Chapter 10
That night they decided it was time to move in together, in one suite. It was a matter of which one.
"Mine is bigger." She pointed out. "And I need a lot of closet space for shoes."
"You sure do." He wandered over to the wide arched doorway of a state of the art closet. "How many pairs of shoes can you wear?" He gazed in amazement at the rows of shelves with shoes stacked to the ceiling.
"I love shoes."
"That's the understatement of the century. You're obsessed. You have boots in every color."
"I happen to love boots." She sniffed.
"And I bet you've not stopped buying."
She gave him a look that suggested he had lost his mind. Shaking his head, he stepped back out and gazed at the walls.
"It's pink."
"Oyster."
He lifted a brow. "Pink. I never pegged you for a pink girl."
She bristled at that and had him grinning.
"What does that mean?"
"It means McCreary, that you never struck me as being a girlie girl."
"I'm not and the color is oyster, a delicate pastel that gives the room a classy look."
"Still pink."
She threw up her hands. "Okay fine. But you must know this is the master."
"Mine is teal. We sleep in that room until we can come up with a bolder color."
"You're being difficult."
"I'm being a man." He said loftily.
"Which equals to you being a moron."
"Do you want to have sex tonight?" He leaned on the jamb and shoved his hands into the pockets of his ash gray dress pants.
Her brows shot up in disbelief. "You're holding that over my head? You?"
"Precisely." He rocked back on his heels and stared at her in amusement. "Why does that have to be a woman's prerogative?"
"I would never be so low as to use that against you. I'm too much of a lady to stoop so low."
"We've established that I'm not a lady." He could not believe how much he was enjoying the sparring. She was the only woman he had ever felt so free and easy with, and it amazed him.
Plopping her hands on her hips, she sent him a sizzling look. "I'm not falling for that."
"All right then." Easing off the jamb, he strolled towards the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To my suite. If you change your mind..." He left the sentence hanging and to her acute surprise, left and slammed the door shut behind him.
Ingrid stared at the door as if she expected him to open it and tell her he was kidding. She waited several minutes and when he did not materialize, she went to sit on the edge of the bed. There was no way in hell she was going after him.
No way. The sex was not that good for her to be running him down. She was a strong independent woman after all. He was a man, and men thrive on sex much more than women do.
She argued the point in her head until she thought it made sense. Then the anger came. With it, she pushed herself off the bed and decided that it was payback time.
She was a woman and as a female, she was equipped with certain wiles. She might not be a size two, but she had her charms, and she was damn well going to use them to pay him back.
*****
He was on the verge of changing his mind and giving in. It had been ten minutes since he made the bold move by leaving her suite and coming to his. But it felt damn lonely without her. And what the hell was he thinking? What does it matter that it was what was it she called it? Oyster.
He had changed and donned a robe, deciding whether or not to take a shower. Suddenly he detected movement just inside the doorway.
His first sight of her had the breath strangling in his throat. And he went still as stone. The material barely covered her generous curves. And it was black and sheer, enough for him to see the large nipples pressing against the wisp of material.
It dipped low in the front, to her navel and clung precariously to her breasts. It was enough for him to see that she was completely naked. He felt the blood drain from his head to his loins and almost immediately, he was rock hard.
And rooted to the floor.
When she sauntered in and she took her bloody time doing so, her hips swayed seductively and kept his eyes locked to those swaying hips. When she stepped in front of him, he finally blinked.
"I thought about being petty and just lock the doors and go on to bed." Her hands lifted to spread over his bare chest.
"But I'm not really a petty person." Her hands drifted to his nipples. "Do you like the outfit?"
"What?" He was surprised he could even speak. The blood was roaring in his ears, and his body was so heated, he was surprised the robe didn't just melt off his skin.
"The lingerie. It's called Black Seduction, a new line from the plus sized section of Romano's. It costs the earth and then some, but it's worth it don't you think?"
"I..." His tongue was all tangled up.
"So, what do you think?"
"What?"
She simply smiled, that smug smile that told him clearly she knew what the hell she was doing to him.
"Cat got your tongue, darling?" She shoved the robe off his shoulders. "I decided to pay you back instead."
He moved then, so swiftly that it had her gasping in surprise. His hands were like steel bands as they came up to curve around her throat.
"You witch." He whispered hoarsely. His thumbs pressed against her pulse and found it hammering. His head swooped down to seize her lips, his mouth hungry on hers.
With a serrated sigh, she wrapped her arms around him as he molded her body to his. The kiss took on a kind of madness that had them clinging to each other.
He was drowning. In her scent, the essence of her. Dragging his lips from hers, he trailed it along her cheek and then her throat.
"What's the scent you're wearing?" He rasped.
"Black Seduction." She breathed him in. "It's guaranteed to drive a man wild."
"It's doing its job." Still ravishing her throat, he backed her up against the bed. "I'm fully there."
Lifting his head, he stepped back to allow his eyes to roam over her curves, his eyes feasting on the rigid nipples pressing against the material.
With a growl in his throat, he ripped the material in two, sending shock and excitement reverberating through her body.
"That costs a lot of money."
"I'll buy you a dozen more. A hundred." Pushing her back on the bed, he covered her body with his. "I'm officially in pain." His mouth raced over her face, nuzzling her throat as she arched her neck.
"I'm afraid it's going to be fast."
"I could do fast." Her breath was sighing through her lips as he continued to feed on her flesh.
"Good." Reaching between them, he entered her, capturing her moans as he went in even deeper. He had barely started moving when she exploded, her body arching, nails scoring down his back as the climax slammed into her with a force that lifted her off the bed.
Her hands fisted in his hair as she dragged his mouth back to hers. The climax drained her, left her weak and dazed. But he wasn't finished.
"More." He whispered against her lips. Her response was driving him insane, and he knew it was almost over. "Take more."
"I can't." She whispered weakly. "It's too much."
"Take more." He demanded. And to ensure she did, he reached between them. He rubbed his thumb over the swollen flesh. She came again, her body jerking, her heart slamming against her ribs.
He watched her go over. The sight of her eyes going opaque, her lips quivering sent him completely over the edge. He came violently. With his body shuddering, he poured himself inside her and could not stop.
When it was over, he collapsed on top of her weakly, breath shuddering. It took him a few minutes to gather the strength to roll off her.
Ingrid struggled to regain some sort of composure, but it wasn't happening. Rolling with him, she curled herself against him, face buried on his chest.
"Well."
He chuckled at the wealth of meaning in the single word.
"My sentiments exactly." His hand wrapped around her waist.
"We're going to end up killing each other."
"Hmm." His hand trailed up and down her back slowly. "There's something I need to say."
"Oh?" Lifting her head, she studied his face, her heart twisting as she took in the tousled hair and the sated look on his handsome face. "I'm listening."
Taking a deep breath, he pressed on. "I spoke to Carly."
"Okay. When?"
"Uhm, earlier today. She was the one who called.
I thought about ignoring her, but she has been calling for a couple of days and leaving messages.
" He waited a beat for her to say something and when she just continued to stare at him, he plunged on.
"Look, we had a thing. We have history and I wanted to let her know that it was really over.
It is, really over. I...I...this...us, it's unexpected, but it's something I want.
I've never felt this, this intense passion before and I would like you to believe me. "
"Oh, I do."
"And?"
"I don't want her calling you."
"What do you want me to do?"
She smiled slightly. "I want to tell you to block her, ghost her, whatever, but that would be the petty me talking." She shrugged one shoulder. "I want us to work, Kyle. I really do."
"So do I." He said sincerely. He lifted a hand to cup her neck. "Believe me on that."
She tilted her head slightly to take him in.
"It's funny. Whenever I thought of marriage in the past, I would reject the idea.
The history of relationships in my family was more than a little sketchy.
But now I want desperately to make this work.
" Her hand lifted to touch his jaw. "I want children.
God!" She eased out a breath. "Look at me.
The previously hard-bitten career woman, willing to carry a child or two inside me, to go through all the crap that goes with it.
Is that something you can wrap your head around? "
"It is." He brought her head down, the kiss soft and sweet. It had her melting against him.
"Why don't we get started?"
*****
"What?"