Читать книгу The Dare Collection November 2018 - Christy McKellen, Avril Tremayne - Страница 13
ОглавлениеLeonie
TIME STRETCHED ON a taut elastic string, steeping each moment in vivid colour. The hot brush of his firm, smooth lips as I tasted him. The sharp explosions of our breaths mingling when I flicked my tongue over the seam of his lower lip. The springy luxury of his hair between my fingers as I clutched him closer, opened my mouth and boldly attempted to devour him.
The faint aroma of whisky on his breath as he leaned into my touch, imprinted his lower body deeper, harder into mine.
My hips undulated independently of my brain’s direction, the bold thrust of his cock firing lustful craving throughout my body.
I wanted this man.
Desperately.
As if he’d heard that unguarded confession, a rough sound rumbled through his chest.
I drew back, a proud, desperate need to know I wasn’t alone in this scything through me. ‘You want me.’
Stormy eyes met mine. ‘After this morning in the bathroom, you need further proof?’ he growled.
I shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
His eyes grew watchful, a little wary. My gaze dropped to the drink he still clutched. My fingers wrapped around his wrist, felt the powerful flex of muscle as I nudged it upward. Eyes reconnecting with his, I pressed my lower lip against the glass and tilted it.
Gideon’s breath expelled in a heated puff. ‘Leonora...’
Despite the fever in his eyes, there was a reticence in his voice that rubbed me the wrong way. Just like this morning, something drove me to test his control, gain the upper hand before he snatched it from me.
With a step back, I perched my bottom on the edge of the blackjack table, and braced my hands behind me.
Gratifyingly, his gaze dragged down my body, lingering on my breasts, my hips, to stare brazenly at my legs as I slowly crossed them.
‘Let’s finish this meeting, shall we? What else do I need to know about your client?’
He visibly gathered himself, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed again. Draining his glass, he discarded it, then stepped closer. Our bodies didn’t touch but his heat drew me like a seductive fire, inviting me to lose myself in his warmth.
Or burn in his dangerous flames.
‘He’s been dragging his feet on this deal for weeks. I’ve just about reached the end of my rope with him.’
I uncrossed and recrossed my legs. ‘So this is a last-chance schmooze to get him to sign on the dotted line?’
Gideon hauled his gaze up my body. ‘Something like that. Although I can’t promise I won’t throw him overboard if he refuses to play ball.’
‘I have insurance for that sort of thing but I wouldn’t recommend it.’
A strained smile lifted one corner of his sexy mouth. ‘What would you recommend for an intransigent Russian?’
‘You’re already doing it. You’re bringing him on board my boat.’
One eyebrow lifted. ‘You’re claiming magical powers,’ he stated drolly.
‘You doubt me?’
He sucked in a slow breath. ‘Right this minute, I’d doubt nothing you told me,’ he replied, his voice slurring sexily.
The evidence of his fractured control made me wetter. I knew I didn’t want to leave this room without at least tasting him again.
Slowly, I let my thighs fall apart. ‘Come here, Gideon.’
His eyes grew a shade darker. ‘You enjoy calling the shots, Leonora?’
‘Does that bother you?’ I parried.
His jaw clenched hard, as if fighting his response.
I spread my legs wider, my pulse accelerating when his gaze dropped to where my dress had ridden up to reveal more of me.
He resisted for ten long, excruciating seconds. Then he lurched forward. Gideon’s hands arrived on my arse, his movements rough as he jerked me forward.
The bold column of his erection slotted perfectly against my damp, silk-covered sex and we both groaned. For a full minute we did nothing but grind against each other, our breaths growing choppy at the delicious friction.
‘Fuck, Leonora,’ he rasped when I rocked harder against him.
The look on his face was a cross between savage hunger and pained bewilderment, then, with a rough groan, he swooped down and slammed his lips against mine.
Gideon kissed with a ruthless edge that fanned the raging fire inside me.
Our tongues glided together in a bold getting-to-know-you tasting that made me see stars. God, why was I even surprised that he was such a skilled kisser? That I was almost on the brink of orgasm when he dragged the full length of his cock against my needy pussy?
‘Jesus,’ he muttered against my lips, ‘you have an amazing arse.’
‘You have an amazing...something,’ I muttered back.
He laughed under his breath, raising his head once again to look into my eyes. Bewilderment had receded a little to be replaced by starker hunger. His fingers hooked into my panties and he hesitated, a clear question in his eyes.
Belatedly, I remembered I was supposed to be calling the shots. ‘Take them off, Gideon.’
His fingers tightened on my hips for a moment, then he drew my panties down my legs.
God, I was really doing this.
‘I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I saw you,’ he muttered against my lips.
‘Drag my panties off at a blackjack table?’
‘The location wasn’t a priority in that particular fantasy, but yes, it involved ripping your panties off at some point and finding out if your pussy tasted us phenomenal as your eyes promised me it would.’
‘My eyes said all of that?’ My voice was a desire-soaked mess as he planted a firm hand on my midriff and gently pushed me back.
‘Oh, yes. Don’t attempt to play poker at any point in your life. You’d be shit at it.’
‘Thanks for that rousing endorsement.’
‘It’s not a bad thing, baby. You have the most expressive eyes I’ve ever seen.’
‘What are they telling you right now?’
‘That you love sex, that you love being seen to. And that’s exactly what you want me to do right now.’
‘Guess what, Gideon?’
Gleaming eyes met mine. ‘What?’
‘You’re right.’
I lay flat on my back on the blackjack table and watched him push my dress higher until it was bundled around my waist. I dragged back enough sense to flick my gaze enquiringly to the door.
‘It’s locked.’ He patted his jacket pocket. ‘I have the key right here.’ He reached for my knees, pulled them up, parted me wider with his gaze still fixed on my face.
Then, as if he couldn’t help himself, his gaze dropped to my core.
‘Fuck, you’re beautiful. Pretty, pink and damn wet.’ His fingers tightened fractionally and a muscle ticced in his jaw. ‘Leonora, are you sure about this?’
The cautionary question softened something inside me, even as the thought of him stopping made me want to sink my claws into him so he couldn’t go anywhere. Again my contradictory feelings towards this man made no sense. So I pushed them away, concentrated on what I wanted in the moment.
‘Yes. Do it, Gideon. Give me what I want.’
Again he seemed to debate with himself.
Then all doubt cleared from his face. His cocky smile should’ve put me off but I was long past caring. The way his lips parted hungrily as his bold gaze stroked my pussy fanned the flames of my lust. The masterful way he planted my feet on the edge of the table and drew his fingers down my inner thighs threatened to make me come there and then.
Slowly, he leaned over me, his goal blatant as his gaze dropped to my mouth. I stopped him with a finger on his lips.
‘I need to say something.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Yes?’
‘This is a one-time thing. I’d be disappointed if this ends up affecting our business relationship.’ Even as the words spilled out, I knew that when it came right down to it I’d take tonight and let the chips fall where they might. Even if this deal fell through, I would survive.
A hard little smile curved his lips, visceral hunger etched on his face as he stared down at me. ‘I’m a big boy, Leonora. I can handle your neat little lanes of business and pleasure without turning into a blithering idiot, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
His answer wasn’t wholly satisfactory but I chose to let it be. After tonight, once this bout of madness passed, I intended for it to be all business.
So I let him close the gap between us, kiss me senseless again while his hands roamed all over my body. At some point, firm fingers hooked beneath the straps of my dress and pulled them down. Between one breath and the next, he had me down to my bra, and his lips were leaving mine to trace hot kisses along my jaw, down my neck to the valley between my breasts.
I didn’t need much prompting to lift my torso off the table and let him unhook my bra. I watched Gideon’s face as my breasts were exposed to his avid gaze. I didn’t like to brag, but my breasts were one of my best features and, from the look in his eyes, he appreciated them.
‘Bloody hell,’ he muttered thickly, ‘you really are incredible from head to toe, aren’t you?’
‘I can’t answer that without seeming horribly egotistical, now, can I?’
He laughed, a deep and sexy sound that washed the tops of my breasts with warm air. ‘With a body like yours, sweetheart, you can say whatever the fuck you want.’
‘Then what I want is for you to stop talking, Gideon. Right now.’
He delivered another heart-stopping smile as he cupped my breasts in both hands. ‘I take it you want my mouth to be busy doing other things?’
I nodded, a little too eagerly and then watched, breath held, as his head slowly descended until his lips hovered over one puckered nipple. He paused for an interminable age, dragging needy pants from me as he teased out the moment. Then he was sucking my nipple into his mouth, his eyes devouring my expression as he teased and tormented the tight peak.
‘Oh, God,’ I gasped when he dragged his teeth over me. With his other hand he tormented the twin, raining shudders of pleasure down my body.
My fingers sank into his hair, holding him tight to his task as he alternated his attention between one peak and the other. It was a testament to his expertise that I was on the brink of coming just from his nipple action alone when he finally moved lower down my body, trailing kisses on my belly.
‘Gideon...’
‘I’m not supposed to speak, remember?’ he teased, planting kisses on my inner thigh.
I didn’t want him to speak either, not really. I preferred his lips exactly where they were, driving me out of my mind. Teeth nipped teasingly at my sensitive flesh, and my hips jerked off the table.
He growled and repeated the action, a little rougher this time. My needy moan seemed to trigger him and this time when his lips trailed down to my pussy, he didn’t stop.
He blew softly on my clit, drawing a harsh cry from me right before he slowly licked me from taint to hood.
‘Oh, yes.’ I loved the way he savoured me with the patience and expertise of the connoisseur.
‘Sweet, sexy Leonora.’ Hard hands gripped my thighs, holding me wide open as he went back for a deeper taste, his lips and tongue and teeth devouring me as if I were the only tangible thing in his universe.
My hips began to undulate, the whole body hooked into his savouring with an undeniable rhythm born of my hunger.
‘Fucking hell, woman, you had to be so damned responsive, didn’t you?’
My answer was an incoherent groan. His thumbs parted me wider, held me firmly apart as he zeroed in on my clit, his tongue working me with fevered flicks designed to incite pure insanity.
From behind closed lids, I felt my orgasm approach, bearing down on me like a freight train. Just before it crashed on me, he withdrew, dropped kisses lower, then shamelessly lapped at the wanton wetness he’d drawn from me.
‘Gideon, please.’ My fingers locked in his hair, attempting to redirect him to where I needed him most.
He didn’t answer, nor did he comply with my request.
I dragged myself onto one elbow, watched him lazily lapping me up, then brazenly French kiss my pussy.
‘Please. I need it.’
His nostrils flared, as if he’d been waiting for that desperate admission. ‘Not yet,’ he replied, his voice thick with arousal. ‘I want this to last just a little bit longer.’
There was an odd edge to his voice that drew an inner frown. I was too far gone to decipher it, so I resigned myself to letting him use and torment me, my cries growing louder the closer he pushed me to the pinnacle.
When it all got too much to bear, I collapsed back onto the table, threw my legs even wider open and I shamelessly rubbed my pussy against his kiss.
Whether he chose in that moment to grant me mercy or he was also at the breaking point, I would never know. Two fingers slid deep inside me, mouth latched on to my clit, and the dual pleasures quickly tossed me over the edge.
A breath-stealing climax crashed over me, bringing every forgotten erogenous zone in my body into vivid life and reminding me of how badly I’d neglected my needs. And even as I was coming harder than I’d ever come in my life, I still wanted more, wanted it to last for ever.
‘Don’t stop, Gideon. Please don’t stop!’
His groan was a harsh rumble, sending my feminine senses singing at the thought that he was also enjoying himself despite being the one delivering all the pleasure.
Eventually the pressure became too much, my body oversensitised beyond imagination. When I whimpered, Gideon relented, softening his touch and kisses, letting me slowly drift back down.
His fingers were still buried inside me, his breaths washing over my heated core when I dragged myself up onto my elbows. The sight of him, fully dressed in his tux complete with bow tie while I was virtually naked, should’ve embarrassed me. All I could think of was how incredible he’d made me feel. How soon I wanted to experience it all over again.
My gaze dropped to the impressive bulge between his legs, my body snapping desperate signals. My craving intensified, dragging me up to the edge of the table again, my hands travelling up to circle his neck.
He let me pull him down, let my hungry lips seal his in a kiss aimed to project my renewed hunger. Maybe it was tasting myself on his lips that made me bolder or the fact that he just couldn’t seem to keep his hands off me.
I trailed a hand down his six-pack to grip his cock. At his tortured groan, I drew back a fraction.
‘Fuck me, Gideon,’ I whispered against his mouth.
He tensed, then muttered a curse against my lips.
I stroked him harder.
Dear God, he was big. I went to town, testing his girth, dreaming of everything that awaited me.
Gideon pumped once within my hold, setting my blood alight once more.
‘I need you.’ I wasn’t ashamed to beg.
But I was ashamed when he froze. Then cursed again.
Okay. Not what I’d expected. Maybe I hadn’t been clear. ‘I want you to fuck me, Gideon. Right here.’
‘No. Leonora, dammit. Stop.’ It was a command. Ravaged and harsh and reluctant. But an order nonetheless. With a pulse of self-loathing anger behind the words that threw cold water over me.
Had I read him wrong? Was this insane hunger only one-sided? Hell, no, it wasn’t. I literally had the evidence in my hand.
But he wrenched himself from my grasp, and with quick strides, he put the width of the room between us.
I watched, stunned, as he dragged his fingers through his hair, shoulders rigid as he stared out of the window. Tense minutes passed. We remained locked in place, my senses crackling like fireworks as I tried to understand what had just happened.
Like waves crashing against rocks, it hit me that our little fooling around was over. Hastily, I righted my dress before snatching up my panties. The last thing I wanted was for him to turn around and see me skip hopping into my knickers so I stuffed them in my clutch.
When he faced me, his features were drawn tight, his jaw locked in tight control.
Before he could speak, I raised my chin. ‘I’m not sure exactly what’s going on here but I’m not going to apologise for anything.’
‘Nor do I want you to.’ His tone was terse.
‘Good, because I could’ve sworn we were both into it,’ I blurted before I could stop myself.
Again he dragged his fingers through his hair, then shoved both fists in his pockets. He rocked back and forth on his heels, his gaze dropping to his feet for a moment before he started towards the door. ‘I gave you what you wanted, Leonora. But I can’t give you more.’
Can’t or won’t? The question trembled on my lips, all the reasons why he was denying me flying like crazed bats around my head. I’d sensed his reluctance all along but being rejected still hurt. Not on the scale of my fiancé running off with another woman, but still...
‘Come on, I’ll take you home.’
‘No, you won’t. I came here on my own and am perfectly capable of seeing myself home.’
‘You’ve had more than a couple of drinks.’
‘What’s it to you?’ The bewilderment I’d caught in his face moments ago now pulsed through my own voice and I was more than a little irritated with myself for it. This was supposed to be a one-time hook-up. The fact that he was calling a halt to it should’ve pleased me. Yet I couldn’t contain my sense of loss.
‘It’s simple, Leonora,’ he drawled. ‘I’m not letting you get behind the wheel of a car when you’ve had a drink.’
‘I wasn’t planning to. I’ve got a perfectly good car service on speed dial.’
Impatience twitched across his face. ‘Since we’re both heading in the same direction, why bother?’
‘Don’t you have a client to entertain?’
‘Vadim can take care of himself. I’m not his babysitter.’
‘That still doesn’t mean I’m willing to go anywhere with you.’ Especially not after that rejection.
‘Not even after seeing to that incredible pussy of yours and making you scream my name?’
I couldn’t stop from blushing like a hormonal teenager, but I could glare at him and I used the full force of my befuddled anger. ‘That was enjoyable enough, sure. What’s happening right now isn’t, though. Is playing hot and cold your thing, then?’
He muttered something under his breath I didn’t quite catch, then he advanced towards me, his eyes roving up and down my body as if he couldn’t get enough of watching me. Which was even more puzzling.
When he reached me, he slowly drew his hand from his pocket and rubbed a knuckle down my cheek. ‘Do you really think I don’t want to fuck you? That every cell in my body isn’t yearning to lay you back down on that table and pound us both into next bloody Wednesday?’
I opened my mouth to ask him why the hell wasn’t he doing exactly that but I’d already begged him to fuck me, twice, and he’d responded by turning his back on me. I wasn’t going for thirds.
Right then, another terrible thought hit me, drenching me with ice water. ‘Please don’t tell me you performed oral sex on me but finally grew a conscience and stopped because of another woman. Because no matter how much you justify it to yourself, what we did already crossed the line the moment you laid a finger on me.’
His face turned to stone. ‘One thing you should know about me, Leonora, is that loyalty and fidelity are paramount in my book. I don’t forgive easily and I never forgive the smallest betrayal. Remember that.’
Relief crashed over me, as did the unsettling question of why he’d stopped himself from doing what we clearly both wanted. I wasn’t going to ask, though. With my orgasm now a hazy memory, my brain was circling back to the initial reason for coming to this room. I hadn’t told Gideon about my decision not to join the crew Monday.
I opened my mouth to speak but he was striding towards the door. ‘Hang on a second.’
He didn’t stop. ‘No, sweetheart, I can’t.’ Again there was that painful throb in his voice. ‘I bloody well can’t stay in this room much longer, smelling you, remembering how you taste, how you screamed my name when you came, the way you roll your body when you’re lost deep in pleasure. You’ve damned well pushed my control to the limits twice already. I don’t want to test it a third time. So I’m taking you home right now.’ He yanked open the door and stepped out into the hallway.
The forceful delivery of his words and the renewed fireworks erupting through my body struck me dumb for several seconds, the questions that bubbled to the tip of my tongue forgotten.
When he raised his eyebrow, I forced myself to move.
In silence we left the casino. At the front entrance, a limo pulled up. He held the door open for me. I slid inside, stowing myself at the far corner.
His admission that he wanted me affected me in ways I couldn’t describe.
I’d never once taken advantage of my feminine power but, watching Gideon’s masculine body slide in after me, I was tempted to push his buttons, tempt him into taking things further.
The door slamming yanked me back into my senses. Was it only yesterday that I’d condemned him for being just like my father in his brazen playboy attitude? And here I was, contemplating playing the siren.
Shame dragged through me, rendering me silent as Gideon pulled his bow tie free and flung it away. It landed on the adjacent seat. Then he tugged on a few buttons before reaching for a decanter of cognac.
When I shook my head at his raised eyebrow, he poured himself a shot and knocked it back.
He was clearly wound tight, and, fresh from examining my own questionable feelings, I chose the safer subject of business. ‘There’s something I need to tell you.’
‘Is there?’ Clipped words, as if he was barely holding himself together.
‘I won’t be joining the crew on Monday.’
Grey eyes snapped to my face. ‘Why the hell not?’
‘I redid the ratios and I’m confident you’ll be fine without me. I also spoke to the captain and his assistant. Between them they can tell you everything you need to know about the vessel.’
‘You knew all of this when you came to meet me. You knew this when I signed the agreement. So you deliberately misled me?’ Anger throbbed in his voice as he disposed of his glass.
‘I thought I could make it work but I can’t.’
‘Bullshit. You waited until I signed on the dotted line before attempting to renegotiate the terms. Well, too bloody bad for you, Leonora. I’m holding you to what we agreed.’
‘Your guest list isn’t so extensive that it needs the extra staff member, so it all works out—’
‘It doesn’t work out if you’re not part of the crew. The vessel is your baby. You’re supposed to be a good businesswoman. Are you really going to trust someone else to sell it for you?’
‘Are you really in the market for a new yacht?’ I countered.
One eyebrow lifted. ‘If you don’t turn up on Monday like you said you would, you’ll never find out. And should you not turn up, I’ll do you one better and pull the commission altogether. Is that plain enough for you?’
‘Gideon—’
‘Remember what I said about loyalty?’
I bristled but he had me cornered. ‘Yes,’ I snapped.
‘Good, then this discussion is over. Attempt to pull something like that with me again and both of us will be very unhappy.’
‘Is that a threat?’
‘It’s whatever the fuck you want it to be. But here’s an interesting statistic for you. I had my assistant ring round yesterday to speak to a few of your other clients. They speak highly of you. You’ve never pulled anything like this before. So I’m thinking this sudden change of heart is related directly to me and not with any crew problems you’re having. Am I right?’
I knew backing down would be a sign of weakness. ‘It makes business sense to recognise that we’re not compatible and to ensure you have a smoother sail without me on board.’
He laughed, deep, but that edge still lingered in his voice. ‘You think we’re not compatible? You didn’t think so when you were begging me not to stop. When you were fucking my face into that screaming orgasm I can still hear echoing in my head.’
‘I didn’t mean that and you know it.’
‘Do I?’
‘You’re making this unnecessarily difficult.’
‘Not at all. You’ll sleep on it and know that I’m right. And come Monday morning, you’ll be on board along with your crew. Simple as that.’
‘You always this intractable?’
‘No, Leonora. Anyone else would’ve been fired on the spot.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you asked me not to let business interfere with what we did in the blackjack room. This is me not letting it interfere. Shame you can’t get out of your own way to make this business opportunity happen for you, too.’
His censure smarted but I knew I’d left myself wide open for that.
‘Was there anything else you want to discuss?’
I shook my head, my thoughts scattered and irritated.
‘Good,’ he replied before dropping back against the headrest and closing his eyes.
I would’ve thought he’d gone to sleep had it not been for the muscle ticcing in this jaw, and the rod of his erection, still very visible behind his fly. The thickness of it, the memory of it in my hand wouldn’t go away.
Again I puzzled over why he’d called a stop. The thought that even now he could’ve been buried deep inside me, riding us both to bliss, wouldn’t let me go.
My pussy pulsed hard and fast back to life, my blood firing up as my clit reawakened to clamour for another experience of what Gideon had given me.
‘Please do us both a favour and stop staring at me, darling,’ Gideon growled with his eyes still shut. ‘I’m hanging on by the barest fucking thread.’
I jerked my gaze away from his cock, but not before I saw his hands bunch on top of his thighs.
‘If it’s this hard for you, why did you stop? And why the hell did you offer to take me home?’
For tense moments I thought he wouldn’t answer. Then his fists slowly unfurled and he lowered his head to spear me with an intense gaze.
‘Because I’m lucky enough to have been born into a family who think it’s great fun to stab me in the back just when I’m about to pull off the biggest deal in the company’s history. And I—’ he gave a self-deprecating laugh ‘—not only agreed to play by their idiotic rules, I went one better and swore I’d remain squeaky clean for thirty days.’
I was aware my jaw had dropped, that questions were darting all over my face. Questions he could read and half amused him if that tilt of his lips was an indication.
‘Squeaky clean means what, exactly?’
‘It means being a good boy and not begging you to let me fuck you this morning in my bathroom. It means resisting the urge to bury myself in that tight pussy on top of that blackjack table when you asked me to. It means not punching that asshole in the face when he slobbered all over you in the casino. Do you want me to go on?’ he demanded tightly.
‘So...you can’t have sex for thirty days?’
‘No, I can’t. But when we fuck—and trust me, we will—it’ll be filthy and noisy and without a deal I’ve worked on for over a year hanging over my head. It’ll be messy in a way that’ll probably make my family ashamed of me all over again, and I won’t even care. I have another two weeks on the clock for those damned thirty days and I intend to close the deal in that time. Guaranteed it’ll probably be the longest two weeks of my life but what the hell, no pain, no gain, right?’
I wasn’t even aware the car had stopped until he leaned close, bringing that hard, hot, delicious body into stinging proximity once again. ‘As for why I’m taking you home, damned if I was going to leave you in that casino for another bloody bastard to salivate over, especially with that just-come look lingering in your beautiful eyes.’
‘You do realise that with everything you’ve just told me, I have you in the palm of my hand, don’t you?’
He smiled. ‘Your integrity won’t make you use it against me. Hell, I’m even willing to bet you’ll help me bring this deal home.’
‘Are you?’
‘Oh, yes. If for nothing else, because you want to wield that power you have over me. You want to hear me beg to be inside you as badly as I want to feel your pussy milking my cock as you come.’
The very thought of it made me want to climb into his lap right now, tease him until he gave in. But that brutal honesty he’d laid bare to me was impossible not to respond to. And, dammit, calling me out on my integrity made me yearn to prove him right.
But he was stepping out, coming round to open my door. ‘Get out of my car, Leonora. Before both our good intentions turn to shit.’
I stepped out and watched him steel himself against the temptation to touch me. ‘You really think you’re a special snowflake, don’t you?’
He smirked. ‘Yes, but you’ll relish the chance to teach me otherwise, I’m sure.’
‘Are you sure it’s a lesson you want to learn?’
‘Probably not but I look forward to it all the same.’
I shook my head but before I could walk away, he captured my elbow. ‘Please don’t disappoint me by not turning up on Monday, Leonora.’
I knew I’d be there. Over and above the tantalising promise of sexual fulfilment, something inside me wanted to discover if Gideon Mortimer was different from the man I’d initially judged him to be.
‘I’ll be there,’ I murmured.
‘Excellent,’ he breathed.
‘Goodnight, Gideon.’
‘Before you go...’ He casually reached for my clutch. With a deft flick of his fingers, he pulled out my panties. ‘I’m keeping these. I think I’ve earned them.’
I’d never be sure what prompted my response when he released me. ‘You can keep them if you want, but next time I’m taking a souvenir of my own. I’ll let you decide which form it comes in.’
His smile widened, respect gleaming in his eyes alongside a whole load of anticipation.
‘I look forward to our journey together, Leonora,’ he echoed my thoughts, then, lowering his gaze to my panties, he twisted them between his fingers for several seconds before tucking them into his pocket.
I walked into my apartment building on unsteady legs. Inside the lift, I turned and saw that his limo still idled on the kerb, the window wound down as he stared at me from across the space between us.
As the lift doors slid shut, I accepted, with more than a little trepidation, that I might end up surrendering a lot more than a pair of silk panties.
