Читать книгу The Game - Vanessa Fewings - Страница 11
ОглавлениеWe arrived at Tobias’s Malibu home within the hour.
He led me around the side of the impressive house and into the garden. The scenery exuded peacefulness, from the lavish lawn to those towering palm trees and the sun loungers surrounding the infinity swimming pool, all overlooked by his Mediterranean mansion.
I imagined it was just as beautiful in there.
It was easy to become distracted by the awe-inspiring ocean view and the rhythmic sound of lapping waves rising over the bluff.
A few stars twinkled through the cloudy sky and the cool breeze brushed over me, making me grateful for the warmth emanating from the heat lamps he’d turned on.
Tobias eased my wet gown over my hips, and I stepped out of it so happy to be free of the clingy dampness. He laid it on the back of a lounger and neared me again to remove my shoes, his caresses comforting and making my skin tingle beneath his touch. He eased my panties down my legs and threw them toward the dress. I swooned when he stood behind me and unclipped my bra and removed that too. He wrapped a soft towel around me.
He unbuttoned his shirt and tugged it off, undressing, and all the while giving me an endearing smile.
God, all this beauty—
That tattoo on his left shoulder was dazzling with its Aboriginal symbolism and served as a warning this was no ordinary man. And God, I was enraptured by that inked italic writing running along the side of his groin that he’d once translated for me as “Retribution where there is none. He who is about to win salutes you.”
This man was wild and dangerously smart and oh so mesmerizing, a vortex of erotic pleasures waiting to be explored. If I allowed myself to surrender, I’d be drawn into the whirlwind of his universe. Still, this wasn’t why I was here and, rising from this daze, I questioned the sanity of staying. Yet when he reached out and took my hand in his and interlocked our fingers my doubt lifted.
Tobias led me toward a bubbling Jacuzzi and I freed myself from my towel and made my way in, sighing with contentment because this was the warmth I’d pined for all the way here. Tobias stepped down to join me and settled opposite. He leaned back against the blue tiled wall and closed his eyes to bask in the heat. Steam cloaked around us. I couldn’t stop looking at him, couldn’t drag my gaze away from his unnerving allure.
He opened his eyes and gave a heart-stopping smile. “I like seeing you happy.”
“This place...” I gave a wistful sigh.
“You’re the first woman I’ve brought here.”
My breath stuttered at his sincerity and I sunk lower until only my head was above the water. All this grandeur felt overwhelming.
“Feel better?” he asked.
“Yes, much.”
“Good.”
“Don’t blame me for never getting out, though.”
He chuckled. “Maybe I’ll stay in here with you.”
My gaze found that my dripping Escada gown was hanging over the lounger. “I hope no one remembers.”
He gave a comforting smile. “Remembers what?”
Scrunching my nose, I replayed the embarrassing scene of the weather room with me in the starring role as water princess.
I turned my focus to his house with its sweeping large windows, that terra-cotta tiled roof and a large central balcony. Tobias had incredible taste and I’d thought his Oxfordshire house was remarkable. This was off-the-charts decadent.
Then there came the memory of those stolen paintings he’d stashed away in his English home.
I rose out of the water. “I should go.”
“Stay.” He gestured behind him. “I have a guesthouse if you prefer?”
A flash of movement—
I froze in dismay when I saw a floating contraption behind his shoulder. The drone hovered closer and there was a glint of moonlight reflecting off the two champagne glasses it balanced on its surface.
Tobias turned and he reached out to pick them up by the stems. “Thank you, Jade.” He handed a glass to me.
Jaw gaping, I accepted the drink. Jade was mobile now?
Surely this isn’t a good thing?
I set the delicate glass down and watched the drone making its way back toward the house.
Tobias set his down too, and moved toward me, reaching up to cup my face with his strong hands as he crushed his lips to mine, his tongue tangling, dominating, obliterating my reasons to leave, causing my body to shudder in the wake of his touch. He broke away and dipped slightly to suckle my left nipple, his teeth dragging along the sensitized beading.
A groan of pleasure escaped me as my sex clenched in response and I dug my fingernails into his biceps to hold him there. His arm slipped around my back to pull me firmly against him and this closeness sent me reeling. Wilder’s mouth captured my other breast, swirling his tongue around my areola and my head fell back as I swooned.
Soft lips kissed my shoulder. “Your skin feels like silk.” His hand disappeared beneath the water and he ran it over my belly and held it there. “Let me touch you.”
“Yes.”
He slid a fingertip along my sex and my thighs widened for him, and I gasped at the pleasure of his stroking. Reaching out for balance I gripped the edge of the tub. My wrist tapped my glass and it tipped over and broke in two on the tile.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“No problem.” He nuzzled into my ear and kissed my neck.
My eyes widened when I saw the drone was back and hovering near us again. It turned on its axis and its metal arms withdrew from its center. It swept up the broken glass.
No bloody way.
With all evidence of my mishap removed, the drone lifted higher and headed back. I marveled at yet another exclusive peek into his techno world.
Tobias slipped into a grin when he realized he’d left me speechless. “Want another glass?”
I shook my head.
He lifted me up and out of the water, laying me back on the edge with my legs dangling. He dragged me toward him and eased my thighs apart. “Like my drone?”
“Bit scary.”
“Not when you get to know her.”
I raised my head to look at him. “I like getting to know you better.”
“I like you being here.”
“This is paradise.” I let out a long sigh.
“This...is paradise.” He buried his face between my thighs and my body shivered when his tongue swept along my sex.
“You like that?” he said huskily.
“Yes, it’s amazing.”
“The last thing you need is me doing this to you for hours.”
“Can you be more specific?” I encouraged playfully.
Tobias ran his tongue along me again and feverishly suckled.
“Oh, I see what you mean now.” I trembled with pleasure as he flicked away, finding a perfect rhythm of circling.
He plunged his tongue inside, owning my sex as he used a fingertip to circle my clit until I was racing at supersonic speed toward climax, my hips pumping as I rode this endless wave of bliss.
Close...
He ceased suddenly.
And pulled away, leaving me panting wantonly for his mouth to find me again, my orgasm right there waiting for me to reach its pinnacle. Rising onto my elbows, I stared at him questioningly.
Tobias smiled. “Let me show you your room.”
Blinking at him, I tried to grasp his reason for revving me right to the edge of an orgasm and then leaving me suspended in a burning desire. Then I realized Tobias was going to take me to bed, which was a good thing with me so jittery with need. I watched him climb out of the Jacuzzi as I pushed myself up, and let him wrap that large white towel around me again.
He grabbed a towel for himself and dipped low for his drink and handed it to me. “Nightcap.”
Padding barefoot behind him, my breath stilted from this yearning between my thighs as I followed him toward a guesthouse.
He punched a series of digits into a keypad to the right of the entryway and opened the door for me. “You’ll find everything you need in here.”
“Where will you be?”
Tobias gestured to the house and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. “See you in the morning.”
What was this?
As he headed along the pathway, he scooped up my wet dress and shoes on the way, leaving me standing there with my body about burst into flames with the passion he’d ignited. Even with this supposed rejection I was still tingling all over, and it didn’t help to see his sculptured back and his sexy swagger that was hypnotic to watch.
I went in and closed the door behind me and ran through if I’d done something wrong. The guesthouse looked spacious and homey with its open-plan sitting room, a large sofa and a wide screen TV, all of it was inviting. Of all the scenarios I’d imagined, this wasn’t one of them. My thoughts spiraled with all the ways he’d made love to me before and the pleasure he’d denied me tonight.
What the hell?
No, you don’t bring a woman to your beautiful home after tricking her to come with you, strip her naked and pop her in your Jacuzzi and then push her to the edge of pleasure until she’s a writhing mess of bliss—and then amble off.
I have more self-respect.
I set the glass on the entryway table and headed out of there ready to challenge Tobias about his teasing. After circling the property and finding all the doors locked and the windows secured I stomped back to the guesthouse.
Cheeky bastard.
He’d locked me out.
The touch of his kiss still lingering between my thighs made it challenging to come down from this erotic roller coaster. I went back in for the champagne flute and made my way outside the front door.
Oops.
The glass slipped from my fingers—shattering shards on the tile.
I waited...
Tobias had told me he’d not brought anyone else here. My heart skipped a beat wanting to believe this. Maybe, just maybe the proof was in there. A jolt of adrenaline hit me when I saw a flash of movement—the drone coming toward me.
I wasn’t letting him off the hook after bringing me all the way out here. I ran through what motives he had for his actions.
Wait.
Unless he was planning on hitting a place tonight, and I’d chipped away at his precious evening with our fun time in the tub.
The drone lowered and swept up the glass.
Careful of any missed pieces I sidestepped the pathway and followed Jade toward the main house; exhilaration rising that this might work. The machine moved toward a low window and the glass frame slid upward. This was clearly a breach in Tobias’s security, because I was scrambling after it, over the windowsill and squirming my body around to lower myself in.
My towel fell to the ground and I scrambled to pick it up and wrap it back around myself, tucking in the top to resecure it. I was stuck here with no clothes, which meant going after Tobias was going to be a challenge if he left. Still, I reasoned, he’d probably have something here I could borrow.
Yes, buddy, you’re not slowing me down.
I breathed in the floral scent of fresh-cut flowers and padded barefoot along the stone floor down a long hallway. I listened out for Tobias as the drone floated ahead of me. Getting one over on Wilder felt so damn good. I turned the corner and saw the wall of water cascading into a blue pool, a soothing showpiece highlighting the open-spaced contemporary style.
Farther down, an enormous print with the signature style of Mark Rothko adorned a white wall with its glorious gold, pink, orange and a dash of pale blue splendor. I closed in on the vast canvas, admiring the vibrant brushstrokes that were fast and light—
No way.
Tobias had an authentic Mark Rothko hanging in his home. My breath stuttered at the realization this was a multimillion-dollar masterpiece from the renowned Russian Jewish painter who’d been hailed as America’s most talented abstract impressionist.
My stare roamed over his striking mixture of color with its vibrant tones reminiscent of his earlier days, not his later work that reflected Rothko’s painstaking soul-searching. The kind so many artists endure when their star rises and stirs the complexity of art in its purist form versus the financial freedom it promised. A brilliant man whose tragic suicide sent shock waves throughout the community. More than this, Rothko left behind his somber paintings from when he’d been at his lowest and on the day he died, they’d arrived at the Tate Gallery in London as though he’d waited for them to find a safe home first.
To honor Mark’s wishes, I stood eighteen inches away from the canvas just as he’d instructed us, close enough to experience his brilliance and not impose meaning but welcome its effect on an emotional level. An inner light emanated from the colors that were miraculously merging; my heart and mind drinking in the beauty.
Soul merging and slipping through its center...
This, this was proof art was more than a canvas and paint, but a living, breathing entity, enticing us to see more.
Be more.
I lost track of time.
My gaze rose to the ceiling to look for surveillance cameras. The drone was at eye level and seemed to be watching me. Hurrying up a large staircase, I admired Tobias’s decor. There were touches of the Far East, like the exquisitely carved wooden sculpture of the Hindu god Shiva and the Asian chest flush against the wall that gave the place an earthy feel.
Moving from room to room I listened out for him.
I paused inside a room that looked lived in from the half-made bed in the center with a carved headboard. I went in farther and brushed my hand along the soft duvet, imagining him spending time in here. Inside the walk-in wardrobe was an assortment of sharp-looking suits, pristine shirts and more casual wear, and all of them hung neatly. Sitting on an island was a row of polished business shoes and on the shelf below were his expensive-looking sports shoes. I explored his necktie collection which appeared handcrafted and, pulling another drawer open, I saw a selection of expensive watches.
After dropping my towel to the floor, I reached up for one of his white shirts and tugged it off its hanger. I pulled it on and buttoned it up. I found a pair of his boxer shorts, they were baggy on me but they’d do.
Across the other side of the room was a glass window leading to an expansive balcony and from here I could see how far his property went. There was a tennis court to the left, and to the right was a helicopter parked on a flight pad, and straight ahead was a sandy pathway down to the beach. This place seemed so dreamy.
Inside his bathroom, I found a comb and pulled it through my damp hair, glancing around for any evidence a woman might have left her stuff here. I was relieved not to see any. All the products were for men and all organized perfectly. His shower and bathtub were both enormous. Tobias seemed to love neatness.
On my way out of his bedroom I noticed a portrait-sized package leaning against the wall and it was wrapped in brown paper and tied in twine. I knelt beside it and held a corner ready to rip it a little to take a peek.
There came a sound from the hallway. I went to explore the noise—
Turning the corner, I jolted to a stop when I saw a white kitten wobbling unsteadily on the carpet. It was crying for its mother.
“Hello, little thing.” I approached slowly. “What are you doing?”
Bright blue eyes blinked at me and I giggled at its cuteness and went to pick it up.
The kitten morphed larger—
A scream tore from me.
An enormous lion was where the kitten had been and its vivid black eyes were large and wild. His teeth were bared in anger as he shook his thick mane, back muscles flexing and he ran my way.
He lunged at me.
Falling backward onto my bum, my arms up and bracing for the attack, I squeezed my eyes shut to ready for the agony.
Quiet.
Daring to peek, I exhaled a long desperate breath when I saw it was gone.
I am going to bloody well kill him.
“Tobias!” I screeched and scrambled to my feet in a haze of panic-drenched breaths, using the wall to steady myself as I made my way along, realizing he’d used a hologram on me.
The drone hovered at the end of the hallway.
“Jade, take me to Tobias.” My voice wavered with fury.
Jade led me down the stairs and through the house and I wondered if Tobias had returned my access to her. She was certainly responding as though he had or maybe this was a safety mechanism in Jade’s software to protect him.
My heart was still pounding. I’d been naive to believe this was going to be easy. Halfway down a long corridor I heard a clanging chain and what sounded like thumping.
I pointed a finger at Jade. “If this is a trick I’ll rip your arms off.”
It hovered, waiting.
Nudging the door open I peered in and my breath caught at the primal beauty of a bare-chested Tobias wearing shorts and boxing gloves. His legs were slightly parted and his gaze was fixed on a large red punching bag that he was pounding with left and right hooks; his chiseled torso rippling as he circled it, perspiration glistening off his body. My jaw tensed at the erotic splendor of the way he controlled each punch.
He stopped suddenly and caught the bag to still it. His green eyes narrowed on me.
I stepped in farther. “Love the house.”
“Looks like someone had a run-in with an African lion?” He smiled broadly. “Is that my shirt?”
“Might be.”
“We have a thief in our midst.”
My glare shifted to the bag and I wondered if he’d chosen this sport to burn off his sexual tension. Right now, I was close to attacking the thing myself. Why did he have to look so damn gorgeous from every angle? So ripped and primed for pleasure.
“Why did you bring me here?” I snapped.
Confusion marred his face. “To spend time with you.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“I didn’t.”
“What you did to me in the Jacuzzi...” I shook my head to say the rest.
He turned and looked across the room as confliction swept over his face.
“Tobias, back at The Broad you begged me to tell you I want you.”
“You didn’t say it.”
“So is this my punishment?”
“Why must you be so captivating?”
“Why must you be so infuriating?”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
Tobias gave another heart-stopping smile as though flaunting his power. He was all well-defined alpha and seductive pose but something told me he wasn’t even trying; this was his natural state, fixed in an unwitting stance of seduction.
“Follow me.” I gestured to his gloves. “Keep those on.”
His arms fell to his sides and his brows rose with curiosity.
I led him over to the seating area where there were two red lounge chairs.
“Sit,” I ordered.
He tilted his head in intrigue.
“Now, please.” I pointed.
Amused, Tobias sat in an armchair and rested his gloved hands on the armrests.
I neared him and leaned in to ease my fingers beneath the waistband of his boxers. “Up.”
He raised his bum off the chair with a smirk. I had his shorts sliding down his hips and his cock bouncing free when I tugged the material over his thighs to pull them off. I threw them onto the other chair. I eased my shorts off and unbuttoned the shirt too and threw them to join his.
“This is getting interesting,” he said as he went to remove a glove.
“No,” I said. “You won’t need your hands for this.”
“Really?”
“No.”
His frown deepened and he slid into a wry smile.
Maneuvering myself, I climbed onto his lap and positioned my thighs on either side of his. Reaching low for his erection, I eased the tip toward my entrance and then slid onto him and savored this blissful glide downward, my sex adjusting to his girth as he filled me entirely, clenching him with ripples of pleasure. My breath stuttered as the delicious tautness made me tremble. Tobias stuttered a breath of arousal. He felt enormous inside as he grew, his erection twitching and sending incredible sensations into my sex.
He narrowed his gaze. “I need my hands.”
“No, no, there won’t be any more talking on your part.” I rocked my hips. “The rest of you is of no interest to me.”
“Jesus, Zara.” His jaw clenched with tension. “This is too hot. I’m gonna come.”
I tripped up his chin. “You’re forbidden. Understand?”
Reaching down, I pressed a fingertip to my clit and luxuriated in my touch. “Oh, that’s good.” I moaned, rising and falling, setting a delicious pace.
His body felt rock hard beneath me and glimmered with perspiration and he smelled divine, the remnants of expensive body wash mixed with his natural scent that did crazy things to me. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck and kissed him, running my tongue along his hot flesh, sending sparks of arousal surging through my body.
Rising, I let out a long erotic groan as my head fell back and my damp locks cascaded behind me, tweaking my nipples to increase this desire and stealing a glance at Tobias, I felt the rush of victory at his arousal.
“I can never get over how beautiful you are,” he said.
My fingertip snapped to his lips. “Let’s pretend you’re not here.”
“Oh, it’s like that?”
My mouth lingered close to his. “It’s exactly like that.” I pulled back when he went to kiss me and it was challenging not to smile.
Reaching up to grab a fistful of his hair I used it for leverage to feverishly ride him, bouncing, as my fingers traced my clit, sending me tumbling over into a blinding orgasm. My hair whipped from side to side, breasts bobbing, as I became wild upon him, drawing out the remnants of my climax, my breaths drawn out.
His gloved hands moved to my waist and I nudged them back to the armrests.
“Oh, yes,” I moaned, languishing on him.
A trickle of perspiration ran down my spine.
His frown was etched in frustration, his green gaze ablaze and speckled with gold, eyes wide with passion, jaw tensing as he forced back his desire. “Zara, if you want me to admit I’m obsessed with you—”
“Hush now.” Reveling in our connection, I circled my hips wider to savor these lingering sensations.
His breathing was ragged, needful and all arrogance gone.
When I rose off him to let him slide out, my sex felt bereft with him no longer inside. I stepped back to admire the creature that had satisfied my darkest yearnings.
“Well done,” I said.
“Get back here.” He tugged his left glove.
Laughing, I scooped up the shirt and shorts and dressed in them on the way out. When I got to the door I turned and said, “Thank you, Mr. Wilder.”
Down the hallway, I threw a wave goodbye to the drone and continued through the house until I reached the front door. Outside on his front porch I paused for a second realizing I needed to call a cab.
Damn.
I had to go back in and I was also thirsty too. The view was vast and in the distance, dusky rolling hills reminded me we were in the middle of nowhere.
I sensed Tobias.
He stepped forward to stand by my side, those shorts back on and his boxing gloves off, his stare following the horizon as he said, “Someone didn’t think this through.”
“I’m not staying in the guesthouse.”
“Well, there is an alternative.” He gave a nod. “But if it’s my bed. It’s my rules.”
“What would those be?” Every part of me fought with this need to reach out and touch that ripped torso again.
He narrowed his stare on me. “I get to fuck you all night long. Hard.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I’ll think about it.”
“Yeah, right.” He lifted me high in the air and flung me across his right shoulder so I was upside down and my hands rested on his muscular back.
He slapped my bum in triumph.
I shrieked at the shock and laughed at the joy of being in his arms again. My spontaneity was getting me close to breaking down Wilder’s wall.
