Don't Tempt Me (19 page)

"Is she?"

"Oh yeah." She laughed. When he reached for the bottle, she held her glass out for a refill. "But I love Grandma Merry and she always seemed happy to see me. At first." She frowned as if at some memory. "Until my father would do something to tick someone off, then she or one of my uncles would ask us to leave."

"Do you ever hear from your mother?"

"Occasionally." She ran a fingertip around the rim of the glass. "Mostly I just hear about her through my grandmother. Right now she's living in a mansion on St. Lucia with a businessman who divides his time between her and his wife and kids back in the States." She sipped her rum thoughtfully. "You know, this is really depressing me. Why don't we talk about you?"

"What do you want to know?"

"What was your childhood like? I bet it was great."

"It had its moments."

"Like what?' She smiled and waggled her boots in encouragement. He imagined grabbing her ankles and jerking her over to straddle his lap so he could lose himself in that mouth of hers. "Tell me something happy," she said. "What did you enjoy most when you were a kid?"

"A little kid?" He tried to think, but either rum or lust was fogging his brain. "Traveling. I miss seeing new places, meeting people, and life backstage."

"Your parents were actors?"

He nodded, and took another drink. "Not as successful as Aunt Viv, but yes."

"Did you ever think about going into showbiz?"

"Actually ..." He leaned forward and lowered his voice. "I'll tell you something, but you can't tell my sisters."

"Oh, goodie, secrets." She dropped her feet and leaned toward him, crossing her forearms on the table.

"I'm serious, you have to keep this to yourself." He let his gaze wander over her face, noticing how soft her skin looked. "They'd feel guilty if they knew, and I don't want that."

"Your secret's safe with me."

"In high school, I was in every production the drama club put on. I really took to acting, and my aunt was a great coach. My senior year, I was one of the leads in
Guys and Dolls
. My aunt's agent happened to be in town, so he came with her to opening night."

"Let me guess." She tipped her head. "He saw you act and offered to make you a star."

"Bingo." He took another drink, hoping the numbness in his brain would spread south.

"You're kidding." Her eyes brightened. "Really? So what happened?"

"I told him no."

"You told him no?" She stared in disbelief. "Why?"

"Because he'd come to Galveston to talk my aunt into returning to Broadway." He studied the melting ice in his glass. "The only way she could leave Galveston was if I stuck around after graduation to finish raising my sisters."

"Jesus. You gave up something that big for your
sisters
? Do you regret it?"

"Yes and no. I've had a great life. Really," he insisted. "Although ..."

"What?"

"A part of me can't stop wondering ... what if?" His eyes held hers. "You know?"

"Yeah." Jackie's voice became husky as she looked at him, so close, she could easily reach out and touch him. He had the most perfectly shaped mouth she'd ever seen. The memory of its taste made her ache for another long, deep, wet kiss like they'd shared that afternoon. "What if."

"So what's your big 'what if'?"

She shook her head, and laughed at the thoughts running through her brain.

"Come on." He topped her drink off, his voice a teasing rumble. "I told you one of my secrets. Now you have to tell me one of yours."

"You already know all my worst secrets."
Except how badly I want you.

"There must be something," he said as moonlight from the window caught his blue eyes. "Something about you no one knows."

"No way, St. Claire." She tossed back a swallow and when she lowered her glass, she found him watching her with hooded eyes. The room grew warmer.

"What if I tell you another one of mine?"

Her head swam pleasantly. "God, you're an easy drunk."

"This isn't the rum. It's just something I have to say."

Her heartbeat turned slow and heavy at his sudden intensity. "What?"

"I really wish you'd told us no about the cruises."

"Gee, thanks." She laughed, uncomfortably aware of the hard chair against her sensitive skin. "I look forward to working with you, too."

"I wish you'd said no" ---he placed the tip of his finger against her chin ---"because then I could have propositioned you for something a lot more personal. My secret is, I have never wanted any woman as much as I want you."

She went still, her skin tingling at his touch. "You only want me because you can't have me."

"Can't?" He stroked his finger along her jaw, making her yearn. "I wouldn't be too sure. I've never seriously tried."

Danger, danger,
her mind screamed, but she couldn't seem to pull away. "Yet I'm supposed to believe you want me more than any other woman?"

"You have no idea. You fascinate me." He trailed his finger down her neck, making her pulse pound. "From the moment I met you. At first it was just physical, which is easy enough to ignore. But the more I'm around you, the more I want to get to know you ... in every way possible."

She ached to lean forward and take his mouth with hers, to feel his whole hand stroking her skin, not just his fingertip.

He pulled back unexpectedly and she nearly toppled into his lap. "Now come on. Tell me one of your deep dark secrets."

Her mind whirled at the abrupt shift in mood. She shook her head to clear it, then looked at him. Was this some new game he was playing? Grabbing her glass, she tossed back what was left of her drink. "Okay, one confession." She looked straight at him. "Now that I've gotten to know you well enough to realize you aren't the shallow playboy I thought you were, I might have gone out with you. Maybe. But that was before. Now there's no way, because this venture means too much to me. I can't afford to blow it over sex. I really can't, Adrian. I mean that."

"Are you trying to convince me or you?" His smile was pure seduction.

"Both of us, I guess."

"Is it working?"

"Right now, I don't know." Lord, she couldn't think with him sitting there, looking so scrumptious she wanted to rip off his shirt and lick him all over. "I want you. But I'm not going to give in to that."

"Just as well." His grin turned wicked. "Knowing you, we'd probably have to arm-wrestle to see who gets to be on top."

She laughed, even as his words stirred images of his body hard and naked beneath her. "Are you afraid I'd win and damage that big ego of yours?"

"Maybe I'd let you win." Sensual challenge gleamed in his eyes.

"You think I can't take you on my own? Come on, get it up here." She braced her elbow on the table.

He hesitated, but did the same. She put her hand in his, felt his warm fingers close about her. His gaze met hers over their clasped hands. "What are you going to do if you lose?"

"I won't. On three," she said, her tone dead serious. "One, two, three!" She stood and plowed her whole body against his arm, nailing his hand to the table. "I win! I win!" She danced in a circle, laughing.

"You cheat!"

"So? I still win." She laughed harder, falling against the table.

"The hell you do." He grabbed her wrist and jerked her toward him. "I ought to spank you."

She shrieked and struggled. His laughter joined hers as he tried to pull her over his lap. Squirming to get free, she wound up straddling his thighs, her hands flat against his chest, their faces mere inches apart. They both went still. She stared into his eyes, her heart pounding. The hungry look he gave her made her breath catch.

Push away!
her brain screamed.

Oh, shut up.
She lowered her mouth to his. His hands dove into her hair, tilting her head as he kissed her back, devouring her mouth. Heat crashed through her in waves as their tongues tangled. She pressed closer, wanting to crawl inside his skin. Squirming up his thigh, she found his hardened length straining against his jeans. Had he been aroused the whole time they'd talked? The thought made her moan as she rubbed against him

His hands slipped down her sides, then up under her shirt. She arched back, breaking the contact of their mouths when he cupped her hypersensitive breasts.

"Careful," she gasped. He gave her a quizzical look. Embarrassment joined the flush of desire. "I'm really ... sensitive. There."

"Oh yeah?" His eyes lit. "How sensitive?"

"Very." She tried to lean away.

He wrapped his hands around her rib cage, holding her in place. His voice thickened. "Take your shirt off."

"I will not."

He looked steadily at her, all playfulness gone."Cheater's forfeit. Take your shirt off."

She started to argue, but the determination in his eyes sent a thrill racing through her. Crossing her arms, she grabbed the hem of the shirt and lifted it over her head. Cool air caressed her hot skin.

She looked down at herself, sitting naked from the waist up in his lap, his arousal pressed against her, bold and demanding. When his gaze dropped to her full, aching breasts, the dark nipples puckered.

He leaned forward, slowly. She stiffened, ready to jump back if he went straight for the nipples. He didn't. He cupped her gently in both hands and kissed the inside curve of each breast, back and forth, a coaxing whisper of lips. She relaxed with a sigh and closed her eyes. Enjoyment built slowly, a fluttering, melting sensation deep inside that grew and grew, until her hips moved of their own accord, rubbing her aching center against his hardness.

Rather than bracing for his lips on her nipples, she started longing for it, and arched her back in invitation. He avoided them, though, swirling his tongue around each puckered areole.

She buried her fingers in his thick, silky hair, freeing it from the band so it fell about his shoulders. Looking down, she watched his mouth as he licked her lightly. The wet caress made her shiver with need and frustration.

He glanced up, his eyes dark as he opened his mouth and closed it over one nipple, sucking hard.

A climax slammed into her and she threw her head back in surprise. For an instant, she feared she'd pass out. The world spun as she struggled to catch her breath. Then she realized the world wasn't moving, he was.

He stood with her clasped to him and her legs clamped tight about his waist as he strode toward the bed.

"Whoa! Wait!" She gasped for air. "I thought we weren't going to do this."

"Change of plan." He dropped her to the mattress, and braced himself over her, kissing her neck. "One time. To get it out of our systems."

She planted a hand to his chest and pushed him back enough to see his face. The words she meant to say died when she saw desire darkening his eyes. "Works for me."

Straightening, slowly, he grabbed one of her boots and pulled it off. His gaze burned into her as he removed the second boot, then he reached for the waistband of her leggings. He ripped them and her panties off in one fluid motion.

"Wait," she said as he started to climb on the bed. When he raised a brow, she grinned. "Strip."

A corner of his mouth kicked up as he unbuttoned his shirt with tantalizing slowness. Her breathing went shallow as he revealed, inch by inch, his well-defined chest and stomach. Pulling the shirt free of the jeans, he tossed it aside in a move that made muscles ripple.

Toeing off his shoes, he removed the socks. When he straightened, he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, removed a condom and casually set it on the shelf over the head of the bed. Then he popped the snap on his jeans and her gaze dropped toward the sound. She nearly swallowed her tongue when he unzipped the pants and peeled them off.

Oh, my God.

She stared as he straightened, fully nude and impressively aroused. She should have expected it, she supposed. The rest of him was magnificent, so why wouldn't he be magnificent there, too? Still, he was the most enticingly virile creature she'd ever seen.

She lifted her eyes to his. "I want you."

"I'm all yours." He crawled onto the bed, closing his mouth over hers.

The need to caress every gorgeous inch of his bare skin turned her greedy. With her mouth against his, she rolled until he lay on his back, propped halfway up on the mountain of pillows. She straddled his legs and explored him with her hands and mouth. His taste and scent filled her head, making her dizzy.

When she grazed her teeth over his nipple, he sucked in a breath and cupped her head in one hand, but he didn't take over. He lay still, muscles tense, somehow knowing his acquiescence would drive her excitement higher. Thrilled by the freedom, she moved to kneel between his legs.

His abs bunched beneath her lips as she trailed her mouth downward. Sitting back, she feasted her eyes on all of him. Good heavens, he was beautiful, his dark hair loose about his muscular shoulders, his eyes smoldering, his body bathed in soft light. And for this small space of time, he was hers to do with as she pleased.