Insatiable (18 page)

She let out a snort. “Yeah right.”

“Not as expensive as the restaurant anyway.” He tucked her against his side, turning his cheek against her hair. “You smell good enough to lick.”

“You already licked me. In a manner of speaking.” The memory reignited the tingling between her thighs, and she couldn‟t suppress her grin. “So where are we going anyway?”

“To fulfill one of my fantasies.”

Rachel peered up at him. “In public?”

His laughter was rich and appreciative. “Baby, after the Zenith gala, you should know I do my best work in plain sight.”

* * *

Shawn watched her where she was seated at the baby grand piano, her long fall of dark hair swept over one shoulder as her fingers skimmed sensually over the gleaming black and white keys. Her nails flashed red against the white, as red as her lipstick.

If he‟d met her on the street, happened to bump into her coming out of the grocery store or the bank, just the look of her would‟ve grabbed him around the Insatiable

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throat. Her pouty lips, uptilted dark eyes, and throaty, made-for-the-bedroom laugh—any one of those things would‟ve set his pulse tripping. But none of those attributes compared to her ability to make him grin at the taunts she hurled between sets of her private concert for one.

“What‟s next? „Great Balls of Fire‟?”

He held his tongue, barely, as he set down his wineglass. Hers sat untouched beside her on the piano bench. “Player‟s choice.”

“I can‟t believe you really went to all this trouble just so you could hear me play.”

Shawn rose and walked over to her, then snagged her wineglass and tipped it up to her lips. Her smile flashed as she took a single sip.

“So I could watch the sexiest woman I know make love to a piano?” He dipped his head close to hers. “While wearing an incredible dress and no panties? Yeah, hard to see why I‟d bother.”

“You didn‟t know I wouldn‟t be wearing panties.”

“Bonus round.” Nudging her aside with his hip, he joined her on the bench and brought her mouth to his. She tasted of crisp white wine and wintergreen gum, a deliciously cool contrast to the warmth of her skin as he stroked it through the slit in her dress. “How about some Aerosmith before dinner is served?”

“Aerosmith.” Her laughter swam through his blood. “You reserved this entire restaurant just so I could play „Janie‟s Got A Gun‟?”

Shawn reached for the bowl of artfully arranged fruit on the piano. He selected from strawberries, raspberries, green grapes, and a few wedges of peach, finally deciding to go with her favorite. “I had another idea actually.” Her lips parted as soon as he offered her the grape, and his cock throbbed with a surge of pure lust as she curled her tongue around the fruit between his fingers. “Do you know „Love in an Elevator‟?”

“Really naughty boy.” Rachel chewed and swallowed the grape, then tested a few notes and started the opening chords.

Incredible. He‟d yet to find any songs they had in common that she couldn‟t play.

Just as he was about to proclaim her a genius, she slid closer and hooked her leg around his. And kept playing, even while he slid his hand into the slit in her gown. “See why we needed to be alone?” he said against her neck as his fingers drifted closer to the heat radiating between her thighs.

“You already broke your rule once.”

“Did not. One measly little finger…”

“Oh, it was more than one. And you sucked them.”

“That I did.” Shawn caught her lower lip between his teeth, amazed her hands had yet to falter on the keys. “I‟m curious. Can you keep playing no matter what?”

Her eyebrows winged up. “Depends what you have in mind.”

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“A few more licks. Directly from the source this time.” When color bloomed high on her cheeks, he laughed. “Maybe we‟ll save that for dessert.” He plucked a succulent raspberry from the bowl and fed it to her, murmuring, “Do you know what these remind me of?”

Her flush deepened, creeping down her neck. “Not sure I want to know.”

“Sure you do. They remind me of your lips, before you put on all that lipstick.”

She visibly relaxed. “I thought you were going to say—”

“And your nipples,” his voice turned low and soft, “after I‟ve sucked them as hard as I sucked your juice off my fingers earlier.”

That did it. She stumbled on the keys just as the doors of the private elevator whooshed open, revealing several waiters and three loaded carts of food.

Rising, Shawn directed where to leave the covered dishes, indicating a corner table that offered a dazzling view of New York from twenty stories up. A moment later, they were alone again.

“You didn‟t need to do all this,” she began as he lifted lids to make sure everything was to his specifications. “I‟m a burger-and-fries kind of girl.”

Choosing a fork, he sampled a spear of asparagus. Perfect. “You think I don‟t know that?”

“Then why did you go to all this trouble?”

“Has anyone ever swept you off your feet, Rachel?” He turned his head, narrowing his eyes as two more waiters exited the elevator to light the candles tucked into every nook and cranny. Rachel‟s audible intake of breath as the house lights went down made his mouth curve.

No amount of money could be measured against her happiness, even the little glimpses she gave him before she put up her protective walls. And that, he considered with amusement as he sipped his wine, could only be the thought of a man thoroughly in love.

Big surprise there.

“You like?”

“I love.” She stood, her lips pursing as she hesitated with one hand on the piano. “I know I haven‟t reacted the way you want. But I‟m trying. I‟m trying to not think about the implications of any of this when we get back home. If we never left New York, it‟d be one thing.”

“So let‟s stay here.”

She laughed. “Yeah right.”

“I‟m serious.” Shawn walked over to her and cupped her face in his hands, as moved by the vulnerability in her eyes as by her hitching breath. She was affected by him, even if she couldn‟t quite accept why. “Home‟s where you are, Rach.”

She pressed a hand against her stomach. “Where‟d you learn this stuff? It‟s potent.”

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“Trade secret, babe.” He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Let‟s eat.”

She followed him to their table, her hand clasping his. “What did you—” She stopped as she took in the display of food: arugula and field green salads, more strawberries with a side of whipped chocolate sauce, scallops, oysters. In the center of the white lacy tablecloth, a bucket contained a bottle of chilled Dom. Her wary gaze shot to his. “Don‟t see any burgers here.”

“No. Obviously, each course should be served one at a time, but I wanted privacy.”

She cleared her throat. “Makes sense, since this table is loaded down with aphrodisiacs.”

“Trust you to glean the hidden meaning.” Grinning, Shawn pulled out her chair. “Sit. Have a glass of champagne.” While he spoke, the beginning swells of Beethoven‟s Fifth filtered through the recessed speakers.

He‟d just taken the seat across from her when he heard her breath catch once more. “Shawn, that‟s my CD. Again.”

“Thought we‟d established it‟s mine.” He lifted her hand to his lips. “Your ear is unerring as always. I figured you‟d have to take a break to eat, so why not play my favorite CD?”

Her lips trembled, but her fingers gripped his. “It‟s beautiful. Everything‟s been beautiful. Absolutely perfect. I‟m just so afraid I‟ll let you down.”

“Not possible,” he said, though it was very possible. If he couldn‟t get her to fall in love with him—or, more importantly, if he couldn‟t get her to realize being in love with him wasn‟t the curse she believed it to be—before they returned to Calvin Bay, the chances of it ever happening were nil.

Somehow, some way, he had to do in days what he hadn‟t managed to accomplish in ten years. No biggie.

To lighten the suddenly somber mood, Shawn snagged a strawberry and swiped it through the frothy chocolate sauce. Holding the berry out to her, he murmured, “You know what this reminds me of?”

Her sexy peal of laughter dissolved the coil of tension in his gut. For now, he‟d let things lie.

Until the time came he couldn‟t.

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Chapter Twelve

Since Shawn had rented out the space until midnight—on such short notice, she couldn‟t bear to contemplate the cost, even if the owner
was
a friend of a friend as he‟d claimed—Rachel gave him his full money‟s worth by returning to the piano after their very lengthy meal.

They‟d spent hours laughing, drinking champagne, and feeding each other. In between rating which delicacies generated the most buzz on the lust scale, there‟d been a lot of kissing too. Long, slow kisses, teasing nibbles, even a few of the lip-suck, eye-stare variety.

Shawn happened to be good at all three.

On a typical first date, the awkwardness of getting to know someone in a forced romantic atmosphere was to be expected. But even knowing how Shawn supposedly felt about her, she hadn‟t experienced that pressure to connect. Or at least she hadn‟t when she hadn‟t been overthinking the situation so her all-too-eager libido didn‟t get free rein.

Maybe her mind still had concerns, but her body sure didn‟t. It wanted to get down to business. Fast.

After dinner, she chose the musical selections, ranging from Chopin to Rachmaninoff to Bach. The music soothed her jangled thoughts as surely as a sedative, leaving her more relaxed than she‟d been in a damned long time. She even taught Shawn the opening chords of “London Bridge,” proof positive she had a gift for teaching since he wasn‟t exactly the most malleable of students.

Especially when he insisted on interrupting his lesson with lots and lots of examples of his multiple days of foreplay.

The limo ride back to the hotel was more of the same. More laughter, more champagne. Definitely more kissing. By the time they‟d made it back up to the suite, she couldn‟t seem to walk straight. Another good thing about being with Shawn? She could get drunk off her ass if she wanted, and she could trust him not to take advantage.

Not that she would‟ve minded if he had. No, sir.

“Why don‟t you undress me?” she offered with something horrifyingly close to a giggle, tossing her bag aside the minute he shut the door behind them.

He looped an arm around her waist, steadying her. Always. “My shy, retiring Rachel.”

“Are you drunk too? Or is it just me?”

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“Why are you whispering?” he whispered back. “We‟re alone.”

“Sorry.” She giggled again and held a hand to her head. “I feel so…” She spun away from him, twirling in a dizzy circle before falling back on the bed. “Happy.

Ridiculously, drunkenly happy.” She craned her head to look at him, still standing on the threshold. His grin held such affection, her tingling toes had a whole new reason to curl. “C‟mere.” She patted the bed.

He stretched out beside her, his smile spreading as he swept her wayward curls away from her cheeks. “I love seeing you like this.”

“Me too. Though, you know, I can‟t see myself.” Laughing, she pulled his face down and took his mouth. He responded at once, his hunger evident in each stroke of his tongue. Frissons of warmth lanced through her breasts, setting off a trail of heat that shot right into her core.

But all too soon, he eased back.

Narrowly, Rachel resisted a snarl. “I hate your rules.”

“Me too.” He kissed her nose. “But I will undress you.”

“What‟s the point?”

“Because I want to sleep with you. Skin on skin.”

As images of just that sprung into her hazy mind, she leaned up to undo the buttons on his shirt. She couldn‟t keep from touching each golden inch of his torso she uncovered, but when her wandering fingers dipped under his waistband, he caught her wrist. “Just undressing you,” she said innocently. “Isn‟t that what I‟m supposed to do?”

“Uh-huh. I‟ll handle this part.”

“Wuss.” Determined to make the process as hellish as possible on him, she raised herself on her elbow to watch as he loosened his belt and lifted his hips. The motion sent a twist of desire knifing through her belly. “Sure I can‟t…give you a hand?”

“Jesus, Rach.” With a strangled laugh, he pushed his pants and briefs down, finally kicking them free.

She flicked her tongue over her lips as she smoothed her hand down his thigh.

When his muscles flexed under her touch, her gaze slid coyly to his erect cock, lying flush against his centerfold-quality abs. “You owe me a lick.”

“Honey, I don‟t owe you a damn thing.” His hand fisted in the back of her dress as her mouth again found his. Wetly. “You want something, take it.”

Longing bubbled up inside her, intensifying the pressure of her kiss. She used her nails to trail up the broad length of his engorged flesh. One of them groaned, she wasn‟t sure which, while she traced the vein throbbing just under the skin. His tongue thrust deeper into her mouth, and his grip on her dress turned brutal.

She almost grinned. The way things were going, his days of foreplay would end a lot sooner than he‟d planned.

Then the phone rang.

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“Christ.” Shawn yanked his mouth from hers with a little sucking noise, then threw his arm over his eyes. Tension seeped from every pore of his body. His chest rose and fell like a locomotive, air pumping through his parted lips in a wheezy hiss.

“Get the damn phone. You know you want to.”