Manhattan Millionaire’s Cinderella: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance (12 page)
Read Manhattan Millionaire’s Cinderella: HarperImpulse Contemporary Romance Online
Authors: Sun Chara
“You all right?” Cade dumped the gift box on the settee by the exit and hurried to her.
“Go away.” An embarrassed flush sheathed her body, her heart careering down a precipice, and her only reprieve, the ceiling fan sending a current of cool air her way.
“Nina?” Cade touched her shoulder, and when she didn’t move, fear whipped through him. “Hey, are you okay?”
She went ballistic; swinging her arms and kicking her legs, silks and soaps flying every which way. “Go!”
“Hold on, now.” He dodged her flailing hands and lifted her to her feet.
“O-o-o-h,” she squealed, pushing him away. “What kind of man are you?”
That did it. He tightened his jaw. Exhausted after a grueling day at the site, he’d come to her, hoping that maybe …
a reality check, man
. She’d driven him from the heights to the depths and every level in between since he arrived. Enough. What kind of man was he?!
“This kind.” He hauled her into his arms and kissed her with a fervor that left her breathless and, him panting for more.
When finally he broke the contact, they swallowed heaps of air, arms interlocked, eyes at a tug-of-war. That lasted for a nanosecond, and then he plundered her mouth, his tongue mating in a frenzy with hers, swirling, licking, tasting … peppermint candy.
A rasp of sound deep in his throat. He curved his hand on her nape, his fingers caressing her skin, his mouth sliding across her cheek, a hush of a breath in her ear, his teeth tugging at her earlobe; and then he kissed his way to her chin, down her neck, his tongue flicking the pulse point at the base of her throat.
“Cade?”
“Shh,” he murmured, working his way back to her mouth.
She locked her arms around his neck, fingers weaving a
fevered
tempo through his hair, her foot brushing his leg.
“Little darlin’.”
“Mmm, big guy.”
He smiled against her lips and slipping the crepe fabric off her
shoulders, exposed her breasts. A dip of his head, and he took a shadowed crown into his mouth, his tongue courting the nipple to erection. A guttural sound in his throat pulsed in sync with her purr of pleasure. In a fever, he unzipped his jeans and pushed her dress above her hips.
“Cade .… ”
“Shh, honey. Almost there.”
He lifted his head and pillaged her mouth, his hand fondling her breast, his thumb grazing the nipple. Downward he traveled, across her abdomen, his hand bumping the trinket at her navel, then sliding lower, his fingers gliding over her moist core.
Bracing himself against the counter, he hoisted her up and anchored her against his hips. She locked her legs around him, and he plunged inside her, her warm folds enfolded him; he thrust into her again and again.
Sweet, sweet pleasure.
He caught her moan of desire in his mouth, his tongue creating a mating cadence of its own, and rode her deep and fast and high. Digging her hands into his shoulders, she cried his name, but his tongue swept it up. He held onto her on the climb, suspended for a moment, sweet little death … .
She burst into multiple
sensations, as he exploded.
Surfing the pulsing wave with her, he dropped his head onto the crook of her shoulder, humbled. “Dear God, Nina.”
“Oh, Cade,” she murmured, sliding her limbs down his length until her toes touched the carpet. Brushing moist curls off his brow, she slid her fingertip down his temple and across his cheek, the stubble rough beneath her touch; but she didn’t care, moving to his mouth. She outlined his lips, and he nipped…she drew in a sharp breath, and he pulled her finger into his mouth, licking, stroking, suckling, making her gasp with delight.
He pressed his lips to her palm, cupped her buttocks, and pulled her smack against his hips. The impact knocked her off balance, and she tumbled with him onto the carpet behind the counter, her muffled giggle mingling with his muted chuckle.
Nina curled her toes into the carpet, and placed a kiss on his neck, tasting the salt of his sweat-damp skin. Her hands traveled down his body, unbuttoning and spreading his shirt open, her mouth following the hot trail of her fingers. She skimmed the fuzz on his chest with her lips, and his cologne—the hint of cool spice—rocked her heart off course. Her fingertips tormented one flat nipple, then her mouth settled over it, her tongue teasing it pebble-hard. A growl echoed in his throat, and she smiled, pleased.
Her hands toured down the stream of dark hair to his navel and beyond, until his prize filled her palms. She stroked, flirted, fondled. A breath, and
her mouth traveled lower, wanting to love every inch of this man who was her destiny.
With a gut-wrenching groan, he squeezed her shoulders, putting a check to her desire. Her hand stilled. He lifted her face to his, gold flecks glittering in his brown gaze, reflecting the firestorm inside him. “There’s no going back.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs and an air pocket caught in her throat. “I-I know.”
He surged in her hands and, blasted a breath that came out a heavy groan. “Who am I to you?”
She curved her lips in a timeless smile. “You are…”
He tightened his hands over her shoulders. “Say it.”
“My husband.”
He chucked her chin with his knuckles. “And don’t you forget it.”
Joy welled up inside her, then everything flashed through her mind, and she turned quiet, her elation dimming. A thousand questions bombarded her brain even in the heat of passion.
“What’s wrong?”
“You were shopping for a bride…in my boutique.”
“Sure was,” he confessed, grinning. “The sexy one was for you, and the red for my mother…the other woman I love.”
“Another con, Cade?” she murmured, but there was a lilt to her words.
“I had to do something drastic to get a reaction from you.”
She smiled.
Somehow she’d known, but had resisted against it. But no more.
“I had to know, to confirm what I’ve believed.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking the corner of her mouth.
“And what did you believe?” She splayed her hand across his chest, his heart pounding beneath her palm, her fingers flirting with the sprinkle of hair on his chest, his nipple.
A torrent of air rushed from his lungs, a tense beat and, “You…uh…feel me deeply.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah.” He laughed. “Yeah.” He bent his head, his mouth a hair-breadth from her own. “Say it, wife.”
She kept her counsel, her hand rerouting down his torso…his muscles flexed…a tickle at his navel, and she inched lower, spiking his desire.
“Nina, admit it,” he demanded, his words a low rumble.
“Let’s see…”
And so, Cade had no choice but to go on the offensive. His fingers feathered her inner thigh, and his mouth settled over her breast,
his tongue coaxing the nipple to a hard nub. She sucked in a mouthful of oxygen, exhaled a blissful sound, and held his head to the spot. His hand dallied at her bosom, then strayed to her midriff, sensitizing nerve endings and toured her belly button on approach to a lower landing.
She shut her eyes. “Mmm, good.”
“You have something to confess?”
“I do.” She peeked at him from beneath her lashes, a pixie smile on her mouth. “I’m craving a tall mocha cap.”
“You’re what?” Astounded, Cade spanned
his hand across her abdomen and heard her indrawn breath. Okay, she must be feeling him with that reaction…good, he was still in control.
“You can have one too.”
“Gee, thanks.” He chuckled. “But I’ll trump your offer, lil’ darlin’.”
“I don’t see how.”
“A Broadway show after—”
“The Lion King?” she was quick to insert.
“Sure, why not?” He brushed her bottom lip with his thumb and
tenderness nicked his heart. He wanted to give her the world but only if he came with it.
“Oh, Cade,” she sighed.
“
You are the love of my life.”
“Bout time,” he grumbled and smiling against her mouth, closed the sweetheart of a deal.
The End
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First published in Great Britain by HarperImpulse 2013
Copyright © Sun Chara
Cover Images © Shutterstock.com
Sun Chara asserts the moral right
to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library
This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.
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Ebook Edition © October 2013
ISBN: 9780007555321
Version 2013-09-26
Digital eFirst: Automatically produced by Atomik ePublisher from Easypress.
