Читать книгу Millionaire Magnates: Taming the Texas Tycoon - Brenda Jackson - Страница 15

Kate spent the rest of the day admiring her bracelet and romanticizing her relationship with Lance. It had developed into something altogether different than she’d expected, something more than she’d ever expected from any relationship.

She found herself cautioning her heart not to believe that Lance was the man of her dreams. She felt like there was still something that had to be worked out between them. She hadn’t asked about his engagement to Lexi and if he’d broken it off. But Lance had said he would do it and she trusted him.

And the bracelet. She stopped working at her computer and touched it. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry. The only other man to ever give her any jewelry had been her dad, who had gifted her with one-karat diamond stud earrings when she’d graduated from high school.

This was different. Although her head was telling her to be cautious, her heart was going full throttle, and she couldn’t seem to stop it. Everything was out of control—and she liked it.

“Kate, can I see you in my office?”

She picked up her notepad and stepped into Lance’s office. It was after hours and much of the staff had gone home.

“Yes, Lance?” she asked. She stopped when she noticed that there was a picnic basket on his desk and a bottle of wine opened and chilling in a wine bucket.

“Join me for dinner?” he asked.

“I guess the boss won’t notice if I’m away from desk for a few minutes.”

“I already cleared this with the boss.”

She closed the door behind her. She didn’t want any of their co-workers to see this. Her re-lationship with Lance was too personal to let the world know about it.

“Then I’d love to join you,” she said. “How did you plan all this without me?”

Lance poured her a glass of white wine and handed it to her. “I am capable of doing things on my own.”

“I know that. It’s just…”

“What?”

“It must have taken some effort for you to surprise me like this… and I didn’t think you would do that.”

“Why not? I like surprising you,” he said.

She wasn’t used to this, to this being in a re-lationship, and she hardly knew what to expect. She’d gone from invisible to this… and it was overwhelming.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. “I want this to be a special night for you.”

Lance was everything she wanted in a man, she thought. She couldn’t deny that, no matter how cautious she was trying to be.

Spontaneously, she went up on tiptoe and kissed him. She’d been wanting to all day long.

He caught her close and kissed her back. “Working together is a kind of torture.”

“How?” she asked. One hand was roaming up and down her back, the other at the hem of her skirt.

“Seeing you all day, wanting to lift this little skirt of yours and bend you over my desk…” He trailed off as he dropped kisses all along her neck and throat.

“What else do you want to do?” she asked, turned on by the image he’d put in her mind.

“Lots of things, Katie-girl. But I really want to know what you want to do. What is your fantasy?”

“In the office?” she asked.

“We can start there,” he said.

“Take your shirt off,” she said. Since they’d started sleeping together, she fantasized many times about coming into his office and seeing him sitting there with his shirt off.

“Take my shirt off?”

She nodded.

He reached between them, the backs of his fingers brushing her breasts as he unbuttoned his shirt. She shook from the brief contact and bit her lip to keep from asking for more.

“Now you take yours off,” he said.

“Um… I thought I was in charge.”

“You are, but I need some incentive to keep on going.”

“And if I take my blouse off…”

“I’ll be like putty in your hands.”

She reached between the two of them and took the hem of her sleeveless sweater in her hands and drew it up over her body. She was wearing a very sexy bra that she’d bought at Becca’s store. The cups were all lace and it fastened in the front.

“Very nice,” Lance said, running his finger down the center of her body, over her sternum and between her ribs, lingering on her belly button and then stopping at the waistband of her skirt.

He took the front clasp of her bra between his fingers and snapped it open. She stood there on the precipice of something that she couldn’t explain. He rubbed his finger over the spot where the clasp had been. The cups were still covering her breasts but she felt… wanton and wicked.

He slowly traced the same path upward again. This time, his fingers feathered under her lacy bra, barely touching her nipples. Both beaded, and a shaft of desire pierced Kate, shaking her.

She needed more. She wanted more. Her heart beat so swiftly and loudly she was sure he could hear it. She scraped her fingernails lightly down his chest, tangling them in the hair that was there. The dark stuff was tingling against her fingers. He moaned, the sound rumbling up from his chest. He leaned back against his desk, bracing himself on his elbows.

“I’m all yours, Kate,” he said.

His muscles jumped under the touch of her fingers as she traced the line down the center of his body. She circled his nipple but didn’t touch it, following the fine dusting of hair that narrowed and disappeared into the waistband of his pants.

He pushed the cups of her bra off her breasts. It hung open around them. He pulled her closer until the tips of her breasts brushed his chest.

“Kate.” He said her name and she quivered. This was what she’d always wanted from Lance. And now it was hers. He was hers.

His erection nudged her center and she clenched her vagina, wishing he was inside her. She shifted around, trying to feel the tip of his penis against her mound, but it was impossible with her skirt on. Her skirt was hiked up but it wasn’t enough.

He kissed his way down her neck and bit lightly at her nape. She shuddered, clutching at his shoulders, grinding her body harder against him.

He found the zipper on the side of her skirt. It loosened as he pushed his hands under the fabric. His big hands slipped into her panties, cupping her butt and urging her to ride him, guiding her motions against his hard-on. He bent his head and his tongue stroked her nipple, and then he suckled her.

Everything in her body tightened. She grabbed Lance’s shoulders, rubbing harder and faster against his erection as her climax washed over her. She collapsed against his chest. He held her close. Having Lance act out her fantasy, having him be the man who fulfilled her sexually was more than she’d expected. She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest and listening to the beat of his heart.

This was more than just a fantasy. This was love—real love—and she didn’t know what she’d do if this didn’t last.

Lance had never seen anything more beautiful than the passion in Kate. She was more than he’d ever imagined she could be. Her makeover had shown him the woman she was, but the last week he’d helped her realize the woman she could be.

She was exquisitely built. He knew she had body issues, but he loved the imperfection of her. It was what made her a real woman and not some airbrushed ideal that he’d never be able to touch. She was so soft and feminine that she brought out all of his protective instincts, making him want to shield her from the world.

He pushed the straps of her open bra down her arms. Her breasts were full and her skin flushed from her orgasm. Slowly, he caressed her torso, almost afraid to believe that Kate was his.

Her nipples were tight little buds beckoning his mouth. He loved her breasts and couldn’t get enough of them.

“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice pitched low and a slight blush covering her cheeks and neck.

“For what?”

“Coming without you,” she said.

There was something very fragile about Kate and no matter how much headway he made with helping her to realize how much he wanted her, she still was unsure of herself. He pulled her more fully into his arms, cradling her to his chest. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his neck. Each exhalation went through him. He wanted her.

He was so hard and hot for her that he might come in his pants. But he was going to wait for her signal. That was the point of this entire dinner that he’d planned. He wanted some time alone, away from his place, where he could let her have the lead in their relationship.

He felt the minute touches of her tongue against his neck, and his cock hardened. Her hand slid down his chest, opening his belt, unfastening the button at his waistband and then lowering his zipper.

Her hand slid inside his boxers, up and down his length. He tightened his hands on her back. He glanced down his body and saw her small hand burrowed into his pants, saw her working him with such tender care he had to grit his teeth not to end it all right then. But he wanted to be inside her the next time one of them climaxed.

Glancing down, he saw her smiling up at him. He stepped away and laid down the cashmere blanket he’d brought in earlier, urging her over to it. She took a step and her loosened skirt fell off, pooling at her feet. She was left in just her skimpy lace panties and a pair of heels.

“Woman, I wish you could see yourself right now. You’d never doubt your sex appeal again.”

She smiled up at him. “It’s you,” she said. He leaned down, capturing her mouth with his as he shoved his pants further down his legs and then brought them both down on the blanket, settling down on top of her. She opened her legs and he positioned himself between her thighs.

The humid warmth of her center scorched his already aroused flesh. He thrust against her without thought. Damn, she felt good.

He wanted to enter her totally naked. But they’d had a birth control discussion and she didn’t take the pill so that meant he had to keep wearing condoms.

“Can you reach my pants, honey?”

She stretched her arm to grab them. She fished the condom out of his pocket and handed it to him.

He pushed away from her for a minute, rising up on his knees. He glanced over at her and saw she was watching him. Her eyes were on his erection and that made him swell even more. He put the condom on one-handed and turned back to her.

“Hurry, Lance. I need you.”

It was the first time she’d asked him to come to her and he couldn’t resist. She opened her arms and her legs, inviting him into her body and he went. He lowered himself over her and rubbed his erection against her mound. He shifted his entire body against hers, caressing her.

She reached between his legs and fondled his sac, cupping him in her hands, and he shuddered. “Don’t do that, honey, or I won’t last.”

She smiled up at him. “Really?”

He wanted to hug her close at the look of wonder on her face. Kate was a joy as a lover because she enjoyed the hell out of him and his body and their lovemaking. “Hell, yes.”

He shifted and lifted her thighs, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her hands fluttered between them and their eyes met.

He held her hips steady and entered her slowly. He thrust deeply until he was fully seated. Her eyes widened with each inch he gave her. She clutched at his hips, holding him to her, eyes half-closed and head tipped back.

He leaned down and caught one of her nipples in his teeth, scraping very gently. She started to tighten around him, her hips moving faster, demanding more. But he kept the pace slow, steady, wanting her to come again before he did.

He suckled her nipple and rotated his hips to catch her pleasure point with each thrust, and he felt her hands in his hair as she threw her head back and her climax ripped through her.

He started to thrust faster. He leaned back on his haunches and tipped her hips up to give him deeper access to her body. Her hips were still clenching around his when he felt that tightening at the base of his spine seconds before his body erupted into hers. He pounded into her two, three more times, then collapsed against her. Careful to keep his weight from crushing her, he rolled to his side, taking her with him.

He kept his head at her breast and smoothed his hands down her back. He wanted to just lie here with her in his arms for the rest of the night, but a knock on his office door had them scrambling to their feet.

Kate was horrified that someone was at the door and she and Lance were naked.

“Shh. I’ve got this. Go stand in the corner and get dressed.”

“I can’t believe I did this and now we got caught! My mom always said that if I behaved poorly, God would catch me out.”

Lance wanted to laugh but knew better. It was just that his mom had said the same thing once. It seemed something all mothers said. And he’d done enough “naughty” things in the course of his life to know that this wasn’t God’s hand.

“Lance, you in there?” Stan asked.

“Be right there,” he said. He pulled his pants up and fastened them.

He found his shirt and put it on. He wasn’t about to embarrass Kate by answering the door half-dressed. She was fumbling with her clothes and he wanted—no needed—to get her back into his arms.

“What do you need, Stan?”

“Sorry, sir, but there is a Mr. Martin from the arson investigation here to see you. He’s not on the list for the building so we couldn’t let him in, and you weren’t answering your phone, but you were still in the building according to your logs—”

“Not a problem, Stan. Tell Mr. Martin to have a seat and I’ll be down to get him in a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir.”

He closed the door on Stan and turned back to find Kate completely dressed. Her arms were wrapped around her waist and she watched him with those wide eyes of hers. Only right now they seemed wounded and scared.

“Can we postpone our dinner?”

“Yes,” she said. “I need to clean up in the washroom and then—”

He stopped her with a finger over her lips. “Why don’t you go home, honey? I’ll stop by when this is over.”

She shook her head. “I think I need to be alone tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to reflect on this. That sounds silly, doesn’t it?”

“Not really.”

“Good. Because I want to make sense of this. Changing my image is one thing, but changing my core values… that’s something different.”

“Making love with the man you are dating isn’t a change in your values.”

“Yes, it is, Lance. I wouldn’t be in this situation with any other man.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re the one I love,” she said, and turned on her heel to walk away.

“Wait a minute, Kate.”

She stopped, but didn’t turn back. He wanted to say the hell with Martin and just keep her here until they finished this discussion.

But the refinery was his top priority right now. He was torn. For the first time since he’d taken over Brody Oil and Gas, a woman was coming between him and his responsibilities.

“Not now, Lance.”

“You love me?”

“Yes,” she said. “And I have to decide if I still want to have an affair with my boss. Because when Stan knocked on that door, all the love I felt for you was embarrassing and I don’t want that.”

“You shouldn’t be embarrassed. Stan doesn’t know you were in here or what we were doing,” Lance said.

“But I do. And I’m the one who will bare the shame of it. I don’t want to feel ashamed of anything between us. I hadn’t before but then all of a sudden…”

Lance understood. He realized that he needed to make this relationship between them more permanent. But he couldn’t until he broke things off with Lexi. He’d hoped to do that face to face, but a phone call might have to do it.

He pulled her back into his arms and refused to let her go. “Kate, I’m not hiding you or ashamed of you.”

“I know that, Lance. But I have been hiding. I know half the office has always guessed that I was in love with you and now… well, now it seems like you just noticed me since I’m… sexy.”

He was proud of her for thinking she was sexy. It was a complete turn around for her.

“Well, you are sexy. But that’s not what this is about. Listen, I have to wrap things up with Lexi. Then you and I can—”

“What do you mean you have to wrap things up with her?” Kate asked.

“I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet. It’s not a big deal.”

“Are you still engaged?” Kate asked.

“Not to my way of thinking,” Lance said.

Kate pulled away and put her hands on her hips. “To anyone’s way of thinking… are you engaged?”

Lance looked down at her. This night was certainly not going his way. But he hadn’t lied to Kate from the beginning and he wasn’t about to start now.

“Yes, I am still engaged.”

Her lip quivered and her face lost all color. “I can’t believe this. I’m an idiot.”

She turned on her heel and he stopped her once again. “You aren’t. I meant everything I said to you.”

“Really? Because the only way for that to be true is for me to be your mistress. Is that what you had in mind for us?”

“No,” he said.

Lance’s phone started ringing and he knew he had to answer it. Damn it. “This is not over, Kate.”

“Yes, Lance, it is.”