Liar, liar.I sighed, cursing myself for the hundredth time since that unfortunate scene in the elevator.All it took was his tongue down my throat and his hand up my dress to turn me into a panting, whimpering virgin all over again.I was embarrassed, hardly able to look him in the eye today.We had been too busy to talk, which was at least one plus to being so frantically busy.
Now, it was another story.Our flight to Lake Tahoe had been uneventful, with us busy on our phones, catching up on what we had missed while we were out of touch with the rest of the world.The feedback I had received so far from managers and executives was nothing but positive.I understood now how concerned they’d been that things were going to change drastically with the sale.They were all happy now, which meant they would work better.I was doing my job.
I was also developing a bad habit of losing my breath whenever Clay entered the room.Not that the jet’s cabin counted as a room, but that didn’t change the fluttering sense in my stomach when he took his seat across from mine.
“The car is waiting at the hangar,” he reported after reading a new message, then shut down on me again.That was good.It was what I needed him to do.
The past week, I had relished the moments of silence between us, wishing he would ignore me if we weren’t talking about business.That was the only way we could relate to each other, the only common ground we had beyond both of our names appearing on the same marriage license.
One kiss in an elevator threw my life into chaos, like a tornado sweeping through everything.Even the kiss on our wedding night hadn’t undone me like last night had.
Just thinking about it as we left the jet and walked across the tarmac to the waiting car made my knees weak and stirred heat in my core.A heat that was the exact opposite of the icy, arctic air biting at my skin from the frigid outdoor temperature.There had always been chemistry between Matteo and me, but compared to what Clay was capable of?There was no comparison.
Not only last night, either, but all throughout the day when I kept returning to the memories, flashbacks.The way he smelled, his soft grunts while his hand traveled over me.The slow, sure stroking of his tongue.He was overwhelming, filling all of my senses and setting me on fire.The embers were still burning an entire day later as I closed my eyes and wedged myself in the corner of the back seat.It was eleven thirty, hardly past my bedtime, but after a day like this, I wanted nothing more than sleep.
“The air is thin up here.”Clay tried to stifle a yawn.
I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering.“I should’ve worn my coat, but it’s packed.I forgot it was so much colder up here.”
“Here.”Before I knew it, he was sliding out of his suit jacket.“Use this.Can we get the heat turned up?”he added, raising his voice for the driver.He leaned over and covered me with the jacket, my skin tingling through my dress where his hand brushed against it.
“Thank you.”Pride was one thing, but I was seriously cold, meaning I tucked my chin close to my chest, willing myself to warm up.All I ended up doing was wrapping myself in his essence, which brought last night’s memories back clear and fresh.
We would be staying in one of the private cabins arranged around the sprawling central lodge.It was late enough in the season that business would be slower in that sort of dead zone between winter and summer when there was still snow on the ground but nothing projected to fall.If anything, I was glad for that.Of all of our properties, it was this one in need of help— refurbishment, new branding, ideas for drawing business between busy seasons.At least the decreased activity meant we’d have time to sit down and hammer things out with the management team.
First?Sleep.
I dragged myself up the steps in front of the cabin while wearing Clay’s jacket, using the landscaping lights to guide my way.They cast a pretty glow over the thin layer of snow still clinging to life.
“It’s charming.”Clay entered behind me, stopping to look around while I headed straight for one of the two bedrooms in the single-story structure.It was charming, rustic, definitely in need of an update, but I could worry about that in the morning.
The driver brought up our bags, and Clay wheeled mine into my room while I slipped out of my Pradas.What a relief.“Thanks,” I murmured, flipping on the bedside lamp before turning to him.He had a strange look on his face as he studied me, stroking his scruffy jaw.
“What’s so funny?”I asked, standing beside the bed.It was so big and tempting with its pile of pillows and silk duvet.He was now keeping me from my much-craved sleep.
“You look like a kid playing dress-up in that jacket.”He crossed the room, reaching for me.What was it about his nearness that froze me?I could only stand trembling while he took his suit jacket by the lapels and eased it over my shoulders.
That slight touch, the brush of his hands over my shoulders, was enough to make me forget everything I told myself last night.
Never again.Once we got home, it would be better to spend as little time together as possible to avoid temptation, complications, and awkwardness.
Right now, in the moment?When I couldn’t breathe, and my every thought and impulse revolved around how much my body needed him?
He sighed, looking down at my body before his eyes met mine again.There was sheer, searing lust in those steely orbs, promising release, the chance to lose myself in him.When he took my face in his powerful hands, I closed my eyes, willing it to happen.Sleep was the last thing on my mind now as he leaned down, filling my world, his breath fanning across my face an instant before our mouths touched.
He didn’t waste time, backing me against the bed, undoing me with his kiss as he lowered me until I had to lie back under him.Oh, yes, this was nice.This was good.I needed this like I needed air, his hand running up my leg, teasing my tingling skin while he nipped and lapped at my lips until I writhed and whined.
“Touch me,” I begged, even though he already was.I wanted more.I wanted him everywhere.
I slid a hand between us and cupped his massive erection through his pants.His deep, helpless groan took the fire between my legs and turned it into an inferno.I lifted my hips, silently begging for relief from the almost painful arousal that was all his fault.
“What are you doing to me?”he growled out.It was a demand with desperation around the edges.His groans paired with the way he worked against my palm, teasing my pussy through my G-string while I worked him.His lips found my throat, and I threw my head back, hungry for his kiss, desperate for it.
“You’re so wet,” he mumbled against my skin, running his tongue up to my ear, teasing the lobe with his teeth and whispering, “Soaked through your panties.I can smell how wet you are.Fucking hot and wet and ready.This was always going to happen.”
“Stop talking,” I begged, catching his mouth again and kissing him hard enough to hurt, determined to forget thinking, forget right and wrong, and focus on what felt good.
He broke the kiss to whisper, “Do you want me to fuck you?Do you want my cock deep inside your pussy?”
