Now, Please Read online

  I was two seconds from fanning my face and fainting. I needed to get a grip! “And your father…”

  “Doesn’t think anyone can do his job better than him. It’s why his company is bottlenecked right now. It’s as big as it’ll ever get with him in charge—any larger and he’d have to give up some precious control.”

  “I always thought you were controlling.”

  “I can be in certain situations…” His eyes glimmered with heat. My heartbeat increased. He leaned forward and extended a hand. “May I have this dance?”

  “Wha—” I glanced around the bar, suddenly embarrassed. That was not where I thought he was going with the heat infusing his eyes. “Uh… I can certainly shake a leg, but ballroom dancing isn’t in my repertoire.”

  “C’mon, Livy.” He stood, reaching down to take my hand.

  “No one is out there! We’ll stand out. But not in a good way!”

  “Just follow my lead.” He led me to the dance floor and turned me toward him, waiting for me to rest my hand on his shoulder. He brought my other hand in close, resting our hands against his chest.

  I sighed as he stepped forward, making me step backward with him. I felt the soft music drifting down around us as the light from the disco ball showered us. His grip tightened further and his steps became shorter, allowing for more contact between us. His cheek came in close to my face. His heat enveloped me along with his delicious smell.

  “See?” he whispered in my ear. “Nothing to it.”

  I closed my eyes and exhaled as I felt his body moving. His strong and sure lead left no doubt about his intentions within the dance, and as long as I matched those movements, and let my body melt into his, I had no problem keeping up. His heart beat steadily against our held hands. His lips softly glanced against my face, leading to the corner of my mouth. He stopped there and backed away, looking down on me.

  Hunger infused his gaze, but there was also a softness I hadn’t been expecting. “I didn’t really need you to come on this trip.”

  I stared at his lips, desperate to be kissed. Wanting to feel the electricity from the contact. “I thought you wanted me to make contact with Bruce.”

  “I did, but that wasn’t the real reason I brought you.”

  “And what was?” I asked in a breathy whisper. His mouth dipped toward mine. Longing infused his eyes.

  He winced, glancing down at his side. He reached down to his pocket before taking out his phone. “Bruce wants to speak with me. Privately.”

  There were many things I probably should’ve said, like “Exciting!” Or “That’s promising.” Instead, I uttered a disappointed “Oh.”

  It wasn’t the most professional of responses.

  He looked at me for a long moment. “I’m sorry. I have to go.”

  “Yeah! Of course you do.” I followed him back to the table. “I’ll just head back. I’m tired, anyway.”

  “I think he wants to talk business.” I could see the regret in his eyes. “It might be a while. I most likely won’t see you tonight…”

  “Hunter, you’re not a sex dispenser. Relax. But I’m taking my beer with me.”

  He gave a small smile. The action had me stopping as I reached for my glass and staring.

  His face transformed from extremely handsome to something indescribable. His eyes shone from within, infusing me until I felt a smile build in response. He was hotter than any model, and more charismatic than any celebrity. And that was just with the smallest of grins. I couldn’t imagine what a whole smile would do. Probably melt my panties.

  “Sounds fair.” His thumbs flew across his phone before he slipped it back into his pocket. He peeled off a bill from a thick money roll and handed it to the waitress when she came around.

  “I’ll just get your change,” she said, diving into her pockets.

  “No need.” He put his hand on the small of my back and waited for me to step out in front of him.

  “Are you sure?”

  Hunter ignored her as he escorted me out. We were followed with a “Thank you!”

  “You are so incredibly rude while being over-the-top generous. How do you pull that off?” I said as we made it outside and Hunter chose a golf cart.

  “It’s a gift.”

  “From a white elephant party, maybe.”

  He handed me into the golf cart before walking to the other side and climbing in. “I overheard someone giving the staff an earful about having no carts at his disposal,” he said, as he started the engine. “He did not like having to walk.”

  “Was he in our building?”

  “Yes. And the staff said that they only re-park the carts, but that there are always carts available unless they’ve all been used.”

  A sickening feeling came over me. “Would Rodge have moved the carts?”

  “He doesn’t necessarily subscribe to ethics…”

  “What a…” I stopped there. I had a few names I could use, and none of them were very ladylike.

  We parked in front of our building, where the golf carts were once again in a line. Hunter escorted me to my room even though I protested I could get there just fine on my own. As I opened the door, I turned back to him.

  “Knock ’em dead.” I smiled at him.

  His eyes were serious as he beheld me. He stared for a long moment before turning around and walking the way we had come.

  “Okay, goodbye…” I muttered as I closed the door. “Manners, anyone?”

  I went to my suitcase and pulled out a few silky things, but then grabbed my oversized T-shirt. If he planned to be wheeling and dealing late into the night, he wouldn’t come in and wake me. I was hopefully safe in comfortable yet frumpy attire.

  Chapter Eight

  I came awake slowly. It took me a moment to realize what woke me up. I glanced at the clock. It was just after midnight.

  Another soft rap came from the connecting door. Hunter wanted to see me.

  With a thrill of excitement, I threw back the covers and lurched toward the door. Yawning, I undid the latch and then stretched my arms, trying to chase away the stiffness from deep sleep. I’d forgotten that the door was closed. I hadn’t figured he’d want to connect with me tonight, so didn’t worry about it.

  I pulled open the door, shivering with the cold. Not seeing anyone, I peeked inside his room, catching him coming around the corner from the restroom, shirtless.

  “Hunter?”

  “Sorry—I didn’t mean to wake you. I—” He cut off as his gaze hit me. It traveled my face, to my hair, and then down to the YMCA T-shirt that hung loosely off my frame.

  There was absolutely no way I could look less sexy than I did right then. I probably should’ve thought of that before I opened the door…

  “Uh…” I crossed my arms. “I, ah…I didn’t dress up. I can go put something else on, if you want?”

  He walked to me slowly, as if in a daze. His eyes came to rest on mine. “Bruce is going with me. He listened to my whole plan, cuts included, and where I think I can be in five years. I told him what would happen if we didn’t go with him, too, and what I thought about that. He gave me an unofficial nod. You did it.”

  “You did it—I just got you a meeting and an open mind.”

  Fire burned in his gaze. He stepped closer, inches from me now. His tone should’ve been excited, or happy, or filled with pride, but instead, it was dripping with desire.

  I gulped loudly. My nipples constricted under the heat of that stare, poking the silly shirt I wore.

  He noticed. His hand came around me and pulled me into his body. “You are so damn sexy, Olivia. So, so beautiful.”

  Possibly he hadn’t noticed the shirt. Somehow. “I didn’t think I’d see you.”

  “I should’ve let you sleep. But…” His expression grew troubled. “I missed you tonight. I wanted to share the good news.”

  His hand came up to my chin and lifted my face. His eyes focused on my lips. “I need your presence, Olivia. It’s all I can think about w
hen you’re not around. You’re all I can think about.” He shook his head as his frown deepened. “I don’t know myself anymore.”

  His head bent. Uncertainty flashed across his expression. “But I can’t ignore this. Not anymore.” His lips glanced across mine once, before he steadied. His lips connected with mine. He opened my mouth with his while tilting his head, deepening the contact. His tongue flitted into my mouth. He was giving in!

  A pure shot of electricity coursed through my body and singed my insides. Goosebumps spread across my skin as shivers racked me. My head went dizzy and my sex throbbed. I moaned into his mouth with fluttering eyes, running my hands up his chest and losing myself in his sweet yet wild taste.

  “I want to make love to you, Livy,” he mumbled against my lips.

  My breath caught. I almost didn’t believe the word he’d used instead of fuck. “Yes, Hunter.”

  He didn’t push me into my room; he pulled me into his. The door shut with a soft click before he bent down and scooped me up into his arms. His lips connected with mine again. Bursts of pleasure exploded in my body with the feel of his lips. With the heat of his body. With the fact that he was ignoring his fears and giving in. To me.

  He set me down long enough to strip off my T-shirt and his pants before laying me in the center of the bed. Without a word, he settled himself between my thighs, resting his body on top of mine. His kiss deepened. Became more passionate. He threaded his fingers through mine as his hips slowly pushed toward me, sending his manhood deep into my body.

  “I’ve wanted this since the beginning, Livy,” he murmured against my lips.

  I fell into the sensations. Holding on to his words. My body wound tighter, and then tighter still, as he thrust into me, over and over. I whimpered as the pleasure shook me in waves. His tongue flicked in my mouth, needy and insistent, mimicking our lovemaking. My eyes fluttered with the feel of him. His hard length inside, his solid body on top.

  “Mmm,” I moaned, tightening my legs around him. Electricity surged, his kiss applying the final ingredient to an already addictive recipe. “Yes, Hunter.”

  I gyrated my hips, meeting his thrusts. He crashed into me. My moaning grew louder. His kisses became fervent, almost desperate. I matched his intensity, letting it all go. All control, all hope of keeping a part of myself from him—I opened up fully for him to take.

  Without warning, pleasure like I’d never experienced flooded into my body. I convulsed, crying out. Ecstasy vibrated up my middle.

  Hunter slowed for a moment, his kiss turning languid. My body matched.

  And then he started again. Faster now. Whipping my body back into a frenzy.

  “Oh, no, Hunter,” I said as the feeling once again redlined. Pleasure so sharp it cut. My muscles flexed, my body primed for another orgasm.

  He pumped into me, hitting all the right places. His hard chest teased my sensitive nipples. His clever tongue flicked and tasted, taking me higher than he had before.

  “Oh, Hunter. Oh…” I tried to take my hands out of his so I could scratch his back, but he wouldn’t set me free. He held on, increasing the friction. Moving faster.

  Panting, I squeezed him tighter with my thighs. I tried to arch, getting away from that tantalizing kiss. There was just too much. Too much sensation. I was drowning in it.

  “I won’t make this easy on you, Olivia,” he whispered. “Because it’s far from easy for me. I want all of you.”

  “Already…gave…myself.”

  “I don’t want just your body. I want your heart. I want you to give us much as I’m about to.”

  My stomach flipped. My heart swelled as expectation filled me. Without warning, another climax tore through me. “Oh!”

  He nibbled my lips as he let go of my hands. His arms worked around my body as he sat up, pulling me up with him. He wrapped my legs around his waist and felt down my back until his hands were on my hips. He kept me moving over him now, thrusting upward as he brought me down, getting deeper. Taking another little piece of me.

  I let my head fall back, moaning. The winding in my core intensified, coiling into a tight ball of unbearable pleasure. “No, please,” I said, squeezing my eyes tight against the feelings.

  Hunter’s fingers curled around the back of my neck and he brought my face into his. His lips claimed mine again. His taste, savory and wild, blossomed in my senses, adding to the feel of his body and the depth of his thrust. “Ohhh God,” I groaned as yet another orgasm broke me down.

  Still he kept going, faster now, winding again. Pounding my body with exquisite pleasure. Making me writhe and twist over him, unsure if I wanted to run to or away from him. Unsure what this all meant, only that I was too far in now. Too far. I couldn’t give any more. He demanded too much.

  As if hearing me, he said, “A little bit more, baby. Give me just a little bit more.”

  He hugged me tighter, almost cutting off my breath. I held on for dear life, digging my nails into him for something to hold on to as everything around me flew apart.

  I whimpered with another orgasm, immediately building. “Just a little bit more,” he promised, thrusting harder. Pumping into my body with wild abandon. Holding on to me to keep me rooted to him.

  “Little…bit…more,” he whispered, giving me another deep, body-consuming kiss. Another climax, shuddering me over him, squeezing out a tear.

  Raw. I felt completely raw, emotionally and physically. Pushed too far. Broken.

  “Good girl.” Hunter pushed us forward until we tumbled onto the bed in a mess of limbs.

  On overdrive, my hips swung up of their own accord, striving for the big completion all these orgasms had been driving toward. To the final act that would cement what making love was really about.

  Hunter’s lips were never far from mine, not even to kiss another part of me. Always connected, body and soul. Demanding I stay connected too.

  “Almost there,” he whispered.

  I clung to him in desperation, tears in my eyes, scared and in awe at the same time with what I was giving to another human being. But he held me so tight, protecting me, possessing me. Honoring me.

  “Come with me, baby,” Hunter commanded, emotion dripping from every word.

  His lips met mine as the world bleached, and then blasted out color. I gritted my teeth with the ferocity of the climax. My body sizzled with my shudders, the culmination of hours of orgasms that overflowed into pure, untarnished pleasure. A tear dripped down my face as I melted, finally coming down off my high and relishing his weight pressing me down into the mattress.

  He kissed me again, a sweet meeting of the lips that fluttered my heart. “Rest, baby. I’ll be here all night.” He moved until he was curled around me possessively, pulling me into his chest with his strong arms.

  Chapter Nine

  Filtered sunlight sprinkled down onto the bed as I slowly came to consciousness. I rolled to my back and stretched, greeted by a glorious ache in a very private area. Hunter walked from the bathroom in gray slacks and an open button-up shirt. His hair was wet and a toothbrush hung from his mouth.

  “Honeymoon’s over, huh?” I asked with a laugh, propping myself onto an elbow.

  “What?” he asked around the plastic.

  “Nothing. Tired of jeans?”

  He glanced down and then refocused on me. “You’re beautiful, and yes. I can stop pretending to be young and hip.”

  “You are young and hip.”

  “Just young.” He winked at me, easier and more relaxed than I’d ever seen him.

  He leaned over his computer that stood open on the desk, reaching forward to type something before he closed the top and unplugged it. He scrubbed at his teeth a little more before disappearing into the bathroom. When he came out he said, “I want to put on my professional face today.”

  “So, what’s the agenda?”

  He packed his computer into its bag. “I have a meeting with Bruce to plan out some next steps, and then we’ll be traveling back to San Fra
ncisco at about noon. You have the morning to pack.”

  I didn’t mention that I’d never really unpacked.

  “What about you?” I glanced at his suitcase in the corner and saw an empty suitcase stand. By the door his luggage waited, closed and ready to go. “Oh. You’re ahead of me. What time did you get up?”

  “I generally get up early,” he said, running his fingers through his hair before smoothing it down with a brush and some product. He dropped those last items into the garbage. Apparently he’d rather buy new toiletries than pack them.

  I pushed the blankets aside and threw my legs over the side of the bed, looking for my discarded T-shirt. I took the few steps to pick it up and throw my head into it. When I glanced over, Hunter stood transfixed, staring at me with lust-filled eyes.

  “Like YMCA, do you?” I put my arms through the holes. “I have hundreds of dollars of lingerie, and you’re crazy for my raggedy old shirt.”

  Hunter grinned as he sauntered toward me. “I’ve never seen a girl dressed down. Last night there was an honest quality to your messy hair, your shirt, and your sleepy smile that…made me want that.”

  When he reached me, his intense eyes delved into mine as his thumb traced my lips.

  “Want what?” I asked in a whisper.

  He kissed me lightly, his lips lingering. “Want a woman who doesn’t try so hard. Who’s comfortable in a big T-shirt and without makeup. Who will smile at me the moment she wakes up because she’s happy to see me, instead of being happy to see my money or position. I want the normalcy you take for granted.”

  He ran his lips over mine again. Heat unfurled in me, a warmth that wasn’t just sexual. One that was a lot more permanent. His hands felt up my stomach, under my shirt, before cupping my breasts. His kiss deepened as he pushed me backward. My back bumped the wall as his thumbs rubbed across my sensitive nipples.

  “Hmmm,” I moaned into his mouth.

  Suddenly I needed him so bad I couldn’t think straight. With shaking hands I fumbled with his pants, ripping open his fly and reaching inside to capture that velvety-smooth skin. I pushed his pants down as I ran my palm along his manhood.