to, but it was so easy. Just a quick call for an update. It was always just before sleep time, in that most quiet of moments when he was alone in his room and she was all he could think of. She’d gone on tour again and had him in hysterics nightly with her descriptions of her clients and the way they were getting on with each other. He was looking forward to the latest anecdotes.

But part-way through the week, reluctant to break the connection too soon one night, he’d ended up talking to her about his own work. The deal was almost sealed—two more properties added to his collection and a million more hassles to work through. He confessed them to her—he, who’d worn all the worries alone for years, now found himself telling her the most stupid small details. She listened, she laughed and somehow helped him cut through the burden. She was a good listener. But it didn’t make him want to see her any less.

‘I’m flying back into Wellington on Monday. You want to do lunch next week?’ he asked as soon as she answered his call. He wanted lunch on Monday but he was trying to keep it casual. Not desperate. They were friends now, so the driving need to see her could just ease off—yes?

‘Oh, I can’t, sorry, not going to be here.’

He sat bolt upright. ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’ll be on the road again, back-to-back tours.’

‘Damn it, Ellie, you’ve got to be kidding me.’ Pissed off, he flung back the covers and got out of bed to pace. ‘Why back to back? You’ll be exhausted.’

‘I’ll be fine. It’s fun. I’ll call you.’

Yeah, but that wasn’t quite enough. He found himself thinking of her all the time. Wanting to tell her things, filing them away for when he called her. Wishing she could see his new place. Wanting to hear her ideas on what could be done with it.

‘So how’s your inspection going?’ She filled the silence that had grown too long.

‘Okay. A few staffing issues but then there always are. We can work through them. It’s a stunning location. It’s very different from the chateau and the lodge but just as beautiful. I think you’ll love it.’

Now she took her time answering. ‘I’m sure everyone will. You have a talent for spotting places that people will be drawn to.’

He wanted her to be drawn there—like the way she’d been drawn to both the chateau and the lodge. ‘You must be tired from the last tour.’ He knew just how much of herself she poured into those. There was no perfunctory checking names off a clipboard, she basically put on a show for the people. ‘You should have a break.’

‘I’m okay. It’s nice to be busy,’ she answered breezily. ‘I’m really enjoying the work. Want to take up any opportunity Bridie gives me.’

‘Don’t let her take advantage of you.’

A low laugh. ‘I won’t.’

* * *

Eight days later Ellie’s phone buzzed with yet another text message. He’d developed a skill for random comments during the day. Ellie was now in the habit of having her hand in her pocket, holding her phone, ready to answer instantly. But just as she was answering the text, he actually called. Unfortunately it was just as she was waiting for some stragglers to get to her bus. ‘Aren’t you flying to Auckland this afternoon?’ She didn’t bother saying hello.

‘Yes, but I wanted to tell you about—’

‘Nope, go pack or something,’ she said.

‘You’re cutting me off?’

‘Yes, I have a tour group waiting for me.’

‘Oh, okay, I’ll call you later.’

She put her phone back in her pocket and smiled at her waiting people—ignoring the fluttering buoyancy of her heart. But it was lifted high on that confidence that when she called back he’d be there to listen. And talk right back to her. She loved the way he talked to her about his work now, how familiar they were with what was going on in their lives. She was getting the hang of handling his friendship—sure she was.

* * *

‘Ellie.’

She was properly awake in an instant. ‘Is something wrong? It’s the middle of the night.’

‘I was thinking about you.’

She smiled but said nothing. She’d been thinking about him too. She clutched the phone closer and burrowed more into her warm bed.

‘Ellie?’

‘I’m here.’ She giggled at the hint of belligerence in his tone. ‘Have you been drinking?’

‘No.’ Defensive to the extreme. A sigh. ‘I just can’t get to sleep and I’m so tired.’

‘Make yourself a mug of warm milk,’ she said wryly.

‘It’s too hot here for milk.’ He groaned, not appreciating her tone. ‘It’s really hot.’

‘Turn on the air conditioner.’

‘It’s too noisy.’

‘So you thought you’d ring me instead, at 3:00 a.m. Little bit spoilt of you, Ruben.’

‘What can I say? I was an only child.’

She heard the smile then. Smiled back in response but was glad he wasn’t there to see just how easily he brought her onside.

‘You ever had phone sex?’ he asked.

Boom. Lightning hit her heart, instantly sucking her into an intimate vortex. ‘Are you sure you haven’t been drinking?’

‘Just answer the question.’

‘No, I think I’d get the giggles.’ Honesty prevailed.

‘Yeah.’ He chuckled. ‘We could always have Skype sex. Then we’d get the visuals. I know you like a movie.’ Oh, he was wicked.

And it had been weeks since her last orgasm. ‘Except I don’t have one of those fancy smart phones with the camera and all.’

‘I could buy you a smart phone.’

She didn’t want him to buy her anything. ‘Ruben.’

‘Yes?’

‘We’re supposed to be friends and not having any kind of sex.’ She knew down to the hour how long it had been and, no, it wasn’t getting easier. But it would. Sure it would.

‘Oh, hell,’ he muttered. ‘I forgot about that.’

‘Obviously.’

‘I’ll try harder.’ He sounded contrite.

‘Yeah, you need to try much, much harder.’

‘Yeah,’ he answered softly. ‘You like it hard.’

‘Ruben,’ she warned him. Biting her lip because, hell, yes, she’d liked it hard from him.

‘What’ll you do to me if I slip up again?’

Slip up? Oh, yeah, she could think of the exact thing he’d slip up and into her.

‘I’m sure I could come up with a suitable punishment.’ Oh, this was ridiculous. She was getting turned on by the slightest smut talk? ‘I’ll find some way of restraining you.’

So many ideas of restraint just flooded her head. She heard the faintest strangled sound and smiled. She wasn’t the only one sensing the innuendo.

‘What if I fight back?’ he asked softly. Ominously. ‘You know I do like to tease. And I can keep that up for a long, long time.’

‘You’d want to draw it out?’ She slid lower into her bed. Her toes scrunching, trying not to let her hips flex the way they were begging to.

He sighed—oh, it was more of a groan. She could hear the sensual ache in it. Her hands yearned to touch, to relieve both of them.

‘Draw out and then push back in. Deep. Over and over,’ he muttered so soft. No double talk now. Direct, so close to dirty. And devastating. ‘I keep seeing you...’ His sentence drifted.

She bit her lip, her need to know overwhelming. Her hidden aches opening wide again. ‘Seeing me what?’ She hardly formed the words.

‘You like my hand between your thighs.’

She sucked in a shocked breath.

‘You do,’ he insisted. ‘It’s one of your favourite things. It makes you come.’

She couldn’t deny it.

‘Do you wish my hand was there now?’

She rolled slightly, closing her eyes as she sank deeper into the bed—deeper into the half-dreamland he was conjuring with those low words.

‘I know how hungry you are. How impatient you get,’ he said, relentless now in his seduction. ‘You have your hand between your thighs now, pretending it’s mine.’

She gripped the telephone receiver harder. Her other hand curled exactly where he said, unable to resist the temptation.

‘I know what you’re going to do,’ he said.

‘What would that be?’ She clenched her upper thighs together hard. The tension spiked her need higher. Every sense sharpened—her hearing acute, her skin a receptor of pleasure.

A soft pause, enough for her to sense this was no tease now. He was sharing an intimate truth—his private fantasy—and entwining it with hers. So intensely personal.

‘You think of me. You can’t help but touch.’

She’d been holding her breath so long, now a tiny gasp escaped.

‘You have to touch. You touch where you want me to touch you. How you want me to touch you.’

She screwed her eyes tighter at the intimacy in his tone. The assurance of that direction. ‘And what do you do?’

Another deep sigh. ‘I want to watch, to listen, but I want to touch too. And then all I can think of is you riding me hard.’ He swore. ‘You rode me so good.’

Ellie trembled, holding back the release that was a single stroke away. They were having unintentional, accidental phone sex? How had that happened?

She turned her burning cheek, shifted her damp body onto a cool stretch of cotton sheet. Absorbing the chill, desperate to restore sanity. ‘Ruben,’ she whispered. ‘I have to go now.’

‘Ellie,’ he whispered back.

‘Yes?’

‘Dream of me.’

She had been for weeks. Every damn night.