Chapter Nine
A SECOND PASSED, then another. Gisèle told herself to pull back. To say something, apologise.
But she didn’t move. Looking into that searing gaze as his eyes snapped open, she couldn’t form the lie. Because it would be a lie. She didn’t want to apologise for touching him.
As if her body acted independently from her brain, her hand left his thigh to wrap around that proud erection.
A jitter of nervous excitement registered at his size. But what had she expected? He was a big man.
Heat blasted her cheeks until they glowed. Could he read her thoughts? It felt that way as his long-lashed eyelids lowered to half-mast, making him look even more like a sexy buccaneer.
‘I didn’t mean to touch you,’ she rasped out eventually.
‘And yet,’ his voice was a rumble that she felt in her womb, ‘you haven’t let go.’
Impossibly, her blush intensified, burning her throat, ears and breasts. But when she would have snatched her hand away she couldn’t, for Adam’s hand covered hers, holding her against him.
She shivered at what she saw in his face. At the throb of his arousal beneath her touch. And the aching, edgy sensation that made her lower body hum with need.
Gisèle swallowed then moistened her lower lip, but whatever she was going to say was drowned by a low masculine groan. ‘Don’t look at me that way, Gisèle. I’m only human.’
He was only human?
‘You’re the one holding my hand there.’ Her voice sounded scratchy.
‘You don’t want to touch me?’
Of course she did. He knew that. It had been obvious last night when she’d been swept away by excitement. Now she forced herself to think it through. How she’d struggled so hard against him, feeling overwhelmed from their first meeting. And still this moment between them felt inevitable.
‘I shouldn’t. Considering the devil’s deal you’ve pushed me into.’
Yet she couldn’t conjure anger. Her feelings for Adam were too complex for that. Her earlier indignation paled against the visceral need he’d awoken. Then there was his kindness last night. But it wasn’t kindness she wanted now.
The pressure of his hand disappeared as he sat straighter, putting distance between them. Deep grooves carved his forehead. ‘I would never force you into intimacy.’
Gisèle nodded and drew in a sustaining breath. ‘I know. This has nothing to do with our business deal. I want you, Adam.’
He said nothing. Had mentioning their differences doused his ardour?
Maybe he regularly wakes hard with sexual arousal.
Maybe it has nothing to do with you.
Maybe last night’s kiss was curiosity on his part. Would he really be attracted to you?
The poisonous inner voice sounded so like the one that had ridiculed her in her youth, telling her she was overweight, plain and uninteresting.
But Gisèle wasn’t falling for that again. She refused to undermine herself. There were enough people in the world ready to do that for her and she’d learned to ignore them.
If Adam didn’t want her he could tell her to her face.
She sat up. ‘Nothing to say?’
Her voice wobbled a little. She was putting her pride on the line. She wanted desperately to cuddle up against him. She craved the feeling of well-being she’d woken to.
Gisèle had never told any man she wanted him. It made her both energised and vulnerable.
‘What do you want me to say?’ His eyes flashed. ‘That I want you? Of course I do. You felt the proof of how much.’ He paused. ‘But I’m remembering last night. Only a few hours ago you were distressed—’
‘I’m not distressed now.’
‘It would be wrong to take advantage of you.’
Said the man pushing her into a marriage of convenience. The man taking over her beloved family company.
Gisèle gritted her teeth. She told herself she admired his scruples in this at least. Yet it grated that he was concerned now about doing the decent thing, but not when he’d devised his Machiavellian business plans. That he wouldn’t accept her assurance, but tried to second-guess her feelings, as if he knew them better than her.
Or maybe you’re using anger to stoke your courage. Because you’ve never done this.
That’s the last thing she’d tell Adam. He’d take his scruples and leave for sure then.
In one smooth movement she rose. ‘Okay, then.’
Was that a flash of dismay across his tightly drawn features? Was he worried she was rejecting him? That pleased her. It would be nice to think Adam felt some of the compulsive desire she did.
Gisèle caught the rich material of her skirt and lifted it as she knelt on the sofa beside him. ‘I’ll initiate this. But if I do anything you don’t like, Adam, tell me and I’ll stop.’
She delighted in his surprise as she moved close. Cupping his bristly cheeks with her palms, she brushed her lips across his. Once, twice, revelling in the deliciousness of it, in her power, the thrill of balancing on the precipice.
On the third pass his lips opened, warm breath escaping on a rough sigh that made the fine hairs on her arms and nape rise. Gisèle changed the angle of her mouth, slicked her tongue along his parted lips, flicking inside to sample the addictive taste she remembered from last night. The taste of Adam. It made her light-headed, swaying closer.
Firm hands bracketed her hips, sliding on the satin then gripping low, the tips of his fingers on the curve of her buttocks.
She stiffened, pelvis automatically easing forward in response. It felt so good when he held her. She wanted to feel his hands against bare skin.
Lifting her head, she looked into gleaming, deep-set eyes. Dark colour streaked his cheekbones and the lines of his face seemed sharper. All that symmetry, bisected by his strong, crooked nose, made a mesmerising whole.
‘Not going too far or too fast for you?’ Gisèle’s voice sounded only a little uneven.
A flash of white teeth gleamed against dark stubble. It might have been a grimace or a grin. ‘I think I can keep up.’
Adam’s voice was a growling purr as he caressed her through her dress, long fingers applying just the right amount of pressure. She arched as tingles streaked along her spine and around her pelvis. Heat settled at the apex of her thighs and her breasts swelled against the confining fabric.
Gisèle drank in the sight of him. Taking this further would mean stepping off the precipice into the unknown. She didn’t know whether she could keep up with him. But she’d spent too long running scared from the idea of intimacy.
Now, here, was a man she wanted. A man who made her feel desire. She owed it to herself to see this through.
At least she could trust Adam not to sugar-coat lust with the pretence of deeper feelings. Dangerous he might be, but for this he was perfect.
‘Second thoughts?’ he asked.
‘Hardly. I was thinking you’re exactly the man I need.’
An expression she didn’t have time to read flashed across his features. Then he drew her to him and she toppled into the deep green depths of those fathomless eyes.
This time there was no gentle brush of lips. Their mouths met squarely, automatically finding the most pleasing fit. Gisèle’s fingers burrowed through soft curls as she cradled the back of his head, holding him where she needed him. Their tongues met, stroked and delved.
Fire shot through her veins as their kiss deepened, passion flaring bright and hungry.
She wriggled forward, needing more contact, but her skirt hampered her. Adam came to the rescue, pulling aside her skirt as she lifted first one knee then the other to move closer.
Instead of moving back to grasp her hips, his hand stayed at the slit of her skirt. Warm fingers stroked her thigh, higher and higher, drawing the fabric up. She had no thought of stopping him, instead shuffling her knees wider. And all the while that kiss—passionate, seductive and so absolutely what she needed—went on and on, turning her blood to thick honey and sparking fireworks.
She should be exploring his body. Except it was enough for now to anchor her hands against the back of his head, letting their kiss expand and his hand explore.
Fire roared through her as he cupped her mound through lace underwear. His touch was firm. So definite. So perfect.
Gisèle sighed her relief as she tilted into his hold.
Teeth closed around her lower lip, gently biting, and she shuddered, planting her hands on his shoulders, not to push away, but because she needed to hold herself steady.
His hand moved, tugging damp lace and burrowing beneath it, fingers sliding to the place where pleasure centred.
Gisèle gasped as a shock wave of delight raced through her, making her jump. Then his fingertips slid back, circling, teasing, making her forget to breathe. Taking her right to the brink.
‘Let go, Gisèle.’
Adam’s voice was velvet and aged brandy, smooth yet with a bite. Like the caress of his cheek and jaw against hers, the friction of his unshaven skin delicious.
‘I can’t.’
She couldn’t have reached the brink of orgasm so fast. Because she’d spent her adult life protecting herself so she’d never again be vulnerable to a man. Because the pleasure Adam gave was already so overwhelming, suddenly she feared what would happen if she let him tip her over the edge.
He kissed her again, featherlight kisses across her mouth that teased but didn’t satisfy. Kisses on her throat and at a spot below her ear that made her melt and draw tight simultaneously.
He whispered against her skin, pure temptation. ‘Let go, Gisèle. I’m here to catch you.’
His fingers moved further, delving. First one in a slow slide and retreat. Then two, and she couldn’t help but move, pushing against him as he took her mouth again, tongue sliding deep, filling her, urging her as his hand worked between her legs.
There was an explosion of light behind her eyelids. A detonation of sensation, wild and exquisite, centred at her core and radiating out.
Then she was falling off the precipice. Soaring and floating in another dimension.
Heat engulfed her. Solid muscle. Sure hands. The murmured flow of reassuring words. Soft kisses on her throat, cheeks and lips.
Finally she lay, limp from bliss, as the world reassembled itself around her. She was stretched full-length on velvet cushions, Adam’s arms around her, the fine weave of his trousers encasing solid thighs against her legs.
Gisèle sighed and snuggled closer, the movement bringing her against the hard bulge of his erection. But he didn’t move, just held her, one arm around her, his other hand stroking her hair lying loose around her shoulders.
‘You’re spectacular, Gisèle. So vibrant...so combustible.’
Her mouth hooked up in a wry smile. That’s what lack of a sex life did to you—made you liable to combust.
‘I love watching you climax. You’re beautiful.’
Her eyes snapped open. ‘No need for flattery.’
‘Flattery?’ He eased back to look into her eyes. ‘It’s the truth.’
She wavered, seeing his frown. Maybe he meant it and she was the one with a hangup about the word ‘beautiful’. It was the unattainable standard against which she’d been measured. Maybe it was what a man said to a woman during sex.
Despite the sweet lassitude filling her, Gisèle felt nervous. Would she disappoint him? Would her inexperience show?
‘Have you got a condom?’ she blurted out.
His eyes widened as if in surprise at her change of subject. Then they took on that heavy-lidded look that made her forget she’d just orgasmed. How did he do that? ‘Several.’
‘Several? Are you always so well prepared?’
‘Since meeting you, I’m always prepared.’
She felt her eyes widen at his smug expression. Was he serious?
‘You don’t believe me?’ Adam shook his head as if disappointed. ‘Ever since that first day.’ He spoke slowly, enunciating every word. ‘Every time we’ve been together I’ve been prepared.’
She tried to scrounge up indignation but got stuck on amazement.
‘You really thought, from that first day, that I’d—’
He pressed a finger to her lips, stopping her words, and she inhaled the scent of sex and Adam and her own climax. She trembled, strung out by the reality of what she’d done and was about to do with him.
Nerves and excitement filled her.
‘I don’t mean I thought you’d fall into bed with me. Far from it. But I knew what I wanted from the beginning. You, Gisèle.’ He let that hang between them. ‘Of course I’ve been prepared. I knew eventually you’d recognise what was between us.’
Sex, he meant. Nothing more.
At least this had nothing to do with the business deal. Or the company. Or even the arranged marriage.
Gisèle should be reeling. Instead something inside steadied, realising he was right. This had been inevitable.
Yet she had to reiterate, still stunned. ‘You wanted me since Nice?’
He nodded. ‘You have no idea how much. You turned up at that meeting, so sexy and alluring in that jacket and skirt.’
She frowned. ‘My business clothes aren’t alluring. They’re serious and professional.’
Adam grinned and her heart flip-flopped. ‘Your clothes might be serious and professional but they can’t hide the sultry woman underneath. I find it arousing imagining what you wear underneath those serious clothes.’ His gaze flicked to the line of her bodice. ‘Or don’t wear.’
Gisèle’s breath was a shocked hiss. He was serious, she read it in his dancing eyes.
That excited her. Her as a femme fatale? He was delusional but she didn’t care. She’d take the compliment and enjoy it.
Right now she was enjoying the way Adam looked at her, with a hungry gleam, as if trying to decide where to start.
A frisson of trepidation made her shiver. She was in uncharted territory. But she liked the idea of being sexy and seductive. Wielding a feminine power that made Adam carry protection, just in case.
She placed her hand on his cheek, feeling the friction of beard growth, a reminder of his potent masculinity.
‘Maybe it’s time to get out that condom.’
‘And it’s past time we took this to a bed.’
They deserved more than the cramped confines of a couch.
Besides, he needed time to shore up his control. He was close to the edge and didn’t want to spend himself prematurely. He’d waited so long for Gisèle, he intended to enjoy every moment.
Watching her come, hearing those soft gasps of wonder and feeling her shudder in ecstasy, had been too arousing. Satisfying too, as if her pleasure were his.
Even if it left him stiffer and needier than ever.
Adam stood and scooped her into his arms. She was all warm femininity and slippery satin. Her throat and collarbone were flushed. Her blonde hair fell in loose waves around her bare shoulders and that slit in her skirt opened over one pale thigh, like an invitation to Paradise.
His belly clenched and his erection twitched as he remembered following that inviting path up her leg to her most secret place.
She was fully dressed but delectably rumpled and more tantalising than any woman had a right to be.
So what’s changed?
She turned you on, just giving a press conference. When you saw her in the flesh the first time half your attention was on her body rather than business.
Yet Adam found Gisèle’s intellect and character arousing too.
He strode to the bedroom, pausing only to fumble a switch to turn on bedside lights. She felt right in his arms. The only improvement would be if she were naked.
Soon.
Adam set her on her feet beside the bed, taking his time lowering her, teeth gritted against the torture-pleasure of her body sliding against him.
She stood shorter without her shoes, making him more conscious of his size. He felt a flicker of concern that he might hurt her when they came together. Then he met her misty gaze and sense reasserted itself. He’d never hurt a woman yet and Gisèle was as eager as he.
‘Clothes.’ He was surprised to find his throat constricting. Finally he ground out, ‘Time to get naked.’
‘You first.’
He’d imagined them undressing each other, but this was better. If Gisèle undressed him he wouldn’t last.
Adam shucked off his shoes and socks, kicking them aside. The carpet was thick under his soles as he worked his way down the dress shirt, flicking it open.
Gisèle watched every movement, lips parted. Her intense scrutiny felt like a touch, the trailing of fingers over his bare chest.
‘Help me with the cufflinks,’ he ordered.
She stepped close, hands deft and head bent, her rich, spice-and-blossom perfume filling his senses. When she was done he peeled off the shirt and tossed it away, watching her eyes widen as she took in his upper body. It made him glad he kept himself fit.
It took seconds to remove the rest of his clothes.
Usually by this point his partner was half naked too. Adam couldn’t recall stripping for a woman and was surprised to find he liked it. Not the strip so much as Gisèle’s fascinated reaction. As if she’d never seen a naked man up close. Her avid hunger, mixed with awe, was everything he could want.
But he didn’t want her awed if it stopped her touching.
Adam took her hand and planted it on his chest. Her fingers splayed as she moved closer.
Better, much better. ‘Your turn.’
Holding his gaze, Gisèle reached behind her dress, the other arm crossed over her bodice. The sound of the zip lowering was loud in the silence.
The dress loosened around her waist.
Then with a flicker in her eyes of something he couldn’t interpret, she dropped her arm and the bodice fell.
The rush of blood in his ears deafened him. Pain lanced his chest as he stopped breathing.
He’d known she was beautiful, but the jiggle of lush, rose-tipped breasts as she pushed the red dress over her hips... She undid him.
Narrow waist. A sweet curve of hips. Taut thighs.
As she stepped free of the dress, there was only a narrow thong of red lace between them.
Adam couldn’t wait longer. He grabbed his wallet, salvaged some condoms and slapped them on the bedside table. When he turned she was already on the bed, eyes huge, breasts swaying with each shortened breath.
She looked utterly desirable, if a little nervous. He understood that. This moment felt bigger than any previous sexual encounter. More intense. Just...more.
He reached for a condom, tore it open and, in a supreme test of control, rolled it on. Gisèle’s gaze followed his hands. He saw her swallow and moisten her lips and he couldn’t take any more.
Adam kneeled, straddling her legs, hands on either side of her shoulders, and bent to nuzzle her breast. Her skin was impossibly soft there, silken and fragrant. He closed his eyes, kissing his way around the underside, then slowly, in diminishing circles, towards her nipple.
Her thighs opened beneath him, pressing against his legs, and he heard the sweet hitch of her breathing. Urgent fingers grabbed the back of his head, tugging him down. When he lapped at her nipple, then drew it into his mouth, her husky cry of delight engulfed him.
He moved to her other breast, giving it the attention it deserved. All the while the shift of her legs against his, the fractured rhythm of her breathing and the sheer erotic beauty of her turned him from needy to desperate, his groin heavy and impossibly tight.
A movement shattered his fragile control. Soft fingers touched his erection, light as a butterfly’s wing. Then they curled around him and his eyes snapped open. Gisèle watched, eyes glittering and lips dark.
‘Please, Adam.’
She didn’t need to persuade him. Much as he adored exploring her body, he’d been fighting the need to lose himself in her. Now, with her hand around him, it was a question of whether he could last that long.
Shuddering with effort, he rose above her, untangling her fingers and raising them to his lips, kissing her palm before holding her hand against the bed above her head. He captured her other hand and held it there too.
That made her body arch, her breasts tilt towards him. He had to shut his eyes as he nudged her legs wider and settled between them.
Sensation engulfed him. The intimate heat of her body against his. The friction of her smooth skin, the tiny adjustments as their bodies settled against each other, the perfume of sex and flowers and something that was Gisèle alone.
For a second, two, three, Adam held steady, not trusting himself to move. Then, putting his weight on one elbow, he slipped his hand between them, following that inviting cleft to her clitoris, wet with arousal.
Adam grinned, or maybe it was a grimace, for her voice sounded unsure as she said his name.
‘It’s okay, sweetheart. Just making sure you’re ready.’
He stroked her, slow and long, reading renewed need in the movement of her hips.
An instant later he was there, nudging her entrance, falling into her silvery eyes as he thrust slow and steady.
Desperate as he was, prepared as he was, Adam was still confounded by the sensation of their joining. He paused, stunned as Gisèle’s impossibly tight embrace tested him. But he couldn’t hold back. The temptation was unlike no other. He surged forward, slow and deep till they locked tight.
It was only then that he realised how still she’d become. How tense. Her eyes were shut and he felt the short pants of her breathing on his face.
Instantly he released her hands, propping himself higher so his chest didn’t squash her.
‘Have I hurt you?’
Given his size, he always ensured his sexual partners were fully aroused and ready. Dismay rose.
‘It’s okay, Adam.’ Her gaze met his. ‘I’m just adjusting. This is...new.’
‘New?’ He couldn’t believe his ears. She couldn’t mean...
But she did. The proof, he belatedly realised, was in her untried body.
Heat swept him from scalp to sole. He told himself it was chagrin that he hadn’t guessed, hadn’t prepared her better. But he feared some of his reaction was excitement. Gisèle was his and he was hers in a way no other man could ever be.
She clutched him, fingers anchoring his buttocks. ‘You’re not going to stop, are you?’
Adam shook his head. ‘Not unless you want me to.’
‘I don’t.’
He hefted a shaky sigh. ‘Good.’
Because he had no idea how he’d manage that. Instead he withdrew slowly, shivering at the exquisite sensation of friction, before gently nudging back into glorious heat.
This time Gisèle was ready, lifting a little clumsily to meet him. Even that tested him to the limit.
He pulled back to kiss her breasts, lavishing more of the attention they deserved, until she gasped and writhed, tugging him higher.
How could he resist her? His body was already moving of its own volition in a slow, building rhythm that would soon send him over the edge.
He couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop, when her eyes glittered up at him, diamond-bright, and she moved with him, eager. He could only try to make it good for her too.
Adam slipped his hand between them, finding her sensitive spot, applying twisting pressure in time with every buck of his hips.
Her mouth sagged on a silent gasp. Her eyes rounded. Her hands dug tighter into his glutes, possessive and urgent, and the friction between their bodies became so beautiful, so intense, he thought he’d die from pleasure.
He felt the change in her. The quickening, that fluttering clench of approaching orgasm. His groin turned to fire, impossibly tight and heavy as a prickle of sensation built at the base of his spine.
With each movement it was harder to believe they were two separate entities. Her tension was his. Her delight. Her building climax.
Then it smashed into them. A wave that lifted them high, catapulting them into the unknown.
Adam saw Gisèle’s throat work, heard what might have been his name, and felt a rush of elation and protectiveness as bliss took him.
He wrapped his arms around her, gathering her close as they rode the storm together.