The Costarella Conquest (6 page)

A
WILD MÊLÉE
of emotions pumped through Laura's heart. The response of her body to Jake's proposition was instantaneous; her stomach contracting in sheer yearning for the satisfaction he promised, her thighs pressing together to contain the rush of excitement at their apex, her breasts tingling with the need to be touched, held, given the same sensual caressing he was using on her hand.

The simple answer was yes.

She wanted to go with him, wanted to feel how it would be, wanted to know, but the surge of desire was so compelling it frightened her. This wasn't just curiosity. Nor was it an experiment over which she had control.

And there were other considerations.

She was supposed to be spending the night at Eddie's apartment. Her brother would worry if she didn't turn up there so he would have to be told, though she need not actually speak to him. A text message would suffice. Eddie would undoubtedly
repeat what he'd said before—
make damned sure you keep it at sex and don't get hooked on him.

Good advice. Except Laura had the fluttery feeling that she was hooked. Deeply and irrevocably hooked. Although if Jake ever demanded too much of her, surely she had enough backbone to walk away. He was offering her great dinners and very probably great sex. It shouldn't be a problem for her to take both and enjoy both.

His thumb pressed into her palm. ‘What reservations do you have, Laura?' he asked quietly, the dark brilliant eyes scouring hers for answers, challenging whatever barriers were in her mind.

Pride wouldn't allow her to admit she was scared of his power over her. It suddenly seemed terribly important to appear brave and strong, not only to him but also to herself. She forced a smile. ‘None. I was just thinking I don't want to be left wondering, so let's do it.'

He relaxed into a laugh—a deep rumble of pleasure that thrummed along her shaky nerves, promising all would be well between them. His eyes sparkled delight in her as he said, ‘You are one amazing woman.'

She raised her eyebrows in arch surprise. ‘Why?'

He grinned. ‘Before I met you I was expecting a pampered princess or a calculating miss, used to getting to her own way. It was a surprise to find you were neither. But you are quite strikingly beautiful,
Laura, and beautiful women tend to use that power to see how far a man will go for them.'

‘I don't like power games,' she said sharply, hating any form of manipulation.

‘No. You're wonderfully direct with what you think.' He lifted his glass in a toast to her. ‘May you always be so.'

She cocked her head on one side consideringly. ‘Were you buttering me up with the foodie thing?'

He shook his head. ‘I want more than a one-night stand with you. I'm quite certain I'll enjoy our adventure into fine dining.'

‘So will I.'

‘Then we're agreed on our points of contact.'

She laughed, happily giddy with the sense that this wasn't so much a dangerous trap she might fall into but a course of action that could give her tremendous pleasure. Her whole body zinged with excitement at the points of contact soon to be made.

‘Will you excuse me for a few minutes?' she said, rising from her chair. ‘I need to go to the ladies' and call my brother.'

‘Why your brother?' he asked, frowning over the possibility of third-party interference.

‘I arranged to stay overnight at his apartment. I don't want Eddie worrying about me.'

‘Ah! Of course! You didn't want your father to know. He won't know any more from me, Laura,' he quickly assured her.

She paused a moment, eyeing him with deadly
seriousness. ‘If you don't keep to that, Jake, I won't see you again.'

‘Understood.'

A secret affair, Laura thought, liking the idea of it as she made her way to the ladies' room. Somehow it was less threatening than a relationship she would be expected to talk about. Eddie would have to know but she could trust him to keep it private if she asked him to. They had a solid sister/brother pact about running their own lives—away from their father.

However, she had no sooner sent the necessary text than her mobile phone rang in response. With a rueful sigh, she reopened it, knowing Eddie was going to express concern.

‘You said you weren't going to fall at his feet,' he snapped in disapproval.

‘I'm standing upright and walking to where I want to go. Just like you do, Eddie,' she reminded him.

‘You're younger than I am, Laura. Not as street-hard. I tell you, that guy knows how to play all the angles. You should be standing back a bit, more on guard.'

She knew it was Jake's connection to her father making her brother overprotective but she had dealt with that issue. Until it raised its head again—if it did—she was determined on ignoring it and pleasing herself. ‘I want this, Eddie. Let it be. Okay?'

In the short silence that followed she had a mental image of him grinding his teeth over her decision,
not liking it one bit but forced to respect it. ‘Okay,' he said grudgingly. ‘Will I see you tomorrow?'

‘If you're at the apartment when I come to pick up the things I've left there.'

‘I'll be in. Hope this isn't one hell of a mistake, Laura.'

‘I hope so, too. 'Bye for now.'

She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she refreshed her lipstick. Her eyes were very bright. Feverishly bright? Earlier this week she had likened Jake to a virus that had invaded her system, knocking her out of kilter. The invasion was much stronger tonight, both physically and mentally, and she didn't want to fight it. Surrendering to all the clamouring feelings inside her had to be right. By tomorrow she would know for certain if it was a mistake. That was better than wondering.

Jake rose from his chair as she approached their table again. ‘Ready to go?' he asked as she reached it.

‘Yes. Have you paid…?'

He nodded. ‘And tipped. The service was excellent.'

‘Absolutely. We didn't have to wait too long for anything.'

He smiled, the sexy simmer back in his eyes as he hooked her arm around his, drawing her into close physical contact with him and intimately murmuring, ‘I'm glad you don't like waiting.'

Her ear tingled from the warm waft of his breath.
Her heart leapt into a wild hammering as the thought jagged through her mind that she was being too easy for him—not waiting, plunging headlong into bed with him. Probably all women were
easy
for him and she would be no different to any of the others. But did that really matter? Wasn't she going after what
she
wanted? She didn't have to be different. She just had to be true to herself.

She sucked in a deep breath to calm herself as they moved towards the exit. ‘I daresay you don't have to wait for much, Jake,' she said drily.

‘You're wrong.' He slid her an ironic look. ‘Some things I've been waiting years for.'

‘Like what?'

She caught a savage glitter in his eyes before he turned his head away and shrugged. ‘Just personal goals, Laura. I guess you're impatient to make a start on your career, but you have to wait until you get your degree under your belt.'

‘It will be good to finally strike out on my own,' she agreed, wondering what his personal goals were and why they sparked such a flow of strong feeling in him. A dangerous man, she thought again, dangerous and driven, but driven by what?

‘I'm sure you'll find your work-life very rewarding, caring about the environment as you do,' he remarked, sliding straight back into an admiring expression, shutting the door on what he obviously wanted to keep private.

Laura decided not to try probing. Later in the
night when his guard was down and he was more relaxed, he might reveal more about himself. It could wait. Or maybe his goals were connected to her father. In which case, she didn't want to know. Not tonight. Tonight was about exploring something else entirely and she didn't want anything to spoil it.

As they emerged onto the street she hugged his arm, secretly revelling in its strongly muscled masculinity. Her imagination conjured up images of him naked—the perfect male in every respect. Every woman should be allowed to have one, she told herself, and this was simply seizing the opportunity. This connection to Jake Freedman didn't have to get complicated. In fact, she shouldn't let it become complicated. It was much safer to keep it simple.

‘The hotel is about three blocks away,' he said, his mouth moving very sensually into a teasing little smile. ‘Can you manage to walk that far in those gloriously erotic shoes or shall I flag down a taxi?'

She laughed, giddy with the thought of his mouth moving erotically all over her. ‘I can walk, as long as it's a stroll and not a forced march.'

‘I wouldn't force anything with you, Laura. This is all about choice,' he said seriously.

It was nice to have that assurance, to know she wasn't at physical risk with him. Strangely enough, it hadn't even occurred to her that she might be. It was the emotional risk she'd been concerned about. No man had ever affected her as Jake did.

‘Why choose a hotel?' she asked as they walked towards it. ‘We could have gone to your place.'

‘My place is barely habitable. It's an old run-down terrace house that I'm in the process of renovating. There's stuff everywhere. I hope I can make it look great when it's finished, but that's not tonight or any night soon. I only have time to work on it at week ends.'

‘You're doing the renovating yourself?'

‘Not all of it. Only the carpentry. My father taught me all the skills of the trade and I'm enjoying doing the work myself.'

‘Your father was a carpenter?'

‘No, he was an engineer but he loved working with wood. It was a hobby he shared with me in my growing-up years.'

The tone of deep affection told her he'd shared a very special bond with his father while Eddie had only ever known criticism and disapproval from their father and she had learnt to avoid the kind of contact that inevitably led to acrimony. Such different lives…

Possibly working with wood kept the family bond alive for Jake, though he'd also said last Sunday he liked to relax by doing something physical. Going to the gym was not his only outlet, and she liked the idea of him being involved with something creative. Renovating a house was similar to building an environment to a pre-designed plan.

Jake worked for her father but he definitely wasn't like him.

She would tell Eddie so tomorrow.

In the meantime, she couldn't resist lifting her free hand to slide her fingers across Jake's. ‘Your skin isn't rough,' she remarked.

He was amused by her checking. ‘I wear gloves for heavy work. You must do, too.' He caught her hand and held it, caressing it as he had before, smiling into her eyes. ‘Definitely no calluses.'

Laura had difficulty catching her breath he was so utterly gorgeous and her mind was spinning with the wonder of how excited he made her feel. Only belatedly did it click into the line of conversation and produce a reply, the words coming out huskily. ‘My mother's training. A lady should always protect her skin from damage.'

He stopped walking, halting both of them as he released her hand to lift his to her cheek, stroking it with exquisite softness. ‘No damage,' he murmured.

His thumb slid under her chin, tilting it up. He un-hooked his arm from hers and wrapped it around her waist. His head bent and Laura watched his mouth coming closer and closer, her heart hammering in wild anticipation for the kiss she had been remembering all week.

It didn't matter that they were standing on a public sidewalk in the centre of the city with people passing by. Everything beyond this moment with Jake faded into insignificance. The desire, the need
to feel what he'd made her feel before, was pulsing through her.

His lips grazed over hers, igniting a host of electric tingles. His tongue flicked over them, soothing, seductively seeking entry, which she eagerly gave, wanting the deeper sensations, the erotic tasting, the rise of feverish passion that would blow away any lingering doubt about choosing to have this night with him.

Eagerly she surrendered her mouth to the intimate connection with his and almost instantly her inner excitement escalated, wiping all thought from her mind, making her super-aware of physical contact with him, the delicious pressure of touching points; breasts, stomach, thighs, a wild vibrancy pouring through her, making her ache with the intensity of feelings that had never been so overwhelmingly aroused.

This kiss was not just a kiss. It was total invasion, possession, wildfire sweeping beyond any control, burning her up with the need to have all of this man. Laura lost all sense of self. She was completely consumed by her response to him, and the response was too immediate, too powerful, too real for her to reason it away.

She wanted him.

More fiercely than she'd ever wanted anything.

It was a dizzying shock when he tore his mouth from hers and pressed her head onto his shoulder, making the separation decisive. Her heart was
pumping so hard, the drumming of it filled her ears. Only vaguely did she hear him suck in breath. His chest expanded with it. He rubbed her back, probably an instinctive calming action. Her quivering nerve ends were grateful for it.

‘Shouldn't have done that but I've been wanting to all evening,' he muttered. ‘Are you okay to walk on, Laura?'

Hotel…alone together in private…bed…uninterrupted intimacy… ‘Yes,' she breathed on a sigh that relieved some of the tense ache in her chest. ‘As long as you hold on to me.'

A deep sexy laugh rumbled from his throat. ‘Letting you go will be the problem, not holding on to you.'

His words struck a vulnerable chord in her that Laura instantly shied away from examining. ‘Let's not think about problems,' she said quickly, lifting her head to shoot him a look of needful appeal. ‘I only want to think about what we can have together.'