By Private Invitation (5 page)

“It’s like a little piece of England transplanted here.”

Belle stood in the center of the hotel’s deserted courtyard, looking around. Jared
lingered near the edge of the lawn.

She looked perfect in the formal garden.

Surrounded on three sides by the hotel, the courtyard retained a touch of summer in
the winter. With its huge glass-dome ceiling and paneled wall of glass at the rear,
the enclosed garden was Tyler’s pride and joy. With the temperature hovering around
seventy degrees, flowers bloomed and shrubs and trees thrived, even in winter.

Jared called it the petri dish just to needle Tyler, but he had to admit, the damn
thing was amazing.

A boxwood hedge surrounded the garden and divided it into four distinct areas with
a circular area in the center where a marble fountain bubbled.

Belle stood there now, staring at the fountain’s intricate carving in the dim glow
of the gas lanterns high overhead.

She trailed her fingers along the lip of the pool at the bottom of the fountain, then
wandered down the brick path, toward the herb garden. She bent to rub mint leaves
between her fingertips, drawing Jared’s gaze to the length of her legs.

He wanted to wrap those legs around his waist as he lifted her up against a wall and
found out what exactly she was wearing under that little skirt.

Still moving, she entered what was the rose garden in the summer, now filled with
potted poinsettias of every color. From there, she wandered through the perennial
garden, until she came to Jared’s favorite section, the topiary garden. Tyler took
care of the topiaries himself. He hated when the gardeners messed with his trees.

Belle leaned in to sniff a fragrant rosemary bush forced into the shape of a heart,
and he wanted to bend her over the nearest bench and sink his aching cock into her.

“Did you have anything to do with the garden?” she asked, not looking at him.

He chuckled at the thought. “No. My…ah…One of the owners designed it, actually.”

“It’s gorgeous. You should be very proud of your brother’s work.”

Well, shit. Someone had ratted him out. Probably one of the other men she’d danced
with tonight. Too bad. He’d enjoyed having someone treat him like a normal person
for a change. He wondered if she was going to go bubbleheaded on him now.

“I take it someone gave you an earful.” He moved closer to see her expression.

“Oh, yes.” She faced him, nodding solemnly. “Several of the men I danced with were
quick to point out why I didn’t want to get involved with someone like you.” She smiled
and something uncoiled in his chest. She wasn’t going to take their advice. “I understand
why you did it. It’s nice to be someone else for the night, isn’t it?”

He nodded, wondering who she wanted to be. He couldn’t think of anyone he’d rather
spend time with at this moment. “Yeah, it is.”

“It’s a new year.” She winked at him. “You can be anyone you want tonight.”

Breaking out in laughter, Belle released the velvet shawl she’d wrapped around her
shoulders, which caught on her wings before slithering to the ground. “It’s not even
cold out here. That glass ceiling is magnificent. Was the courtyard enclosed when
the hotel was built?”

Forcing himself to go slow, he walked to the wrought-iron bench nearest Belle and
sank onto the plush cushions. The bench sat in a shadowed corner behind one of the
larger topiaries. Anyone passing through the garden would never see him.

“No, we installed that in the renovation.” Then, because he couldn’t stand to have
her so far away, he asked, “Are you sure you’re not cold? It can get chilly out here
in the winter.”

She wiggled a finger at him. “I have to be careful around you. You’re a charmer. And
no, I’m not cold. I want to look around a little more.”

She turned her back on him and wandered down the path, stopping to admire a statue
of two lovers entwined in a kiss.

“Mmm.” Belle’s voice sounded even more seductive in the near-dark. “I could stay out
here all night, but then I wouldn’t get
to sleep in that decadently huge bed in my room.” She flashed him a look that burned,
then sent her gaze over the garden again. “You look comfortable.”

He quirked a brow at her. “Why don’t you come over here and I’ll show you just how
comfortable I am.”

Her lovely face tilted to the side as if she were contemplating his request. Then
she smiled and walked back to him. Easing onto the cushion beside him, she tried to
recline, but her wings got in the way.

Presenting him with her back, she asked, “Would you mind?”

“Not at all.”

After a quick assessment of how they were attached, Jared freed her from the wings,
dropping them to the ground at his side.

“You’re entirely too good at that.” She tried to turn, but he placed his hands on
her shoulders, mesmerized by that expanse of creamy white skin.

“And your skin is so soft,” he whispered against her neck.

A chime sounded from inside the building and the faint roar of a crowd reached them.

He leaned closer, let his lips caress her ear as he said, “Happy New Year, Belle.”

She shivered against him, though he was pretty sure she wasn’t cold. Her skin felt
warm beneath his hands and he leaned in until his nose almost touched the curve of
her neck. Her hair fell away as she tilted her head to give him access.

Drawing in a deep breath, her fragrance made his heart pound. He loved the way women
smelled. Some spicy and heady, others light and delicate. Each one different. Yet
underneath it, similarities.

Belle sighed and that tiny sound broke the control he’d been exerting since he’d asked
her out here.

Lowering his mouth to the tender spot where her shoulders and neck joined, he surprised
her by nipping the skin there. She gasped, the sound stroking along his libido.

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her against him. The next kiss he placed
on her neck wasn’t as soft as the first, and he wasn’t surprised when she pulled away.

But then she turned in his arms and slid her arms around his neck. With a growl, his
control snapped and he lifted her over his lap.

She straddled him, her knees on either side of his thighs, and dropped her mouth back
on his, her hands on his shoulders.

This kiss held none of his usual finesse, but it served the purpose. Her mouth opened
at his urging, letting his tongue slide into her warmth, teasing along her tongue.

She wasn’t at all hesitant about kissing him back, and her eagerness made his cock
throb. As if she’d felt it, she lowered herself that last vital inch and settled her
mound against his erection.

Heat flowed from that point, and she broke away, gasping. Her eyes opened and stared
into his, bemused but hungry.

With a grin curling the corners of her mouth, she slid her hands from his shoulders
to the short hair at his nape. Scraping her nails along his neck until his skin tingled
and broke out in gooseflesh, she settled another millimeter closer on his lap.

He leaned in to kiss her again and ran his hands down her arms—noticing now that her
skin felt cool. He leaned back, trying to break the kiss. But she wouldn’t let him.
She followed, nipping at his lips, until he kissed her again.

“You’re cold,” he whispered in her ear as his hands rubbed up and down her arms. He
bit the lobe then blew lightly over it, feeling her shiver.

“Really?” She shivered again, but he didn’t know if it was
from the chill or a belated reaction. Her eyes remained closed, her breath coming
in short gusts. “I feel like I’m on fire.”

So did he. Every nerve ending flared with pleasure, making him want to rush instead
of savor. There was something about this woman, something that made him lose his edge.

Yes, he wanted her. Possibly more than he’d wanted a woman in a very long time.

And he was going to have her.

Releasing her, he sat forward to shrug off his tuxedo jacket and wrap it around her
shoulders.

She smiled as he leaned back then settled her hands on the soft white cotton of his
shirt. Without a word, she stroked downward along the fabric, making him want to shed
his shirt so she could put her hands on his skin.

And speaking of skin…

He set his hands on her hips, giving them a squeeze before letting them glide up over
the tight, silky material of the dress to the point at which her breasts began to
overflow. Trailing his fingers over the pale mounds, he watched as she arched into
his hands.

Whatever restraint he’d had left blew apart at that second, and he molded his hands
to her breasts with one purpose. Since the dress was fashioned like a corset that
lifted her breasts but didn’t cover them, a filmy green material had kept her decent
all night. Now, he pulled that material away to reveal ruddy nipples, already hard.

He bent to take one in his mouth, sucking on the firm tip and rubbing his tongue on
the pebbled flesh. She moaned and his cock hardened into a thick shaft, aching for
her touch. But he knew if she did, this would be over too soon, and that was unacceptable.

She had to come first. At least once, if not twice. Those were his rules.

With one hand holding her breast to his lips, he let the other graze back down her
side to her thighs, where he burrowed under her skirt.

He felt the heat of her pussy against his fingertips as they brushed against the slick
material. She was already wet. He groaned against her breast, strung a series of hard
kisses across her chest, and set on the other nipple.

The hand at her mound turned to cup her through her panties, and he felt the bare
skin of her ass as she attempted to get closer.

A thong. So easy to get rid of.

The heat in his body turned into a raging fire that wiped out everything but the need
to get inside this woman. To make her come, to have her enclose his cock in her wet
heat until he exploded.

Since she seemed to be on the same page, he set aside the rational part of his brain
that wanted him to slow down and gave in to the impulsive urge he usually kept on
a short leash.

The hand on her ass stroked across her soft skin, making her moan again. Except this
sounded more like a purr. With each stroke, he got closer to his goal until finally
his fingers brushed against the wet fabric.

“Touch me, Jared,” Belle whispered in his ear as she bent to nip at his earlobe. “Don’t
be a tease.”

“Oh, but I like to tease.” He spoke against the warm swell of her breast, the scent
of her arousal overpowering the faint floral scent on her skin.

Easing one finger under the edge of her thong, he felt only slick skin. No hair.

She was bare. His heart pounded harder.

When he paused, she rolled her hips, only a fraction of an inch, but enough to let
him know she wanted him to continue. He slid his hand completely under the material,
one finger parting the slick folds of her sex, his thumb pressing lightly on her clit.

Lifting his head, he wanted to see her expression. The sheer pleasure on her face
tightened every muscle in his body, and the need to make her come had him working
his finger into her body in a slow, steady push. Her eyes drifted closed and her back
bowed as he fucked her with first one, then two fingers. After a second, her head
dropped onto his shoulder and her tongue licked the warm skin of his neck.

He shuddered at the sensation and increased the pace of his thrusts.

Her cream on his fingers made him want to lick them. Better yet, he wanted to lick
her. But that was out of the question here. Later…

Her clit was a hard little nub that he flicked mercilessly, only easing up when he
felt her near the edge of orgasm. Then he pulled back. He wanted to control her every
response, to wring every last drop of pleasure from her before he took her over the
edge. Then he wanted to work his cock inside her still-pulsing sex and fuck her until
neither of them could see straight.

He had a momentary flicker of caution, a brief second where he realized this wasn’t
like him, but Belle chased it out of his head by biting his neck. The sharp, brief
pain made that inner caveman roar and he lost all reason.

He lived only to make her come.

The hand on her breast kneaded in time with the fingers he tunneled into her, squeezing
the nipple as he rubbed her clit.

Her panting breaths hardened his cock until he swore the zipper on his pants protested.

“Come on, baby. Come for me.”

His whispered words did the trick. She cried out, nails digging into his shoulders,
and he felt her juices release over his fingers.

As she collapsed against him, he tried to catch his breath, wanting to rip open his
pants, pull his aching cock out, and settle her down over it. He’d palmed the condom
he always had tucked in a pocket then forced himself to slow down.

He had to ask. He couldn’t just take. Another rule.

“Belle, may I?”

He felt her lips curve in a grin just before she lifted herself away from his chest.

Her gaze found his first then shifted to the foil packet in his hand. Her grin grew
into a full-blown smile as she reached for the condom with no hesitation.

Then she lifted it to her bodice and set it between her breasts, just beneath that
damn pin, letting it rest there while her hands drifted down to his zipper.

She took her own good time getting his pants open, caressing him through the material
for what seemed like forever, until she finally released the button and slid the zipper
down.

Released from some of its confines, his cock tented up through his tight black boxer
shorts.

She looked down, then back up into his eyes. “Very nice.”

He grinned. “Thank you. I’ll make it feel even better, Belle. Pull my underwear down.”

He heard the demand in his voice and wondered how she’d take it. Would she balk now?

The women he typically had sex with knew what he wanted. What he liked. What they
were getting into.