Читать книгу The Dare Collection November 2018 - Christy McKellen, Avril Tremayne - Страница 14

CHAPTER FIVE

Gideon

I STARED AT the overweight middle-aged Russian sitting across the table from me, wondering if I’d get away with punching him in the face before his goons wrestled me to the floor.

Probably not. But I was sorely tempted. Four excruciating days after setting off from the Côte d’Azur, we were nowhere near agreeing on the final terms of the construction deal. The only thing Vadim seemed interested in while we sailed past Portofino and the Amalfi Coast was making a dent in my caviar and vodka supplies. Many times I’d come close to calling it and walking away.

But I’d put too much blood and sweat into this four-billion-pound deal to walk away. Besides, I knew my impatience to seal this deal stemmed from another source.

Leonora Branson.

What I’d tasted in the casino back in Monaco had only stimulated my appetite for more. What I hadn’t taken into account was that the need would intensify to insane proportions.

It didn’t help my frustration that Leonora and her yacht had lived up to their reputation and delivered everything I’d hoped for and more.

Hell, it’d probably worked a little too well where Vadim was concerned. The man seemed determined to take partying to a whole new level. But I was done with his stalling bullshit.

As for Leonora herself...

I wanted her to be mine without the yoke of the idiotic terms I’d agreed to weighing me down. Put bluntly, I’d never felt anything like this in my life. Not even with Penny in those wild days before she’d shown her true colours.

And yet within hours of meeting Leonora I’d referenced the double betrayal that’d nearly sent me tumbling down a self-destructive rabbit hole.

Even in retrospect I didn’t regret showing a little bit of myself to Leonora and telling her about the family that was the bane of my existence. And while the little witch tortured me with her tight uniform and sultry looks whenever she was in my presence, Leonora had otherwise remained supremely professional.

Which of course meant I couldn’t go five minutes without thinking about her, without silently offering up my left bollock to be done with this deal just so I could hear that breathless ‘Fuck me, Gideon’ again.

Frankly, my insane need for her was disconcerting the shit out of me. That pathetic leaping in my chest when I’d spotted her on the marina on Monday hadn’t happened since those foolish days back at Oxford when Penny Winston-Jones had strategically placed herself in my orbit and I’d been daft enough to believe it was a fucking cosmic event.

Despite all the warning signs, I’d carried on believing that nonsense, right until I’d found her flat on her back, freely giving away what I’d possessively believed to be mine to another man.

And not just another man. My cousin. My best friend.

The man whose name was in the subject line of the unopened email currently sitting in my inbox. I had no intention of acknowledging the email or having anything to do with Damian. Now or ever.

So I refocused on the beefy Russian. ‘There’s no getting around this issue, Vadim. This is what we agreed to four months ago. It’s still the only deal on the table where the subcontractors are concerned.’

Vadim shook his head. ‘It’s an insult that they will not deal with me directly.’

I exhaled. ‘Let me be blunt. The contractors won’t deal with you because you’ve missed more than a few payments.’ I raised my hand when he spluttered a protest in his mother tongue. ‘These things happen, we all know that. But your interior ministry won’t proceed unless a third party oversees the subcontractors. This is where my company comes in. You still get paid and save yourself the time and energy of having to deal with subcontractors.’

‘For an extra fee for you, of course.’

‘The Mortimer Group isn’t a charity. And I think, for a three-billion-pound profit, you can withstand a small insult, correct? Just think, two years from now, when we’ve built the most impressive stadium-and-hotel complex the world has ever seen, you get the last laugh.’ I gritted my teeth and shamelessly stroked his ego, knowing the subject of money and prestige never failed to win him over. ‘So how about we get this deal done?’

He lifted his shot glass, his movements slower, expression circumspect.

I decided to play my ace in the hole. ‘One more thing. I have it on good authority that if this deal isn’t completed by the end of this week, you’ll receive a notice officially withdrawing the tender on Monday.’

He jackknifed upright, the complacency gone. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’

‘Feel free to look into it. I’m just trying to save us both time, but my company will be happy to wait and deal with the next person who wins the tender.’

His smile evaporated. ‘They dare to give me an ultimatum?’

I shrugged. ‘I’m just giving you the facts, plain and simple. Five of your companies are fitting out the hotels and leisure attractions attached to the stadium once they’re built, with a further two running them for the first ten years. That was our deal.’

‘Okay, I’ll think about it. Now, it’s time for lunch. Your chef has promised me a feast of the best lobster. You will join me for caviar and champagne while we wait for him to delight us, da?’

I hid a grimace and followed him out of my office, grateful for the state-of-the-art gym on the lower deck I used twice a day to keep fit. ‘Sure, why not?’

His gregarious smile reappeared. ‘Wonderful. Leonie will join us, too. I want to hear more about this beautiful boat.’

The skin of my nape tightened. ‘Do you now?’

‘Da. I really like it. I’m hoping to soften her up a little bit so she will renegotiate the price. If we can reach a suitable agreement, I will take her home with me.’

Acrid bile boiled in my stomach. ‘I’m assuming you’re talking about the yacht?’ I bit out.

Vadim paused, a look of surprise on his face. ‘Of course. Wait, you think I mean Leonie?’ His head tilted, then his smile grew. ‘I’m not stupid, my friend. I know when to keep my hands off what doesn’t belong to me,’ he said, reconfirming the integrity that had stayed me each time I’d been tempted to walk away from this deal.

The acid receded. ‘I’m glad we’re agreed on that at least.’

Vadim clasped my shoulder. ‘You worry too much, my friend. Relax. We will agree on other things, too.’

I stopped myself from demanding his agreement now, just so I could move on to other pressing matters.

Leonora would be worth the wait.

We exited the lift to sun-splashed splendour. As usual, Vadim’s right-hand men were present. Although he partied with his entourage, Vadim only dined with his cousins and their wives, none of whom spoke English. It’d turned out to be advantageous since I’d learned one or two things about Vadim’s business.

Despite his billions, he was leveraged up to his eyeballs and in urgent need of a fresh cash injection. Which meant his stalling tactics were just for show. And frustrating as hell.

A different set of unsettling emotions whistled through me when I spotted Leonora leaning against the railing, her eyes on the Croatian coast that had come into sight early that morning. I took a moment to run my gaze over her, reacquainting myself with her gorgeous body.

The tailored crew uniform she’d chosen to wear since we came on board did nothing to hide her killer curves and spectacular legs. If anything, like that Armani suit, it stoked my hunger, a hitherto unknown proclivity for a woman in uniform taking me by surprise.

I lingered on the heart-shaped arse cradled in the black knee-length pencil skirt, the memory of caressing those firm globes redirecting my blood south. The neat little waist I’d pictured my hands gripping as I thrust over and over into her from behind was cinched with a utilitarian black belt while a short-sleeved white shirt hugged her top half.

Knowing I risked broadcasting my filthy thoughts to the Russians, I paused at the bar and poured myself a glass of wine.

Leonora executed a perfect pirouette, reminding me that she’d also been a gymnast. Bloody hell, my fantasies grew dirtier. I schooled my features as she approached, that cool, professional smile pinned in place.

‘Good afternoon, Gideon.’

‘Hello, Leonora.’

Her gaze met mine, paused for a brief, saucy second, then flicked past me to Vadim. ‘How are negotiations going, Vadim?’

Vadim shrugged. ‘A little give, a little take.’

‘And a whole lot of stalling,’ I grated.

Vadim smirked. ‘He’s impatient, this one,’ he said to Leonora.

Ocean-blue eyes reconnected with mine as she tilted her head. ‘I don’t know, Vadim. He strikes me as being infinitely patient if he really wants something. But if you want my opinion, I’d say don’t wait too long. There’s a fine line between playing hard to get and batting yourself out of contention. It’d be a shame for the latter to happen. Especially since, according to the Financial Times, this is considered to be the deal of the year.’

Vadim shrugged again, but I caught a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes as he pulled out his chair.

‘If you’ll take your seat, your servers will be here momentarily with the first course. I hope everything is satisfactory so far?’

‘Da, everything’s fine,’ Vadim said.

I was struggling to wrap my head around what had just happened. With a few clever words she’d placed enough doubt in Vadim’s mind to make the Russian ponder the real possibility of losing this deal.

In the past few days, I’d caught several glimpses of why she was a success at such a young age. She worked hard. But beyond that, she worked intelligently and with a sharp insight to what her clients needed without being a pushover. Even when she said a firm no to the most outrageous demands from Vadim’s entourage, they still walked away with a smile.

When Vadim turned to rattle off a stream of Russian to his cousin, I approached her. ‘You clever, clever girl,’ I breathed softly in her ear.

She rewarded me with the faintest blush and a little pleased shiver without losing the professional smile. ‘I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr Mortimer.’

‘Of course you don’t.’ I poured another glass of wine and offered it to her. ‘Here, have a drink.’

She grimaced. ‘No, thanks, I don’t drink when I’m on duty.’

‘There’s a difference between having a glass of wine at a business lunch and getting pissed, Leonora.’

The look she gave me told me she was remembering how our last business meeting had ended. All the same she nodded and accepted the glass. ‘Thank you,’ she said, her voice a shade huskier than before.

My gut clenched against its erotic effect. ‘Not at all.’

The arrival of waiters bearing ice buckets of champagne put an end to my wayward thoughts.

Once we were seated, she turned to Vadim. ‘We should be docking in Montenegro by sunset. Are you planning on going ashore? If you need recommendations for restaurants or nightclubs, I have a list for you.’

Vadim swigged a mouthful of champagne before answering, ‘Spacibo, Leonie. Maybe you will like to come out with us this evening?’

‘Thanks, but no. It’s my day off tomorrow, but I have a ton of work to do so I’m clearing the deck so I’m free to enjoy it.’

‘Ah, you work too hard.’

Leonora’s smile thinned a fraction. ‘I’m ambitious. I make no apologies for that.’

Vadim nodded. ‘Da. But what about other things in life? Look at me. I have my family. Gideon, too, da? What about your family, Leonie?’

She tensed. I would’ve been irritated by Vadim’s prying had I not been keenly interested in her answer. ‘My mother lives in England with my grandmother. My granddad passed away two years ago. I don’t have any sisters or brothers.’

‘And your papa? He’s dead also?’

Her long lashes swept down, veiling her expression, but I still caught the flicker of distress in her face. ‘Not quite.’

The Russian frowned, like me, pondering that she’d left unsaid. ‘Being far from them is hard, no?’ Vadim pressed.

She shrugged a little stiffly. ‘I see them a few times a year. I fly home every few months and they come and see me.’

Vadim opened his mouth again. I stepped in. ‘You wanted to ask a question about the boat?’

‘Da, da. Your boat. It’s beautiful. But the price is too high for my blood. I think perhaps we can come to some agreement.’

Leonora sent a stiff smile Vadim’s way. ‘You’re not bartering for a piece of meat, Mr Ilyev. This is a superyacht with a fixed price tag. You’ve taken the tour and you know no expense has been spared. I’ll make you a promise, though. If you make a serious offer, I’ll take it back to my consortium and we’ll seriously consider it.’

‘Or you can let this one go altogether and consider a less expensive toy?’ I threw in.

He smiled a little philosophically. ‘Maybe...maybe.’

He grilled Leonora about the boat through the rest of the meal. A meal she picked at, while her wine went untouched.

By the coffee stage, I’d had enough. ‘Ilyev. You’ve had three tours of the yacht. The stats aren’t going to change. If you need specific workings of the yacht, speak to the captain.’

Beside me, Leonora let out a sharp breath. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ she demanded fiercely under her breath.

‘Saving you from bullshit,’ I muttered.

‘I don’t need you to run interference—’

The hand I placed on her thigh halted her words. She masked her tiny jump by shifting sideways, attempting to dislodge my touch. I grasped her tighter, slid my hand under her skirt to grip her bare flesh.

Tense seconds passed in silence. She met me stare for stare as her hand dropped to grip my wrist. Heat spiked through me as her nails dug into my skin.

‘Go on, then,’ I urged, noting that she wasn’t actively trying to displace my touch. Taking the chance, I slid my hand higher, encountering warm, supple flesh that I wanted to glide my tongue over again. I drew slow circles on her skin, then went another inch higher.

She drew in a sharp breath, clamped her thighs together and cleared her throat. ‘Did you need anything else, Vadim?’

His eyes swung from Leonora to me. Then he sighed and rose from the table. ‘Gideon is right. The time is not right. Maybe in future we can do business.’ With that he snapped his fingers at his entourage and one by one they staggered off the deck.

‘What the hell was that about?’ Leonora hissed at me.

‘A reminder of what I told you in Monaco,’ I rasped.

I was pleased that her breath shook when she exhaled. ‘You assume that I’ll forgive your caveman tendencies.’

I shrugged. ‘I live in hope?’

One sexy eyebrow lifted. ‘Is that a question?’

‘Will it get me out of the doghouse?’

‘Please remove your hand and I’ll think about it.’

‘I have an idea. How about my hand stays exactly where it is and I can reward you for what you did with Vadim earlier?’

Her breathing altered again. I shifted in my seat as my cock reacted to her.

‘I prefer to choose my own reward, thanks.’

She didn’t ask me to remove my hand. I took that as progress. ‘Very well. Drink your wine while you think about it, though. It’s a good vintage. It’d be a shame to waste it.’

She toyed with the stem of the glass for several seconds, her eyes slowly lifting to meet mine. I felt my hackles rise. I probably wouldn’t like whatever she was scheming but I didn’t want to stop touching her so I stayed put. ‘Tell me more about your family,’ she said after taking a sip of her wine.

‘Bloody hell,’ I snarled.

‘Gideon...’

‘Do you have any idea what it does to me to hear you say my name like that?’

She blinked. ‘Like what?’

‘It starts off prissy but ends in a sigh. It’s really quite extraordinary.’

‘I’m not... I don’t... You’re changing the subject.’

‘Yes, I am.’

‘Would it help if I said I’d looked you up on the internet, in the name of research?’

My thumb glided over her silky smooth flesh. ‘No. Because whatever you read is probably not true or just the tip of a colossal iceberg.’

‘Give me just the tip, then,’ she said, then blushed.

I laughed at the unfortunate double entendre. ‘In this instance, okay. What do you want to know?’

She drank another sip, her tongue gliding over her bottom lip when she set the glass down. ‘You started a separate business with your brother after university. Why isn’t he working with you on this deal? Did you two fall out?’

I felt my spine stiffen. ‘Not exactly. Bryce enjoys building hotels. The market for that is bigger than ever in the Far East. When we merged our company with the family business, he chose to stay in Singapore, build a few more hotels for The Mortimer Group there.’

She regarded me steadily. ‘And...?’

Dammit, she was a little too perceptive. ‘Things have got a little...strained between us since I returned to London.’

‘Because you left Singapore?’

‘Because he sided with the enemy,’ I replied with more than a little snap in my voice.

‘How?’ she asked softly.

Tension throbbed at my temple. ‘You haven’t earned the details, Leonora.’

She remained silent for several seconds, then her hand slipped beneath the table. Eyes on me, she trailed her fingers over mine before pressing my touch deeper into her warm inner thigh. ‘Haven’t I?’ she breathed.

Bloody hell.

I cleared the lump of arousal in my throat. ‘He went against my express wishes and did business with the person who betrayed me.’

She gasped softly. ‘Did he know he was doing that?’

My teeth ground together as I shrugged. ‘Remember that streak of irrationality that plagues me sometimes?’

‘You didn’t tell him why?’

‘He didn’t need to know why. He needed to be loyal to me.’

Her smile both condemned and absolved me. ‘Okay.’

I nudged her legs wider apart, my fingers seeking further warmth. ‘Enough about Bryce. Graciela, my sister, I see a little too much of in the tabloids, which you’d think would be a problem for my stuck-up family considering she works in PR for TMG, but apparently they’re more forgiving when it comes to her. As for my parents...’ I took a breath. ‘They’re dead—my father from a heart attack brought on by too much drink and my mother from a heroin addiction that caused her to drive off a cliff at high speed.’

Sympathy darkened her eyes. ‘Gideon, I’m so sorry.’

‘At the risk of sounding heartless, I don’t feel their loss that much. They were strangers for most of my life.’

‘But if you’ve wished for a moment that they weren’t then you’ve felt something,’ she said, again in that gentle voice I wanted to wrap myself in.

I pulled myself back from that temptation. Trust had got me nothing but pain and betrayal. Whatever was happening between Leonora and me didn’t need that elusive ingredient to make it work.

I lifted her leg and draped it over mine. ‘We’re done talking about my family now, Leonora. But I feel like I owe you.’

She reached for her glass and took a slow sip of wine before her gaze swept up to meet mine. ‘So?’

My gaze dropped to where my fingers caressed her, and got momentarily lost in the beauty of her skin. Her small hitched breaths weren’t helping me stay coherent either.

I leaned in close, brushed my lips over her earlobe and thrilled in her small shiver. ‘So for helping to push this deal along and for possibly stopping me from tossing Vadim overboard, I’d be honoured if you’d let me watch you come again.’

Heat surged into her face, her jaw slackening as lust filled her eyes. Then she pressed her lips together. ‘Gideon...’

‘You want me to beg, Leonora? I will. I’m going out of my damned mind imagining what it’d feel like to be buried deep inside you. Give me the second-best thing.’

She took another shaky breath. ‘Aren’t...aren’t you risking your deal by pursuing this?’

I grimaced. ‘Well, if I ever get round to pulling it off, it’ll be the biggest in my company’s history. There are a lot of people rubbing their hands in anticipation of me getting the job done.’

Her eyes widened. ‘What exactly are you negotiating?’

The deal had been in the financial papers for months so I wasn’t breaching confidentiality. ‘I’m building a stadium, five sports centres and fifteen hotels. Once completed it’ll be the largest such complex in Europe. Once completed being the operative words.’

‘Wow,’ she murmured.

‘Can I say that impressing you turns me on even more?’

Her sexy smile only heightened her beauty. ‘You can say it, sure.’

My gaze dropped to her lips, and I was struck with the need to kiss her again. Instead I slid my hand higher until my fingers brushed the edge of her panties.

‘Gideon, wait.’

I forced my fingers to halt their exploring.

She exhaled a little shakily, a wariness creeping across her face. ‘That look on your face at the marina on Monday? What was that all about?’

Unease punched me in the gut. ‘I wasn’t absolutely certain you’d turn up. In fact, I was surprised to see you there.’

Her gaze probed mine. ‘That wasn’t surprise I saw, Gideon.’

My unease grew. What did she see when she looked at me? The tatters left behind after a double betrayal? ‘What did you see?’ I dared.

Her eyes grew a shade darker. ‘It was...the way you looked at me. As if you were pleased to see me and hated yourself for it.’

Brutal honesty demanded I come clean. ‘I was. I did.’

‘Exactly how am I supposed to react to that?’

‘We’re talking without games or artifice.’

‘Are we? Then tell me what you’re hiding.’

‘Leonora.’ My voice pulsed with warning she couldn’t miss.

But her gaze boldly held mine. ‘You didn’t hate me for turning up, you hated me because I don’t fit into some perfect mould in your life and you don’t know how to handle it.’

‘If we’re speaking plainly, then yes. You intrigue me, Leonora. Very much. And I’m not sure if I’m ready for this level of intrigue. But I do know I’ve been dying to touch you for four bloody days. And here you are. But you’re hiding something, too, aren’t you?’

Her gaze dropped from mine.

I renewed my caress, my fingers brushing her silk-covered pussy. ‘But while I’m greedy to know you inside out, I’m willing to let you keep your secrets. For now.’

She made a little sound in her throat.

‘Do you want me to stop?’ I asked.

Her eyelids fluttered. ‘Would you believe me if I said yes?’

‘I’d believe you.’

Her lips parted but no words emerged.

‘Say it, Leonora. Be honest with me.’

‘Okay. You intrigue me, too.’

‘And?’ I pressed, that alien need clawing at me.

She shook her head. ‘Gideon, this is crazy.’

‘You’re saying a lot of words but I’m not hearing a no.’ My fingers slid beneath her panties, grazed her clit.

She jerked in her seat and her thighs fell open just a fraction wider, enough to grant me further access.

‘This thing between us is driving you as insane as it’s driven me,’ I muttered, the scent of her washing over me, fracturing my concentration.

‘This thing?’ she slurred slightly. ‘You mean the almost sex you’re not supposed to be having?’

I couldn’t help laughing. ‘Is that what this is?’ I pressed my middle finger over her clit, applying increasing pressure to the bundle of nerves.

She gasped, her fingers gripped tight on the edges of her seat.

With my free hand, I dragged her chair closer. I wanted to absorb her every expression. ‘Leonora?’

‘Yes?’ she moaned the word.

I made another pass over her plumping flesh. She shuddered and pushed herself against me.

‘Open your shirt for me, darling. I’ve been dreaming about your gorgeous tits for days.’

We were at full sail towards Montenegro with no one around to witness our activities on the top deck. Her crew were well-trained not to interrupt unless they were summoned.

With hands that weren’t quite steady, she undid the first three buttons of her shirt, exposing a lacy bra with a front fastening. A quick snap and her full, ripe breasts spilled out, drawing a groan I couldn’t stem.

‘Jesus, you have magnificent tits. Do you know that?’

Her very feminine smile was my answer. Hell, the woman confidently owned her assets and celebrated them.

I slid my finger through her wet heat, delighting in her small pleasured cry as I repeated the action.

After several passes, I buried two fingers fully inside her. ‘Do you like that?’

She inhaled sharply and nodded.

I cupped one heavy breast, glorying in the immediate tightening of her nipple. Unable to resist, I lowered my head and drew the puckered bud into my mouth.

God, she tasted like heaven. Her head tilted back as she attempted to ride my fingers.

Her unfettered responses were the stuff of carnal dreams. Leonora was the only woman in a long time that I’d craved seeing after our first sexual encounter, one-sided though that had been.

I wasn’t selfish in the sack by any means, but in the past my goal had been to achieve mutual satisfaction as many times as possible in an allotted time frame.

The fact that I was gifting her another one-sided trip to ecstasy should’ve irked the selfish bastard in me, but damned if I didn’t want to keep hearing those mindless little cries and feel the sensation of her wet pussy tightening around my fingers with every thrust inside her.

What the fuck was going on? It was almost as if I was addicted to the way she rolled her hips while in the throes of pleasure. I sucked her harder, and was rewarded with a deeper moan.

‘Good?’ I asked.

Her eager nod proceeded a gasped ‘Yes!’ that wrapped itself tight around my cock.

And still I couldn’t get enough. ‘Are you going to come for me, sweet Leonora?’

‘Yes!’ She raised her whole body off the chair, undulating with abandon as she met my piston-fast fingers. ‘It’s so good, Gideon. Don’t stop. Please,’ she begged mindlessly.

Wasn’t it just beyond ironic that the moment I agreed to behave myself for the sake of my undeserving family, a unique woman like Leonora would land on my lap? I was pretty sure Lady Karma was laughing herself stupid for fucking me over like this.

Every second of the remaining days of my self-imposed celibacy would be hell, but if this was a fraction of what awaited me at the end, it would be worth it. Her soft cries grew sharper, her skin flushed deep pink.

‘Are you close, baby?’

‘So close,’ she gasped. Her whole body shook as the first wave of her orgasm hit hard. I drew back a touch, not wanting to miss a single frame of the incredible scene unfolding before me.

A blush suffused her whole body, her parted lips temptation itself as her breasts lightly bounced to my thrusts. When her convulsions intensified, I reached for her nape, holding her in place as she shuddered wildly around my fingers. Her sweet pussy clenched and unclenched, so beautifully tight, it was all I could do not to drop my trousers and ram my throbbing cock inside her. When the urge grew too hard to resist, I dragged her closer and fused my mouth over hers.

I kissed her down from her high, waited until her breathing quieted, before I withdrew my fingers. Eager for a taste of her, I licked my fingers. Lust-drugged eyes widened as she watched me.

‘I wish we were somewhere more private so I could taste straight from the source.’

Her blush deepened. ‘Oh, my God, you’re unbelievable.’

I laughed and the sound was a gruff mess even to my own ears. ‘Now you’re embarrassed?’

‘I’m not used to a guy who’s so unapologetically vocal about everything.’

That grated more than it should, probably because of all the secrets I’d exposed to the light of day. ‘What kind are you used to?’

She fastened her bra and began rebuttoning her shirt. I wanted to bat her hands away, command her to leave it so I could continue feasting my eyes on her. But there was the credible threat of tossing anyone who saw her like this overboard.

‘I thought you were going to let me keep my secrets for now?’

Her reluctance chaffed even more. ‘Maybe I’ve changed my mind.’

‘You think you have rights just because you’ve given me two orgasms?’

‘Two incredible orgasms. I’m keeping tally, Leonora. Zero for two isn’t really my ideal score.’

Her gaze dropped to the crotch and the full tent in my trousers. ‘Abstention is meant to be good for the soul, isn’t it?’ she teased.

‘My soul would be no bloody use to me if I die of blue balls, would it? Tell me I can have you any damn way I want when the time comes and I may just survive.’

She tilted her head. ‘I’ll think about it.’

Her features settled into a different expression as she stared at me for several long seconds.

‘What?’ I asked when I couldn’t stand the silence.

‘You may not be the total bastard I took you for when we first met, after all.’

The oddest sensation tightened on my nape. ‘Don’t be in a hurry to change your mind about me, Leonora.’

Her eyes darkened. ‘You’re warning me off?’

‘I’m dying to feel your tight pussy around my cock. I’m dying to see the rapture on your face when I make you come with more than just my fingers. I may let you into a few personal details along the way. But don’t hold out hope for more beyond that.’

She tensed and pulled away. ‘How conceited of you to think that just because I find you remotely redeemable, it automatically means I’m catching feelings. Let me be clear. It just means that if at some point in the future I let you have me, you not being an arsehole means I can live with myself afterwards. If that’s too much for you to handle—’

‘I can handle that,’ I slid in, that unnerving sensation that I was losing the plot intensifying.

‘That’s good to know.’

‘And I prefer when, not if.’

‘We’ll see about that.’ She rose and straightened her clothes. ‘I have work to do. I’ll see you later.’