CHAPTER TEN
S KYLAR STRUGGLED TO brEATHE . Her pretty rented dress was short. She had only a thin slip beneath it and a tiny scrap of silk beneath that. But she was still too hot and she couldn’t release enough of her nervous energy either. She’d said yes, of course, but this wasn’t the straight-to-bed evening she’d secretly been aching for. He’d brought her to dinner at one of those restaurants that you needed to book a year in advance. Unless you were a young billionaire with half the internet following your every move. Then you could just walk in and be given the best table. And waste a whole lot of time. All she wanted was to be alone with him. In bed. Now that she’d said yes, Skylar was appallingly impatient.
‘You want to share some mini plates?’ he muttered.
She nodded. ‘You pick.’
She watched him study the menu. It took an age—and all she did was note how his dark shirt and trousers emphasised his handsome features. He was stunningly good-looking. But it was the gleam in his eyes and the twitch at the corner of his mouth that got her the most.
He was good-humoured. And a tease.
Eventually the dishes he’d selected arrived—plate after plate of small snacks. So many plates. She nibbled to be polite. To pass the too slowly ticking time. To her surprise, he picked as little as she did, before he suddenly pushed his plate away and vehemently sighed. She arched her eyebrows at him.
‘I’m not hungry,’ he growled in answer.
‘Then why did you order all this food?’ She gestured at the laden table.
He rolled his shoulders. ‘I was trying to distract myself.’
‘From...?’
He shot her a sizzling look.
‘We didn’t need to come out to dinner,’ she said quietly.
He released another massive sigh. ‘Yes, we did.’
She’d forgotten about the public aspect to their dates. ‘Well, now what?’ she asked, seeing as dinner was done for them both. ‘Should we go to a club?’
‘No.’
‘You don’t want to go dancing?’
‘I really want to dance with you,’ he ground out. ‘Just not in public.’
‘Aren’t we supposed to be seen in public? Aren’t we here right now for the photos that waiter is surreptitiously taking?’
‘No,’ he contradicted her shortly. ‘We’re here to slow down.’
‘To... what ?’
He shot her another of those smouldering looks. ‘You know once we start, we’re like a runaway train. So out of control.’
‘Yes,’ she breathed. Exactly . That was the bit she liked best, actually.
‘So we need to slow down,’ he muttered.
‘Why—’
‘Because you deserve more than a quick—’
‘I like quick,’ she interrupted.
He closed his eyes. ‘Not helping, Skylar.’
Good. ‘Haven’t I waited long enough?’
He gazed at her fiercely—a picture of hungry, virile man. ‘All the more reason to slow down and do this properly.’
She really didn’t want this whole slow approach. ‘I said yes, you don’t need to woo me with dinner.’
He paused. ‘Maybe I’m ensuring you have adequate fuel on board.’
‘I already have more energy than I know what to do with,’ she said. ‘I can hardly sit still.’
‘ Damn it , Skylar.’ But his smile suddenly flashed.
She couldn’t resist provoking him a little more. ‘You just don’t believe in boring Saturday nights at home.’
He gaped at her for a moment. ‘This one isn’t going to be boring.’
He stood up, tossed a sheaf of cash on the table and jerked his head towards the exit. ‘If you don’t want more of a scene, move now.’
Skylar grabbed her purse and half skipped to keep up with him. Delighted.
But then the chauffeur didn’t drive fast enough for her. She was aware of Zane watching her, that half smile on his face, but keeping his damned distance the entire ride.
Finally they turned into the basement parking lots of one of the needle-thin, super-tall, billionaire tower blocks on the southern edge of Central Park. The chauffeur held the door for them then Zane led her to the elevator and punched several numbers on the keypad. Moments later, they stepped into the elevator. Unable to resist, she looked up at him, met his wild gaze.
But he shook his head. ‘No. Not yet.’
They whizzed skywards in the smooth, silent lift. The second the doors opened, Zane stepped forward. For a split second she watched him—a tall silhouette against floor-to-ceiling windows. Her pulse trebled its tempo. She drew a steadying breath and followed.
‘Your apartment is incredible,’ she said. It was like a palace in the sky. The city and Central Park stretched below them for miles. ‘The view is amazing. So is the one from your Belhaven beach house.’
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I’ve been to beautiful beaches all around the world—the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, Hawaii, off the coast of Australia, but none of them beat that one.’
‘Because it’s home.’ She zipped and unzipped her little purse, desperately burning just a smidge of the energy that had been firing around her body for days. ‘I’ve never been to any other beaches. Never been overseas. Not even out of state.’
‘Not ever?’
‘No.’ She paced, taking in other details with hyper-awareness. There was a vast computer screen set-up in the place others might have as a dining area. There was a stunning open plan kitchen. Intricately woven rugs on the beautiful wooden flooring. Glancing back, she saw he’d not moved from the window. He was as still as before, still just staring at her.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ she teased. ‘Are you glued to the floor?’
‘Apparently.’
The strain in his voice emboldened her and she walked back to where he stood. ‘What should I do?’
He released a deep sigh and shook his head again. ‘I’m not going to teach you how to please me.’
She paused. She’d kind of thought that was the point.
‘You need to learn to please yourself.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a foil strip of condoms and held them out to her. ‘Do what you want. How you want. You need to figure out what you want and what you like.’
She still didn’t quite understand.
‘Tonight you’re taking the lead,’ he added with a mocking grin.
And that was not what she wanted. At all. She just wanted him to sweep her back into that fiery caldron—to seduce her. Completely. She had no idea how or where to begin.
He watched her for another moment and that smile softened. ‘Okay, look, given your inexperience, I’m gonna assume you’ve never seen a naked man before. Shall I strip for you?’
‘Well.’ She took the protection and gripped it ridiculously tightly. ‘You did say you wanted to dance.’
‘You want me to put some music on?’
‘No,’ she snapped. ‘No more time wasting. Strip. Do it now.’
He chuckled delightedly but began unbuttoning his shirt. Slowly. One button after another, captivating her as his skin was revealed. His chest was gorgeous—broad, muscled, a smattering of hair that trailed down...
Her fingertips tingled. He tossed the shirt to the floor, then his hands went to his belt.
‘Look. Touch. Don’t touch,’ he muttered, holding her gaze as he worked the buckle. Then the button. The zipper. ‘Dance with me. Whatever you want. However fast. However slow. Your choice.’ He shoved down his trousers and stepped out of them.
She drew in a sharp breath.
‘You know I was in a car accident,’ he said ruefully. ‘It was probably on that stupid poster about me at school.’
It hadn’t been on the poster, but she knew—though not any personal details. She’d never seen scars like this. His thigh was like patchwork. ‘You studied from home while you recovered.’
‘Rehab took a long time. There are a few metal pins. I set off airport security alarms—’
He set off every alarm— warning, dangerously charming man ahead . ‘So basically you’re bionic now.’
‘It doesn’t hinder my performance if that’s what you’re worried about.’
‘I’m not worried.’ She stepped closer. ‘But I don’t think I want a performance .’
‘Right.’ He shoved down his boxers.
Skylar stared. Super-hot and super...stunned. Just stunned.
‘Skylar?’
‘Mmmm?’
‘Did you run this morning?’ he asked, slowly walking towards her.
‘Of course,’ she answered on auto. ‘I haven’t missed a Saturday-morning run in more than two years.’
‘Impressive.’
Yeah, that wasn’t what was impressive here. He was completely, beautifully naked.
‘It makes you feel good?’
‘Yes,’ she mumbled. She couldn’t take her eyes off his body—his smooth olive skin, the sleek muscles, the rippling abs, the slim hips, the...
‘Why don’t we find out what else makes you feel good.’
‘Okay.’ She paused. ‘You’re really...’
‘Turned on?’
He was. He very much was. And she was so hot. ‘It’s been a full two weeks since we... That’s not what you’re used to. Of course you must be feeling frustrated,’ she muttered.
‘It’s you I want to feel.’
She shook her head. He was a virile man, that was all.
He huffed a little laugh. ‘How can you not believe me?’ He drew in a deep breath. ‘Seeing is believing. Feeling for yourself might be even better.’
Oh. ‘You want me to—’
‘Do whatever you want with me,’ he said with exaggerated patience. ‘Any time you like. I’m clearly ready for whatever, whenever you are.’
He certainly was. Skylar inhaled another deep breath and released it slowly, determined to get a hold of herself. This was an opportunity and she was going to make the most of it.
‘You’re saying I can do anything?’ she asked innocently, lifting her chin. ‘You want a safe word?’
His jaw dropped.
‘ Stop should suffice, don’t you think?’ she added.
He just stayed there staring at her. She smiled happily. She’d rendered him speechless. There was a first. Confidence trickled into her veins. There was no denying he was hot for her. Which was really, really good.
‘Do you think you could sit down?’ she muttered. ‘You’re too tall for me to—’
‘Chair? Sofa? Bed?’
Bed was too far away. ‘Sofa.’
He took position in the centre of the large sofa and looked up at her as she stood in front of him, his cheeks slightly flushed. She’d spent so long watching for him— waiting —and now he was before her, naked. Willing to do whatever she wanted. She really didn’t know where to start.
But then...then, she did. She knew what she wanted. She stepped forward and straddled him, a knee either side of his thighs. Right on his lap. His lips parted but he said nothing. She smiled and put the packet of protection beside them. It was time to touch. Just the lightest brush of her fingertips down his chest. Goose bumps lifted on his skin. His nipples tightened. Unable to resist the urge, she leaned forward and licked one.
‘Okay, Skylar.’ He stretched his arms wide along the back of the sofa and gripped the leather in his fists. ‘Okay.’ His breathing shortened. ‘This is your game, sweetheart...you take the lead. I’m not...not going to interfere.’
She smiled, unsure if he was telling her that again or reminding himself of his mission. And frankly, she still wanted him to interfere. So maybe she was going to have to make him. She glided her hands further over his hot, fit body. Couldn’t resist leaning closer, breathing in his heat and scent, trailing her fingertips up the side of his neck to his jaw.
‘You smell nice,’ she murmured. ‘And you’ve shaved.’
‘Yeah,’ he muttered. ‘Thought I ought to in case you wanted me to kiss you in some...uh...sensitive areas.’
She stared into his eyes, her brain shorting at the image he’d just put in her head. ‘I appreciate your consideration.’
He swallowed. Hard. ‘I was happy to make the effort for you.’
Oh. He was tricky. She slid her hand back down his chest and felt the thump of his heart. It was fast and his skin was more than warm to the touch now—a sheen of sweat glistened on him. She slid her hand lower. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Actually, I’m not sure my lungs are working properly,’ he muttered. ‘It’s getting quite hard to breathe.’
Pleasure and power surged. Even if it were only right now and only physical, he wanted her. A lot. ‘You might need a little mouth-to-mouth?’
‘You think it might help?’ His smile lifted.
She chuckled too, a different kind of warmth adding to her molten temperature. She pressed her mouth gently to his. It rushed back on her—this silken, sudden delight, and she remembered the total pleasure of tangling like this with him. The heat they generated together.
Detonation all over again. Suddenly there was no restraint within her. Her touch firmed, teasing, testing—getting to know the indentations of his body—the firm muscle stretched over long bones. Then she swept lower, seeking out his most sensitive areas—stroking, teasing, tasting .
‘You’ve done some research, Skylar?’ he growled, his hips lifting beneath her ministrations.
She flushed and glanced up at him because yeah, she had. ‘I might’ve read a few articles in the last couple of days.’
He groaned and his head fell back against the sofa. ‘I...uh...appreciate your studious preparation.’
She almost purred under his praise but in moments was lost in her exploration of him. He was beautiful, and the freedom to discover every inch of him was too delicious.
‘I like it when you play with me. Skylar—’ He broke off on another groan.
She moved faster, stroking him with two hands and then taking him deep into her mouth...ever so slowly.
‘Jeez, Skylar.’ He tensed beneath her.
Yeah. This was hot .
‘Two more strokes,’ he growled, suddenly impatient. ‘Two more...’
She gave him one. And then stalled, lifting her face to watch his reaction. His eyes flashed open and he gazed down at her. His pupils were blown, his cheeks flushed.
‘Oh.’ His breath hissed but he smiled like a feral wolf. ‘Is that how it is?’
‘Yeah,’ she breathed. ‘That’s how it is.’
She wanted to torture him—the very best kind of torture.
He closed his eyes, the strained agony of being this close to ecstasy made him so damned handsome. ‘You realise you’ll get it back three-fold.’
‘Fantastic.’ The only problem was that she was close too. So hot. So close. And she wanted to come. She ran her hands along his arms, still stretched wide along the sofa, and gripped his wrists and tried to tug them. ‘I need you.’
‘Need me to what?’ he baited, resisting her attempts to make him move.
‘You know,’ she breathed. ‘Please.’
‘Touch you? Kiss you?’
‘Do everything to me,’ she muttered.
He moved, gripping her waist to take him with her as he simply slid from the sofa to the floor. She toppled to the side, easing off his lap to roll onto her back.
She gazed up at him, feeling hedonistic and hot. ‘Kiss every inch of me,’ she muttered, finally getting the hang of making her wishes known. ‘Every inch.’
His smile was utterly wolfish. ‘My appetite has returned and I’m ravenous, Skylar. So I might do more than kiss.’
‘Sounds good.’
He lavished her with licks and nips, touches. Her nipples ached, tight and needy, while deep in her core she melted. She reached for him and he pushed her with his big hands, sliding them down her body to hold her squirming thighs apart. He kissed the tops of her inner thighs, kissed her more intimately than that. She closed her eyes, loving the sensations he gave her. ‘More.’
He paused. She whimpered. She didn’t want him to tease her now. She just wanted him. ‘Zane...’
He must’ve heard her plea because he filled her with his fingers and sucked right where she was so sensitive.
She came. Hard. But even as she moaned helplessly, she asked again and arched, utterly open before him. ‘More. I want you with me.’
He took only a moment to prepare and then was back. ‘Skylar.’
She curled her arm around his neck to keep him close to her, looking into his beautiful eyes. He pressed close. Yes. This was what she wanted. What she’d always want. Zane with her. His body moving within hers. She wrapped her leg around his hip and got grabby, gasping as she worked to get closer to him still. His hands firmed, holding her so he could grind.
‘You want me as deep as it gets?’ he growled.
‘Yes. Deep.’ She shuddered. ‘Really deep.’
He worked harder, pushing into a rhythm that was fierce and fast and everything. She shook, her eyes closing as her tension burst and a white-hot orgasm hit. This was it. This was the best feeling of her whole damned life.
When she could finally open her eyes again, she found him holding her, watching her, still breathing hard.
‘That was...’ He shook his head almost helplessly.
‘Awesome. Just awesome.’ She would never move again.
‘Yeah.’ Zane released her slowly and rose to his feet. ‘Back in a sec.’
It was no time before he was back. He bent and handed her a glass. She sipped without querying the contents, then spluttered on a laugh.
‘Is this electrolytes?’ She held the glass up to the light. ‘Seriously?’
‘You need them. I sure do. And if our recovery is fast, then we can carry on. So drink up.’
She was very glad to know they would be carrying on. So she drained the glass.
He inclined his head and chuckled. ‘Full marks, sweetheart. You really are stellar.’
‘Full marks to you too.’ She laughed as his eyebrows lifted. ‘What, you don’t think you should get graded because you’re the more experienced one?’ She batted her lashes at him. ‘Have you not heard of three-sixty assessments?’
‘I’ll give you three-sixty.’
She yelped and giggled as he pulled her back against him and she felt his laughter rumble in his chest.
Getting him to upskill her education was best idea she’d ever had.
‘I should get going,’ she mumbled a couple of hours later.
‘You what?’ Zane questioned with full authority. ‘Class isn’t over, Skylar. I thought you were a diligent student. The sort who puts in lots of extra hours. The kind who pulls all-nighters in fact.’ He rolled out of his massive bed and threw her a T-shirt. ‘You just need more sustenance.’
‘Not more electrolytes,’ she moaned.
‘Definitely something a little more substantial.’
She didn’t argue with him. She didn’t want to leave. After the electrolytes, he’d carried her to his shower. Helped her bathe—thoroughly—then carried her to his bed. She quite appreciated all the carrying. She appreciated the attentions in his bed even more.
Now she followed him to the kitchen, and while he pulled things from the cupboards, she sneaked peeks at the shelves. ‘You use all these fancy ingredients?’
‘I have a chef on call. He’s here most afternoons to make my dinner and prep breakfast and lunch that I just have to assemble. But I can cook for myself when I need to.’
‘And what do you cook?’ She watched as he took a pan from a drawer and got a stick of butter from the fridge.
‘Protein pancakes.’
‘Protein?’ She giggled.
‘I had them for dinner almost every night. I still love them.’ He got busy with a couple bowls, eggs, flour and a whisk.
Skylar got busy watching.
‘When you’re in recovery, you need the best nutrition you can get,’ he lectured her with a laugh.
He had been in recovery for a while with that leg injury.
‘Four operations,’ he said. ‘I know you’re wondering.’
These weren’t box pancakes. These were made from scratch and were thick, fluffy and enormous.
‘These are really good.’
‘Why are you so surprised?’ he asked with mild outrage. ‘I told you I made them all the time when I was growing up.’
‘Your mother’s recipe?’
‘No.’ He glanced at the fridge. ‘She worked late.’
‘So you made them for her too?’ She just knew he had. ‘They’re so good.’
‘I have a far wider assortment of toppings now.’ He placed a pack of strawberries on the counter. Then a bottle of maple syrup. A can of whipped cream. A bottle of caramel sauce, another of chocolate. He looked at the array and then looked at her with that wicked gleam in his eyes. ‘What do you think? You like any of these?’
His playfulness stoked her own. ‘I like all of them.’
His smile widened. ‘You have an adventurous appetite, Skylar?’
‘It seems that I do.’ She ran her fingers down the cool can of cream and shot him a wicked smile. ‘Adventurous and voracious.’
Zane watched her sleep. Yeah, it was weird of him to do it but he really didn’t want to wake her. He was too busy feeling smug. She was in such a deep sleep. He’d not just satisfied her—repeatedly—he’d exhausted her. And she’d exhausted him. This morning, he’d woken the latest he had in years . Yet he wasn’t entirely satisfied. He wanted to see her indulge in more—of all the sorts of thing she’d decided were too much ‘effort.’ Having fun. Treating herself. Holidays. Finding a new job even?
Because it struck him that she’d stalled. And it bothered him. Even though it shouldn’t. It was her life, not any business of his to interfere in. But they could have some more fun together. They could do that right now. Well, as soon as she woke.
And when she finally stirred, he didn’t give her time to feel awkward. He’d keep this as effortless as possible.
‘Come on. Let’s go to the local market and get brunch,’ he ordered.
‘Brunch?’ Her eyes gleamed but then immediately dimmed. ‘I can’t wear that dress at this time of day.’
‘I’ve got something you—’
‘I’m not wearing your sweatpants again.’
He chuckled. Yeah. ‘Not those.’ He handed her the bag he’d retrieved from the lift.
She pulled out the jeans, the tee, and shot him quite the stunned look. ‘When did you get these?’
‘They were delivered a few minutes ago.’ Because he’d predicted the problem. ‘Want to shower before getting dressed?’
That look turned sultry. ‘Want to join me?’
‘Absolutely.’
It was another hour before they were dressed and headed towards the elevator.
‘I guess this way you can get morning-after photos,’ she said thoughtfully.
Zane hesitated, his finger hovering above the button to summon the elevator. That hadn’t occurred to him and certainly hadn’t been the reason he’d suggested they go out. ‘Does that bother you? We can always order in if you’d rather.’
‘I don’t mind the photos or the speculation.’ She shrugged airily. ‘ Not caring what others think is the other thing I’m learning from you.’