Don't Hurt Me (6 page)

  
‘But she is a child,’ he pointed
out drily.

  
Julia smiled at his old-fashioned
attitude. ‘Now maybe, but not for much longer. How old is she, fourteen? You
can’t keep treating Victoria like a little girl at that age. Otherwise you’ll
wake up one morning and she’ll be gone.’

  
He stared at her suspiciously. ‘Is
that what she told you? That she’s planning to run away again?’

  
‘Of course not. It was just a
figure of speech.’

  
Marshall hesitated for a moment,
then settled back on his elbows again, presumably having accepted her
explanation. Certainly the light of suspicion in his eyes had died. He was a
very stern and proprietorial parent, Julia thought, watching him from under lowered
lashes. Though that was hardly surprising when she considered some of the
terrible tricks Victoria must have played on her minders over the years,
running away whenever she had the opportunity to do so. Now that he had his
daughter safely confined at Moor’s Peak, he was no doubt eager to keep her
there until he had decided whether or not she was going back to school.

  
When he moved again, turning
slightly towards her on the dried grass flooring, she thought he was planning
to curl up for a rest. The rain was still falling outside and its steady
pitter-patter on the walls and roof was highly soporific, almost lulling her to
sleep herself. But much to her surprise, he stretched out a long finger and
brushed her cheek. The gentle touch seemed to trigger a thousand nerve endings,
making her jerk in reaction, her eyes widening as she met his.

  
‘You’re an exceptional woman,’ he
said softly. ‘I can’t believe you’re not married yet. Are all the men in London
blind?’

  
Julia laughed nervously, taken
aback by his abrupt change in gear and not sure how to respond.

  
‘Is there anyone at all back in
London?’ His eyes moved slowly over her face, lingering on the generous curve
of her mouth. ‘A boyfriend you forgot to mention, perhaps? Some muscular
seven-footer who might turn up and deck me for that kiss last night?’

  
She shook her head.

  
His smile was alarmingly predatory.
‘You shouldn’t have told me that,’ he murmured. ‘Now that I know the field is
clear, what’s to stop me taking advantage of you again?’

  
She struggled to think of an
answer, something incredibly sharp and witty to send him scurrying back to his
own corner of the lean-to, but her brain felt too fuzzy and confused. Marshall
waited in silence only the space of a few more heartbeats, then moved without allowing
her another opportunity to escape.

  
His fingers curled around her chin,
lifting her face towards him, then she closed her eyes helplessly and felt his
mouth press down against hers in a hot darkness.

  
There was only a brief moment of
resistance before she realised, head spinning, that this was something she
wanted too. Then her lips parted under that demanding kiss and her arms moved
up around his neck. Ever since this man had kissed her so urgently last night
she had been unconsciously waiting for him to do it again. Yet she had been
completely unaware of her true feelings, keeping him at arms’ length through
sheer instinct alone.

  
The brain must have such potent
defensive mechanisms, Julia thought hazily, blocking out desires which are too
dangerous for the conscious mind to contemplate. But there was nothing which
could block out the hunger she felt now, caught in his possessive grip as he
pushed her body back against the grass floor.

  
She wanted him to kiss her, needed
him in a way she had never needed any man before, and was horrified to realise
he knew it.

  
The silence was thick with desire
in that small dark space. The rain on the roof and walls seemed like the
beating of their hearts, wild and erratic. Then Marshall made a rough sound
under his breath, tuning her more fully towards him until they were both
pressed against each other on a shifting bed of grasses. His fingers trailed
down the curve of her throat, setting off erratic pulses everywhere they
touched, and she could not help touching him back.

  
This had to be wrong, her logical
mind kept repeating, her body arching against him in involuntary excitement.
She had known this man less than twenty-four hours. Was he some sort of
magician? That was the only explanation for what was happening between them. He
must have conjured his way into her bloodstream, deafening her to reason so
that her fingers would not keep still but trembled restlessly against the nape
of his neck, urging him closer.
  

  
She was so dazed by the heat
running beneath her skin that she did not notice one of his hands pushing under
the white sweater until it was too late. Julia gasped, trying to push him away.
Somehow he had managed to unclasp her bra and now his fingers were cupping the
naked swell of her breast. It was too quick, it had to stop.

  
But his kiss made her forget the
danger she was in, parting her lips and bringing such a warm tide of pleasure
that she lost all sense of perspective. His finger flicked casually across her
skin and she groaned, her nipple rising and stiffening at his touch.

  
His own arousal was only too
apparent. As their bodies entwined on the dried grasses, she felt the
unmistakable bulge in his jeans digging into her hip. Her cheeks scalded with
heat as she realised the effect she must be having on this man. Up until that
moment it had felt more like a game, something he was indulging in until the
rain stopped and they could return to the house. Now it was serious.

  
Yet there was absolutely no way she
was going to have sex with a man she had known for less than a day. If she did
not stop this madness soon, he could quite justifiably call her a tease.

  
‘I can’t,’ she whispered, pushing
him away. ‘This is crazy. We barely know each other.’

  
Apparently ignoring everything she
had said, Marshall bent his head to kiss her breast. His expertise at arousing
women was no doubt the result of a thousand seductions like this, she thought,
but was unable to lift her hands to stop him. The fierce reaction of her body
betrayed her instead and she moaned, hearing his unsteady laughter over the
thudding of her heart.

  
‘Do we need to know each other? Our
bodies seem to know what they want. Isn’t that enough?’

  
He seemed almost too drugged with
arousal to understand how unsure she was, the lids heavy across his tawny eyes
as he gazed down at her mouth. One finger trailed along the moist bruised lips,
slipping inside in an intimate gesture before he lowered his head to kiss her
again.

  
Shutting her mind to reason, Julia
kissed him back, arms clasped about his neck.

  
His fingers stopped teasing her
nipple to erection, and his head bent instead. His mouth closed around her
nipple and he began to suck on it deeply, leaving her breathless and moaning.
She shifted, offering him her other breast to suck, but only his fingers teased
that aching nipple. The frustration ate away at her as he continued to suck on
her breast. Was he trying to drive her crazy?

  
At last Marshall moved, taking her
hand and placing it firmly on the delicious bulge in his jeans.

  
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said
hoarsely. ‘As soon as I saw you on the doorstep, I knew you’d be trouble. I
told myself not to get involved, that you aren’t the promiscuous type. But God
help me, I can’t help myself. You have the hottest body, Julia.’

  
Well, it was all very casual and
superficial, but she felt much the same way about him. How could she blame
Marshall for wanting casual sex when she had been thinking about it herself
too?

  
‘We shouldn’t,’ she whispered,
though her fingers had already curled about the promising mound in his jeans,
rubbing at the length of his stiffening penis.

  
‘Why not?’

  
‘We’re ... work colleagues. It’s
not professional.’

  
‘Screw professional,’ he muttered,
and bent his head to her bare breast again, his lips eliciting another moan
from her excited body. ‘I need you, Julia, and I’m pretty sure you’re
interested too. Let’s just forget about work, and give in to whatever this is.’

  
She could not seem to argue,
despite her screaming instincts. She let his hands move where they wanted, and
had to admit to enjoying his forceful nature. She was used to men being more
respectful, it was true. But his touch excited her.

  
Their mouths met, and his tongue
invited her, stroking and probing. His hand cupped her breast, and the flesh
tautened, making her own arousal obvious too.

  
‘Yes,’ he said in a drugged tone,
as though she had spoken.

  
No
,
her brain was thinking,
no
. But her
body had other ideas.

  
She touched him too, running her
hands through his hair, pulling him closer. He was so solid and muscular, her
whole body was aching for him. She felt his cock harden even more against her
belly as they pressed together.

  
God, was she really going to do
this? The man was almost a stranger to her.

  
She was so damp and hot though, the
ache between her legs was becoming unbearable. Her sexual drive was too strong
to be denied, even if she knew she should not be doing this. Not with a man she
had only just met. Not with a man whose reputation was that of a ruthless
womaniser. Not with Owen Marshall.

  
He kissed her again, laughing
softly against her mouth. As though he understood what was going on inside her head
as well as her body, his hands moved expertly, dragging up the sweater,
unzipping her jeans and pulling them down before she could come to her senses
and push him away. Her panties followed, and suddenly she was exposed to his
gaze. And his touch.

  
His fingers played her damp flesh
as he kissed her mouth, and she moaned against his searching tongue, head going
back.

  
‘What … what are you doing?’

  
‘I need to taste you,’ he told her,
and she was shocked and silenced, but did not resist. Too soon, she was
thinking wildly. Too soon.

  
Yet she could not bear the thought
of saying no. Of not knowing how it would feel for him to …

  
He knelt between her legs and put
his mouth there instead of his fingers. And abruptly she knew how it would
feel.
Like heaven.

  
‘Oh God, yes,’ she groaned.

  
His tongue danced up and down the
wet seam, making it even wetter, then thrust inside. She groaned, arching
against him. Then his fingers were there too, stroking and caressing her,
splitting the warm flesh and penetrating her while his mouth ate her out. In
and out, his fingers plunged, and his mouth moved too, back and forth, playing
and teasing and pressing hard.

  
‘Don’t stop, don’t stop,’ she
managed to say, her face hot and flushed.

  
She felt like she was going to die
of pleasure.

  
It was incredible head.

  
The absolute best she had ever been
given.

  
He thrust three fingers inside her,
stretching her, then sucked hard on her clitoris. She screamed under the
pressure, thrashing against him, but he did not relent. A fourth finger joined
the other three. He fucked her rhythmically with his fingers, his tongue
lashing at her, curling round her clitoris and teasing her half to death,
demonstrating fantastic skill. Her legs bucked and she went into spasm,
gripping his hair as her body exploded with pleasure.

  
When Marshall finally lifted his
head, he was smiling, his eyes glittering as they moved over her flushed face.

  
 
‘Well, that was impressive,’ he said, his
voice slightly breathless. ‘If I’d known just how much heat lay under that cool
exterior, I’d have pushed it further last night. But I thought you’d slap my
face or scream the house down.’

  
Julia stared up at him, her body shaking,
her eyes wide and shocked. The pleasure was still throbbing through her after
that incredible orgasm. But it swiftly began to fade as she heard the flippant
note in his voice and realised what he meant.

  
Marshall thought this was normal
behaviour for her, she realised. He thought she was the kind of woman who had
sex with anyone she fancied, without even getting to know them first. And he
was not exactly wrong, judging by what had just happened between them.