A Lover's Vow (14 page)

Eighteen

J
ules's heart thumped like crazy in her chest the moment she heard the lock click in place. And when Dalton reached out for her, she was ready. But she intended to do things her way, in her own time. Instead of falling into his arms, like she figured he expected, she took a step back and glanced around the room. “Nice room, Dalton. So just what do you do for a living?”

He held her gaze, and even with the distance separating them, she saw heat and desire churning in his eyes and felt it emanating from his body. He was staring hard at her, particularly her outfit. “Dalton?” As much as she wanted to feel him deep inside her, they had agreed to pretend, and they would do so...for now. She wanted to test his restraint to see just how far she could entice him before his control snapped.

“Do you really want to know?” he asked, removing his jacket and tossing it on a chair.

She shrugged. “Why not? We can hold a nice conversation while waiting for the live entertainment to begin. We can even stand at the window and watch the waves wash ashore.”

He lifted a brow as he removed the cuff links from his shirt. “Hold a nice conversation?”

“Yes.”

A throaty growl that was meant to be a laugh permeated the air. “Are you deliberately trying to drive me insane, Jules?” he asked, his attention focused solely on her.

“Why would I do that when we just met and—”

His movement was swift, quicker than she thought, and she found her body wrapped in his, her backside nestled snug against his crotch. “Are you trying to manhandle me, Dalton?” she asked in a tone of faux indignation when they both knew he had her just where she wanted to be. His erection was pressed hard against her backside, causing tingling sensations to travel up through her spine.

“Manhandle you?”

“Yes.”

“Now why would I do that?” he asked, easing her dress up over her thighs.

Her ears perked up. Was that the sound of his zipper lowering? She tried looking over her shoulder and couldn't because he had leaned down to place a kiss on the back of her neck. The feel of his lips against her skin had blood rushing through her veins.

“I don't know. You tell me. Are you admitting this game of pretense was just that? A game, to get me in here alone with you?”

She felt his smile against her neck, just seconds before she felt his tongue as he began to lick her. The contact with her skin made her shiver, and all she could think about at that moment was that T-shirt he'd worn last week.
I lick.

“You taste good,” he murmured huskily as the tip of his tongue slid from her neck toward the underside of her ear. And then he used his teeth to gently nibble her there. “I want to taste you all over, but first I need to get inside you.”

“Don't I have something to say about that?” she asked, trying not to home in on the feel of his solid chest pressed against her back.

His chuckle made her entire body tremble. “What do you want to say?”

“That you should never underestimate a woman who needs to get laid.”

In a quick movement, she broke free of his hold and in a few seconds flat, he was on the floor staring stunned up at her. She smiled. “Maybe I should have warned you about all those self-defense classes I took in college.”

“Yes, maybe you should have,” he said, shifting from his back to his side. Knowing he was trying to look under her dress, she spread her legs to stand over his body to make sure he got a good view. “See something you want, Dalton?”

“Plenty,” he said, reaching his hand upward, under her dress. Pushing past her thong, he used his fingers to stroke the area between her legs. He moved beyond her womanly folds to massage her clit.

“Beginning with this.”

She fought back a moan. His touch was causing a weakness in her knees, and she was wet, true evidence that she definitely needed to be laid. Deciding to waste no more time, she eased her dress over her head and tossed it aside. Except for her thong, she was naked since she hadn't worn a bra.

“I wanted to rip that damned thing off you the moment I saw you,” he grumbled, while his hand continued to stir her wetness.

“If you buy the dress, you can rip it off. But since my money paid for it, you can't—”

That's as far as she got. In a movement she hadn't seen coming, Dalton was back on his feet and grabbing her around her waist. Whatever words of protest she was about to say evaporated from her lips when he buried his head in her chest, and his tongue latched on to a breast, kissing it hungrily. She couldn't do anything at that moment but writhe in pleasure and moan in satisfaction, especially when his fingers ripped her thong off her body. He eased his mouth from her nipple long enough to say, “I don't give a damn who bought those. They were coming off.”

And then he was backing her naked body back toward the table.
Not fair
, she thought, since he still had on his clothes, and she was completely naked. “Not so fast,” she said when the backs of her legs hit a chair. “One of us still has clothes on.” She then reached up and began popping buttons from his dress shirt, trying to get it off him.

“What were you saying a few minutes ago about ripping off someone's clothes when you didn't pay for them?”

Instead of a comeback, her fingers were fast at work at his fly. He'd lowered his zipper earlier, but what she wanted was still in hiding.

“You keep this up and I'm going to think you want me, Jules.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. Need some help?” He leaned over and murmured close to her ear, before using his tongue to swipe the side of her face, while his hands fondled her breasts.

“No, I got this,” she said as she captured the engorged hardness of his sex in her hand. He was big. Super big. Thick. Mighty thick. And hard. Magnificently hard. She'd dreamed many nights of her hands and her mouth on this. She had also dreamed of this being inside her.

“Need condom,” he murmured in a guttural groan.

“Not yet.” She glanced down at his erection, jutting proudly from a dark thatch of curls, and began stroking him. She loved the feel of his shaft beneath her fingers, especially the thickness of the veins running along the sides of it. The head was swollen and felt warm in her hands.

“I love the feel of you stroking me,” Dalton murmured hoarsely, leaning close and putting his mouth to her ear before licking her there.

Being stroked was just the beginning. She intended to give him the blow of all blows. “Time to savor,” she whispered, lowering down in front of him and then easing him into her mouth.

She used her mouth to stroke him even more, to tantalize and to drive him mad. She loved his scent. She was being hypnotized by his taste and mesmerized by the feel of his entire shaft in her mouth while her hands caressed his balls.

“Jules...”

She felt his fingers massage her scalp, holding her head in position as she continued to use her mouth to pleasure him, and just when she thought he was about to come, he surprised her yet again by pulling her up and turning her body away from him while holding on to her tightly. She heard him remove his pants and the sound of his teeth ripping open a condom packet. She managed to look over her shoulder and watched him sheathe himself like a pro. Definitely a man who'd done this more times than either of them could count.

“Grab hold of the table.”

She did and immediately felt the fullness of his body over her, felt his fingers reaching between her legs, spreading them. “I love this position,” he murmured in her ear.

And then she felt the engorged head of his shaft caressing the area surrounding her feminine folds. Her clit was wet, hot and practically begging to be taken, but he held back, evidently deciding to torture her a little first.

“Dalton, please...”

“Please what, baby?” he asked, leaning to lick her neck again. “Do you need to get laid?” he asked, reminding her of what she'd said earlier. “Tell me what you want.”

“You know what I want.”

“Is it the same thing I want?” he asked, as if he needed her to acknowledge it, anyway. “The same thing we both wanted the first time we saw each other and every time since? Even when you want to hate me and I, you?”

Why was he bringing all that up now? The only thing she wanted was to be filled by him in a way she'd never been filled before.

“Jules?”

He obviously wanted her response, and if it would hurry the process, then she would give him one. “Yes.”

Holding tight to her thighs, he suddenly thrust inside her, plunging hard, going deep. Then he began pounding into her so hard that she almost found it difficult to breathe, the pleasure was that keen and intense. But that didn't stop her body from taking him in, greedily expanding for more, contracting her muscles, holding tight to his shaft and attempting to pull everything out of him. He could penetrate her so well, as if he'd been tailor-made just for her.

Groans filled the room, both his and hers mingled with the sound of flesh slapping against flesh. She needed this. Her entire body ached for release, and she knew at that moment that no other man but Dalton could have done this, given her the degree of release she needed.

She was convinced had it been any other man, she would have returned to Charlottesville after experiencing a fling that left her unfulfilled. But now, tonight, she was getting everything she wanted and then some. Satisfaction had never felt so good.

She loved the feel of him thrusting in and out of her with an intensity that drove her to lose all control. The raw hunger that he was not holding back was absorbing her, consuming her, making her ache even more, knowing that he was going to take care of it.

She heard his growl and knew he was about ready to come. She could feel it. He was swollen to near bursting but was holding back, waiting for her to join him. The thought of him intensely full, solid, hard and enlarged inside her, with her inner muscles clamped tight on him, was driving her over the edge.

“Harder, Dalton. I need you harder,” she whimpered, not believing she was requesting such a thing, but at the moment not caring as long as he delivered.

He did, holding tighter to her thighs, leaning over her, bending her body forward for deeper penetration, and making sensations erupt inside her until she couldn't take any more. He began surging, pounding harder and faster into her like a jackhammer. And that's when she let loose, actually saw stars flying around her, caught a glimpse of the moon falling from the sky. Had Miami just experienced an earthquake? Was that why the floor seemed to be moving? His name poured from her throat in a gurgle the same time hers flowed from his. He thrust harder just seconds before his body bucked.

“Jules...”

She felt pleasure in every bone in her body. A delicious calm settled over every inch of her, and she felt his tongue, wet and hot, licking a zigzag path across her back while he continued to hold tight to her hips, staying lodged deeply inside her. She expected him to pull out of her, but he didn't and seemed in no hurry to do so.

“I love the feel of being inside you, Jules,” he whispered hotly against her neck.

And as much as she didn't want to admit it, she loved the feel of him being inside her, as well. All she had to do was close her eyes to remember the feel of being taken by him. The feel of her backside resting tight against the hairy cushion of his groin while his shaft filled her so completely. Those hard and fast thrusts, the feel of his fingers fondling her breasts while pumping inside her. The angle of his penetration had been perfect, precise, so well defined she felt shivers going up her spine with aftershocks of pleasure.

“Ready to go another round?”

His question told her in more than words it would be one of those nights. Already, she could feel him getting hard again inside her. “Sure. Why not?” His chuckle sent more sensuous shivers through her.

“I need another condom.”

It only took him a minute, and when he pulled out of her to handle that part of things, she missed the feel of him being embedded deep inside her. Moments later, he turned her around to face him. “This time I want to be looking at you when you come.”

“Why?”

He smiled. “I want to see what I do to you.”

His arrogance was in high gear. She decided to shift it down a little. “Just like I want to see what I do to you.”

He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around him as he pressed her back against the wall, entering her all at once, surging deep, again filling her completely. He stared at her, penetrating her gaze with the same intensity he was penetrating her body. “I have a voracious appetite. After this, I'm going to be hungry.”

That was understandable. “Did you order food for later?”

He smiled again in a way that made her toes curl. “Don't want food. Just you. I intend to eat you, Jules.”

Jules's mouth curved into a smile. She liked the thought of that happening.

Nineteen

D
alton eased to the edge of the bed, sat up and glanced over his shoulder at the woman sleeping soundly. What a night. They'd made love for hours, and she'd driven him insane with both desire and complete satisfaction. He'd had sex with plenty of women in his day, had had orgasms galore. But never before had sex left him feeling like this. Gratified. Fulfilled. So damned contented.

When did an orgasm have the ability to rip him into pieces...the same way he'd wanted to tear into her dress? They had been the most earth shattering and intense that he'd ever experienced. Orgasmic power was something he'd always controlled, but tonight, she had truly been dominating.

He braced the palms of his hands on the bed and leaned back, tilting his face toward the ceiling and closing his eyes. He also felt confusion and frustration, but neither could top the masculine pleasure still radiating through parts of his body. Jules Bradford was definitely something else. He'd never known a woman quite like her.

After making uninterrupted love in that private room a number of times, they had dressed and managed to sneak out of the club hopefully unseen, since everyone's attention was drawn to the live entertainers on stage. But he was aware that although he hadn't seen Stonewall, the man was there, somewhere in the club. He had to have known where Dalton was and with whom.

“What time is it?”

Jules's voice intruded into his thoughts, and he opened his eyes and eased back in bed. What would her attitude be like this morning? They had done some pretty far-out things last night. Had probably broken the Guinness World Record with some of the positions they'd tried.

He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “A little after six.”

“Why didn't I spend the night in my hotel room?”

He looked over and smiled. “Because we hadn't gotten enough of each other yet.”

She closed her eyes and actually smiled. “You're right. We hadn't had enough. I was in a pretty bad way.”

Like him, she'd been insatiable. Most women wouldn't admit to that, and he liked her blatant honesty. But he was curious about what had driven her last night to need sex as much as he did. “Pretty bad way? Why?”

“Too much work and not enough playtime. I won't let that happen again.”

There was no way that he would admit that he'd been in a bad way, as well, and had been since meeting her. He hadn't wanted any other woman in his bed, and any women he'd slept with anyway had left him wanting. Definitely lacking.

“So why did we come to your hotel room instead of going to mine?”

He lifted a brow. “Don't you remember?”

They had been riding the elevator up to her room on the tenth floor when suddenly they began making out again right there in the elevator. That resulted in them bypassing her floor, and while she was recovering from another orgasm, he'd decided they should continue on up to his room. They'd barely made it to his room before they were taking off their clothes.

“Yes, I remember now,” she said, nodding. “At least now that you're out of my system, I can start functioning like a normal person.”

“Was I in your system?”

“Yes, like an annoying ache.”

Being an ache he could handle, but he wasn't sure he liked the annoying part. “Where?” he asked, resting on his side to turn toward her.

“Where?”

“Yes, where was the ache? In your head, your teeth, back?”

“Doesn't matter.”

“It does to me.” He pushed the bedspread aside to uncover her. She was naked. Beautifully so. When she saw where his gaze was fixed, she tightened her thighs together. Too late.

“Does it bother you that I like looking at you there?”

She released a soft chuckle. “Kind of late for me to be bothered, isn't it? Especially after last night.”

He had to agree with her there. Last night, he'd done more than just look. He'd touched, tasted, thrust inside like a lust-crazed maniac on an effing marathon. He wanted to see how long he could stay hard inside her and how many times they could come. And speaking of come...

He reached out, and his fingers caressed the folds of her womanly core before sliding inside to begin stroking her clit. Touching her there sent erotic sensations straight through to his fingertips. “What do you think you're doing?”

Now she thought to ask. Her voice was choppy, her breathing uneven and her legs eased open a little to give him better access. “Using my fingers to turn that annoying ache into a pleasurable one. Mmm, you're wet.”

“You honestly thought I wouldn't be?”

No, he hadn't thought that. This basically proved he was no more out of her system than she was out of his. One all-nighter hadn't done the job, apparently. And when she let out a rasping moan, he knew it was time to take things to the next level.

He reached onto the nightstand where several condom packs were spread out. Some his. Some hers. He grabbed one and proceeded to sheathe himself. With an urgency he hadn't counted on but refused to back away from, he eased toward her and placed his body over hers. Capturing her hands in his, he held them over her head, drawing her luscious-looking breasts upward to mouth level.

He seized her gaze as he entered her, stretching her wide and sinking deep. For the first time ever, he actually felt the heat in a woman's womb, and it propelled him to begin moving, thrusting inside her. Riding her hard.

“Oooh, Dalton...”

She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he felt the tips of her fingernails dig into his back after releasing her hands. He stared into her eyes, glazed with lust and darkening with need. The thought that she still wanted this, needed this, as much as he did made him feel both possessive and invigorated. And he felt something else. Passion. Deep passion.

At that moment, he needed more than anything to kiss her. Sliding his tongue between her parted lips, he began devouring her mouth with a greed he only experienced with her. And what was destroying his strong hold on reality was the way she was returning the kiss, with an intensity of fervor that equaled his own.

He loved her taste, and it would have suited him just fine for it to continue without any interruptions, but the need to breathe made such a thing impossible. She inhaled sharply the moment he released her mouth and when she exhaled, his name was said on a breathless sigh. “I can't take much more,” she whispered.

He wasn't sure he could, either, but something within him drove him to try. Deciding to give her mouth a reprieve, he lowered his head to her breasts and slid a hardened nipple between his lips. Sensations tore through him, and he began sucking hard as his shaft continued to pump into her.

“Dalton!”

“Being inside you feels so good,” he crooned as he continued his thrusts with an urgency he felt in every part of his body. He did know that what they were experiencing wasn't the norm. No two people should be able to fire up bedsheets the way they were and make multiple orgasms a standard practice.

And then something exploded within him, shot him off to a high plane, and his entire body hammered and bucked in pure ecstasy. And his guttural groans filled the air. Uncontrollably. Unashamedly. He was open in a way he'd never been before. For the first time in his entire life, he felt vulnerable. It took some doing for him to gain enough strength to lift his head, and when he met her gaze, he could only whisper her name. “Jules...”

His tongue swiped across her lips, and he said her name again. Easing his body off hers, he clutched her close and brushed a kiss against her temple. “Sleep,” he said softly.

And while she slept, he would stay awake and try to figure out what the hell was happening. Specifically, why the thought of Jules making love with any other man was just something he could not accept.

* * *

FBI Agent Marcel Eaton returned the smiles of the people who greeted him in a conference room at Granger Aeronautics—Jace, Caden and Shana. “Where's Dalton? Still at lunch?” he asked, taking a seat at the long table.

Jace responded, “No, he took a trip out of town and won't be back until the weekend. You mentioned something to Shana about having new information on Brandy's death.”

“Yes, and I appreciate all of you seeing me on such short notice.”

Brandy Booker had been a young and vibrant administrative assistant in the executive department, whose suicide several weeks ago had shocked the entire company. What was disturbing was that after reading the suicide note, her mother felt Brandy had been forced to write it and that she'd not taken her own life but had been murdered. However, there was no evidence to support the mother's claim, and the authorities were still ruling the death a suicide. What was even more disturbing was that right before Brandy's death, she was caught on a Granger Aeronautics security camera on more than one occasion going through Dalton's office as if she were searching for something. Jace and the Granger Aeronautics security team had been scheduled to meet with her and question her about it on the same day they'd learned of her death.

Marcel, who had worked to expose trade-secret violators at the company a few months earlier, had been apprised of the suspicions surrounding both Brandy's death and her possible connection to the trade-secrets corruption. Bruce Townsend, who was a computer whiz and worked on occasion for Shana and Jules, was having Brandy's work computer analyzed to see if it had been wiped clean from some remote location.

Marcel glanced over at Shana. “Did you ever discover why Brandy's father's employment with Granger was terminated?”

It had been discovered that both Brandy parents had worked for the company, although Brandy didn't reveal that on her employment application. Her parents divorced and her mother had left the company to pursue a career in nursing, but her father had gotten fired a year later.

“Yes. Neil Booker was fired when he assaulted a female employee in one of the break rooms when she ended their affair. I guess he wasn't too happy about her dropping him,” Shana said.

“Apparently,” Marcel said, shaking his head. “We were able to search Brandy's apartment and didn't find anything but this,” he added, placing what looked like an office key in the middle of the table. “Does it look familiar?”

Jace frowned as he picked up the key and studied it. “No, it doesn't.”

“Well, we ran it through your security team and discovered it's a key to Dalton's office.”

“A duplicate key?” Shana asked, leaning forward to stare down at the key. “So that's how Brandy got into Dalton's office when he swore he locked the door before leaving every day.”

Marcel nodded. “Yes, and the big question is how she got hold of this copy.”

Caden leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “If you're thinking that maybe she and Dalton had an affair and she lifted it off him without his knowing it, then don't fall for that assumption, Marcel. Dalton said he's never been involved with Brandy, and I believe him. Trust me. If Dalton is ever involved with any woman, he has no problem admitting it.”

“I believe him, as well,” Marcel said, “but that's not what concerns me. I want you all to notice the age of the key. It's well worn and looks nothing like the ones you're using now. It's an entirely different brand.”

Jace stood and pulled out his key ring. Caden did the same. Their keys were a shiny bronze color, and the one that had been in Brandy's possession was a tarnished silver.

“True, so what does this mean?” Jace asked with concern on his face. “Why would Brandy have an old office key in her possession?”

“One that obviously still works,” Shana pointed out.

“Yes, one that still works.” Marcel looked at Jace and asked, “Did you ever find out the names of any employees who occupied Dalton's office before he did?”

Jace hesitated before answering. “Yes. According to what I've been told, the only other person who occupied that particular office was my mom. After her death, it was closed up until Dalton began using it a few months ago.”

Marcel's brow rose. “Your mom worked for the company?”

Jace sighed. “Yes, for a short while. From what I remember, she began complaining about getting bored at home and said that she regretted never having had the chance to use her college degree in marketing.”

“So she was brought in as part of the marketing team?” Shana asked her husband.

Jace shook his head. “No. I asked Dad about it once, and he said he and Granddad decided to give Mom the glorified title of marketing analyst to keep her busy and away from Sutton Hills when they weren't there.”

Caden's brow furrowed. This was the first time he'd heard any of this. “Why would they want to keep her away from Sutton Hills when they weren't there?”

“Evidently, during that time, she had it in for Hannah, and Hannah threatened to quit unless Mom's attitude improved,” Jace explained.

“Who's Hannah?” Marcel asked.

“Our housekeeper. She's actually more than that. She's been with us for more than fifty years.”

Marcel didn't say anything for a minute. “I had our investigative team work with your security guys, and it seems that key,” he said, pointing to the one on the table, “would be the same key that opened Dalton's office years ago.”

Jace frowned. “If that's true, how did Brandy get my mother's old office key?”