Читать книгу The Dare Collection: August 2018 - Avril Tremayne - Страница 15

CHAPTER FIVE

Caleb

IT WAS BARELY daylight when the ashen image of my mother’s lifeless face jerked me from sleep to the pinging of the alarm. I ignored my racing heart as I sprinted for the door and yanked it open, relieved that it wasn’t the continual blare announcing a possible intruder. Until I remembered that I was dealing with a tech-savvy stalker.

Downstairs, I took a moment to listen. Only the muted chorus of birdsong broke the silence.

Followed a second later by the faint splash of water. The gun I grabbed from the nightstand before leaving my room bumped against my thigh as I moved toward the open living room door and stepped through it.

Thirty feet away from the back patio, the pristine lawn gave way to stone tiles and a larger-than-average pool.

And right there, swimming without a care in the world, was Lily.

Irritation and disbelief drove me past the large ivy-twined oak pergola with the center fire pit and the loungers that stood to one side of the swimming pool.

My gaze was fixed on the figure weaving through the water, completely oblivious to my presence.

I watched her swim one lap. Then another. I breathed in and out. Slow, deep to get myself under control.

No joy.

“Lily.” My voice pulsed with the quiet fury running through my veins.

She didn’t stop. Her strokes were flawless and efficient, her strong kicks propelling her swiftly away from me toward the far end of the pool. I trailed after her, watched her execute a neat underwater flip, turn and launch herself into another lap. The move was smooth enough for me to see the wireless swimming earbuds plugged into her ears. My pissed-off barometer ticked up another notch.

I tugged my T-shirt over my head and stepped out of my sweatpants before diving into the pool. Two hard kicks later, she was in front of me. Alarm flared in her eyes as my hands closed on her arms. She fought back, clawing and thrashing the water before she realized who she was fighting.

In that time an unhealthy number of what-if scenarios whizzed through my head, darkening my already foul mood.

“Are you out of your mind?” I made no effort to keep my temper from showing.

She sluiced water out of her eyes with one hand and attempted to push me away with the other. The hell I was budging. “Can you not yell at me, please?”

“I asked you a question.”

“Well, you’re not going to get an answer if you don’t let go of me. Or lower your voice by a couple of thousand decibels.”

Fine, so my voice was a little loud. It was barely daylight and I’d slept like shit. “I said—”

“I heard you the first time. I’m pretty sure the neighbors heard you, too.” She attempted to break free. I held her tighter, propelling her from the center to the side of the pool.

The water wasn’t deep but with her small stature, her feet dangled above the bottom. When she tried to move again, I trapped her with one leg.

She wriggled, braced one hand on my shoulder. The small charge that detonated inside me at her touch was perfectly echoed in her expression. A tiny hitch in her breathing, and then her hand disappeared into the water. “What are you doing?” Her voice squeaked but that fire that was never far from the surface blazed pure challenge with her glare.

I shoved away the effect of her hand on me and glared right back. “I think that’s my question. What the hell were you thinking, coming out here on your own?” I demanded.

The first rays of the sun chose that moment to emerge and bathe her face in golden light, illuminating the pearls of moisture dotting her pale, beautiful skin. I couldn’t take my eyes off the three fat drops clinging to her top lip. Or the pure temptation of her full lower lip.

“I couldn’t sleep. Swimming relaxes me—wait, why am I explaining myself to you?” She shifted impatiently, her toes brushing my bare calf.

I clenched my teeth and tried not to let the heat stabbing my groin distract me. Now that I had her attention, it was probably wise to let her go.

Not until I made my point.

“Do I really need to spell it out to you? And these things in your ears?” I tugged the earbuds out and tossed them onto the tiles. “How the hell do you expect to hear anything with them plugged in?”

“I always swim with my earbuds in. And no, I can do without that narrow-eyed judgment. This is my home. My life. I can do whatever I want.”

“You have a thing for control. Trust me, I get it. But you don’t know when this creep will step things up another level. Why the hell didn’t you wake me if you wanted to swim so badly?”

She blinked. “I swim every morning, and I don’t need your permission to do it.”

“For fuck’s sake. That’s what I’m here for—”

“I’m not going to live in fear and let some random stranger pull my strings!”

The forceful words hit the tranquility of the cool morning. Echoed all around us before settling like a boulder between us. Lily froze as if her outburst had electrified her into silence. The stunned look on her face confirmed she hadn’t meant to voice them.

When she went a little pale, I frowned my concern. “Lily—”

“Let me go!”

Her hands rose in the water. One braced on my stomach, the other brushed my upper thigh, then my bare hip. Her green eyes went wide. A moment later her gaze dropped down my chest, and then lower. She gasped. “Are you...naked?”

Despite my disgruntlement, I smiled. “I don’t get my favorite sweatpants wet for just anyone, sweetheart.”

Delicious heat poured into her cheeks as her hands jerked away from my body. “Oh, my God!”

“Why the outrage? Just a few hours ago you were stroking—”

“Shut up!”

I followed the blush, unable to take my eyes off the alluring sight of it. God, I wanted to taste that blush, trail it with my tongue up and down her body.

“My, what a hot little temper you have. I could—”

The words choked off as the hands that pushed me away a minute ago clutched my head and yanked me down to meet her waiting lips.

She kissed me. Then bit me. Hard. Then swallowed my stunned groan into her open mouth as she swiped her tongue over the sting. Once, twice, then with slow, dragging licks that rained fire through my body.

Jesus.

I parted my lips to better taste her. She immediately slid her tongue into my mouth, pressing her velvety lips harder against mine as she licked her way inside the way I wanted to lick her pussy—bold and relentlessly. She nipped the tip of my tongue. I groaned again at the taste of her. She was just like I imagined she would be.

Heaven and hell.

Sin and absolution.

Pleasure and—

She pushed me away as quickly as she’d pulled me close. My stunned brain was still absorbing her spectacular taste when she whirled away, planted her hands on the edge and launched herself out of the pool.

“What the fuck—?” The rush of saliva in my mouth as I watched the water glide off her body was disgraceful enough to make me grimace. Jesus, she was breathtaking.

Her glare didn’t hold much power, diluted as it was by her arousal. “That was to shut you up. Nothing more.”

My eager gaze raked her incredible body, took in her erect nipples, the pulse racing at her throat. “You sure about that?”

She looked off to the side. After a minute she balled her hands. “Swimming alone is off the table for now. I’ll agree to that.”

“Let’s make a list so there’s no confusion. Five minutes in the kitchen okay with you?”

Her eyes still refused to meet mine. “Fine.”

Beneath the water, my cock pumped to full, eager life as the sun rose higher, giving me an even better view of her.

The black one-piece was skimpier than most two-piece suits purely because it was held together by a crisscross of ties designed to draw attention to her impressive curves. I stared my fill while telling myself if my gawking made her uncomfortable then it would be a little payback for what she’d just put me through. But I accepted that my reasons were far baser.

She looked even smaller in her bare feet. God, handling her during sex would be infinitely delightful. She turned away and my gaze dropped to her heart-shaped ass, her shapely legs and the cutest ankles I’d ever seen.

I bit back a groan as my groin kicked hard.

Hell, at this rate, I’d need a cold shower before I could conduct a coherent conversation.

When she reached the lounger and grabbed a towel, I struck out for the far side where I’d dropped my clothes.

I hauled myself out, hoping the cool air would do what the tepid water hadn’t been able to achieve, and calm my excitement.

Her sharp intake of breath reached me as I bent to pick up my pants.

Don’t turn around. Don’t—

I turned and surprised her gaze on my ass. On any given day, I would’ve tossed out a cocky remark, encouraged her to look her fill if she promised to let me do the same. But we were already in uncharted territory and it’d barely been twelve hours since we met.

Not to mention, there were cameras out here, set up by my team, recording every second of our little show. Set-jawed, I pulled on my pants. First priority after our talk would be to access the security feed and delete that stretch of footage.

She’d disappeared by the time I locked the doors and went into the kitchen. Her coffee machine looked as if it hadn’t been touched since it came out of the box. After setting it up, I grabbed two mugs and waited for the machine to do its thing.

She walked in just as the first cup filled. The thin, long-sleeved sweater wasn’t temperature-raising in and of itself except it was cropped, exposing a good three inches of her midriff. Paired with black leggings hugging every glorious inch of hip, thigh and legs, it was incredibly potent. I swallowed a groan and busied myself making the second cup. Which took all of ten seconds.

“How do you take your coffee?”

She looked surprised at the offer. “Umm...cream with two sugars and a splash of vanilla.”

I found the ingredients, stirred them into her cup and handed it over. “If it sucks, keep it to yourself.”

She accepted the coffee, took a careful sip, then blinked. “It’s good. Thanks.”

I got mine and joined her at the kitchen island. “Why buy a coffee machine if you don’t intend to use it?” I asked just for something to do other than stare at the mouth whose taste was now stuck in my head.

“I didn’t buy it. It was here when I moved in, along with most of the furniture.” Her reply was the stiff, don’t-go-there kind.

I ignored the alarm bells. “How long have you lived here?”

Her face tightened. “Three years.”

“And you’ve only worked for SDM?”

She nodded and leaned her hip against the counter. I forcefully redirected my gaze up to her damp hair, anything not to stare at the silky stretch of bare midriff skin or the luscious curve of her hip.

“So why not a condo nearer to SDM’s offices in Sunnyvale?” This part of Silicon Valley was CEO territory, usually favored by those with families.

Her long, sooty lashes swept down. “Accommodation came as part of my signing package and this one was available. It was supposed to be temporary until I found my own place but...it grew on me. When the opportunity came up for me to buy it, I did.” She shrugged. “Also saved me time on house-hunting.”

The well-rehearsed answer heightened my suspicion that something else was going on here. I left it alone for the moment.

“Besides swimming, what else takes you outside on a day-to-day basis?”

“Nothing I can’t live without for the time being.”

“Great. So we’re agreed that you’ll give me a heads-up before you head outside?”

Rebellious green eyes met mine across the granite top. “If it’ll stop you from diving naked into my pool, then yes.” Impatiently, she set her half-finished coffee on the counter with a snap. “By trapping me in my own home, isn’t he winning?”

“You’re not trapped. You just won’t be doing stuff by yourself for a while. Besides, if he thinks you’ve got someone else in your life he might show his hand sooner.”

She frowned. “Someone in my life?”

I shrugged. “He doesn’t know who I am. That’ll make him nervous. Enough to show his hand, I’m hoping.”

She absorbed the words for several beats. “And if it doesn’t?”

I felt my face harden. “Then we’ll step up the game, take the fight to him.”

My days of sitting around, waiting for things to happen were long behind me. Trusting other people to do the right thing for my mother had cost her the ultimate price. She’d suffered for years until she’d taken the only option she felt available to her, leaving me to deal with the aftermath.

The bitter pill I’ve swallowed all these years rose to the back of my throat again. Ruthlessly I pushed it back down.

Her gaze dropped for a moment. “The other reason I hired you was because your success rate is one hundred percent. I guess you’re good at what you do,” she murmured as she toyed with the handle of the mug.

I silenced the cocky bastard inside that wanted to strut at the hidden meaning in her words as she tugged one corner of her lower lip between her teeth. “I have a lot riding on finishing my algorithm,” she added.

The admission wasn’t an easy one and I admired her a hell of a lot for voicing it. It was probably why I skirted the counter to stand in front of her. Why I tucked my finger under her chin and raised her gaze to mine. “We’ll catch the bastard. I promise,” I said.

Her nostrils quivered delicately as she took a breath. This close, I could see the faint shadows and fear she was fighting lurking in her eyes. She’d been brave up to this point but the edges of her composure were beginning to unravel. I opened my mouth, to promise fuck knows what, but she stepped back.

“Um, about that kiss...”

The memory of it blazed a path through me. “Yeah?”

“It was out of line. I’m sorry.”

“I’m...not.”

She stiffened. “What?”

I tossed out an offhand shrug, despite the wide pit of what-the-fuck-are-you-doing yawning before me. “Technically, I didn’t break my rules. You got me hard as fuck on the plane. You kissed me in the pool.”

Her eyes widened. “And that makes it okay?”

“That makes me...okay with not losing any sleep over it.” In fact, the more I thought about it the more I grew okay with it.

“Is that how you usually give yourself a pass?” she asked, her face tightening.

“Since you’re the only client I’ve allowed to...handle me like that, I’ll say no.”

Lily’s mouth dropped open.

My answering smile felt tense as thoughts of Kirsten flared up. With her, I did all the chasing, right into the trap she set for me. Since her, my personal encounters had been kept strictly sexual, with a time limit of no more than two months. I’d discovered that was when nesting behavior began cropping up.

One or two women had called me a cold bastard. I’d learned to live with it. I could probably live with Lily’s brand of shutting me up, too, although I was a little unnerved that I was inviting her to smudge the lines. “So if the urge takes you, feel free to go with it.”

She gasped. “Are you serious?”

I shrugged.

“Well, it won’t,” she said briskly. “Are we done here?”

Disappointment cut sharp but I brushed it off. “For now. My team will be here at nine to finish setting up inside. What are your plans for today?”

“I’m going to the office in a couple of hours. It’s quieter on the weekend. I get a lot more done there.”

“We’ll go together.”

She nodded and walked over to the sink with her cup. After rinsing it, she bent over to place it in the dishwasher. I ogled her heart-shaped ass for a cock-hardening few seconds before redirecting my gaze.

“I’ll have the list ready for you in half an hour,” she said as she walked out.

I leaned against the counter after she was gone, willing my hard-on to subside even as I tossed around the rationale I’d given her for bypassing my rules.

Would she take it? Did I really want her to?

Hell, yes!

The powerful need behind the thought propelled me from the kitchen in search of something else to occupy my mind.

For the next hour I explored the two acres attached to the house, assessing possible weak points and compiling a list for the security team to tackle.

In the garage I found a gleaming black single-rider motorcycle with chrome detailing next to a compact Mini. Both were characteristically diverse, but somehow encompassed Lily Gracen’s personality perfectly.

Smiling, I finished the check and returned to the house. I set myself up in the dining room and sent emails to Maggie and the security team. Then I logged on to the security feed, played it through until I reached the moments from the pool.

The cameras displayed shots from different angles, but the one placed in the pergola perfectly captured the moment I reached Lily. It showed the tight expression in both our faces as we talked. Her shock at finding me naked. The moment she pulled my head down for that memorable kiss. The perfect arch of her spine and ass as she rose from the water two feet from me, and my blatant hunger as I stared.

I selected the seven-minute frame and moved my finger to the delete button. Only to pause at the point when she glanced over at me after I came out of the pool. Her gaze didn’t linger for more than a few seconds, but the effect of watching her watch me pull on my pants was an extreme turn-on. Like a testosterone-filled sucker, I hit Rewind. Watched the kiss. And again. Until my balls screamed under the pressure I was putting on them. Until my dick roared with the need to fuck.

Hard and fast and rough.

Damn. I wish I hadn’t watched it. Lily was an extremely attractive female with a delectable exterior wrapped around a core of steel. Not to mention a healthy sex drive she wasn’t shy about satisfying with sex toys.

But despite my weakness for strong, intelligent women, rules were rules. They’d kept me at the top of my game for the best part of a decade.

I shut the laptop and shoved away from the table. My hand slipped beneath the waistband of my sweatpants and I gave myself a quick, jaw-clenching few strokes before standing up.

I wouldn’t touch her while she was my client. But there was nothing stopping me from ensuring the ball was kept front and center in her court.