The Tycoon's Make-Believe Fiancee (5 page)

“Tell your boss whatever you need to in order to get out of the office at noon, or I’ll tell him for you.”

She forced her hands to release his jacket and wrist while she stepped out of his arms. “The dictator is back then,” she sighed and shook her head as if she were disappointed. “I’ll be ready by noon, sir, but you’re going to have to feed me.” She said that as if it were a threat, but inside, she her stomach was flipping around, excited about the idea of seeing him again.

She had already turned around and was trying to put her key in her door lock when she heard his amusement and tensed, knowing that he wouldn’t let her get away with that. She was right.

“I guarantee that I will satisfy all of your hungers this weekend, Miranda,” he promised her and pulled her back up against his chest, nipping her earlobe before releasing her again.

Miranda closed her eyes as sparks of need shot through her whole body, ending up down low in her belly. “You…” she took a deep breath and straightened up, shaking her head to clear out the fuzziness caused by his latest “caress”. “There’s no need to touch me or kiss me when your sister isn’t around,” she admonished him.

Royston saw her dark head bend downwards and heard her words, but something inside of him snapped when she tried to order him about. Instead of letting her enter her apartment and think she could issue that kind of a statement and get away with it, he swung her around and pinned her up against the wall. “Miranda, you and I both know that there’s a hell of a lot more going on between us. The need to make my sister think I’m about to be married and happy is secondary to this fire that is burning out of control whenever we touch. And we will be exploring this over the weekend. I promise you that.”

Her breathing was rapid and she felt like she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs. She looked up at him, not sure how to reply. His hand was resting just below her breasts and she wanted so desperately for him to move it higher, to feel his fingers against her sensitive nipple but she bit down on her lip, refusing to give him anymore fuel. “I have to go,” she whispered.

Royston watched her, knowing that she was feeling exactly the same thing he was, but he relented. There was plenty of time this weekend. He pulled back, gently caressing her cheek. “Noon tomorrow,” he warned softly. “And I’ll feed you.”

With that, he unlocked her door and waited until she was safely inside before he walked away.

Miranda leaned against the door to her apartment until the ding from the elevator told her that he’d departed from the floor. With that indicator, she sagged against the door, feeling exhausted and somehow sad. The man generated crazy emotions within her that she definitely didn’t like and couldn’t understand! Her thoughts vacillated between wanting him to go away and desperate for him to touch her again. It was crazy!

She pushed away from the doorway and forced herself to get ready for bed, washing her face and brushing her teeth. She felt the nightgown slide over her naked breasts and wished it were his hands. Closing her eyes, she gritted her teeth as she slid in between the sheets, wondering what it would be like to make love with Royston Carmichael. The man was merciless in business. Would he be that way during sex? Would he be a selfish lover? Or would he drive her crazy with need and…she closed her eyes in the darkness, her body too wound up to think about it any longer.

She tossed and turned, her mind rehashing the two times he’d kissed her as well as his almost angry rebuttal of her command.

Fourteen hours later, Miranda was staring at the enormous bed with her suitcase resting beside it. The fact that the suitcase was there wasn’t the problem. Nor was the size of the bed, but it did make her blush.

No, the problem was the second suitcase that was sitting right beside her own. Both of them had already been emptied by Royston’s super-efficient staff and she was standing here, trembling with fear, anticipation and confusion.

Did he really expect her to sleep with him? In this room? There were so many bedrooms in this house, surely he could find another one. Good grief, she’d be happy to find her own bedroom! This one was bigger than her entire apartment!

And she really didn’t want to sleep in the same room as the enemy.

Okay, so she’d found him to be an interesting conversationalist on the ride down to his country home. And he had been sweet and kind to his sister last night not to mention stopping at a wonderful little restaurant where she had some of the most delicious foods of her life.

But he was so scary! She couldn’t imagine what he might want from her! She wasn’t up for this. He was so out of her league on too many levels.

She spun around, determined to tell him that there was no way she could do this. She’d just have to explain to his sister that this was all a sham, that she’d lied to her and was ashamed, but she had to get out of this house as fast as possible! She simply couldn’t go through with this. Not with that huge bed looming in front of her.

“Going somewhere?” Royston asked, holding a glass of some sort of creamy liquid in one hand and a tall glass of amber liquid in the other.

“I have to…” she blinked when he handed her the creamy glass. “What’s this?”

“Try it,” he told her, then waited for her to take a sip.

Miranda looked at the liquid, not quite sure she should drink anything he handed to her. He looked like he was up to mischief and she didn’t trust him.

Okay, yes, she trusted him, but she didn’t know what this was and she had to keep her head about her. “What’s in it?”

He shrugged and took a long sip of his beer. “I noticed that you don’t drink red wine, nor white wine, so I had my housekeeper mix up something that you’ll probably like.”

She sniffed the mixture in the martini glass carefully. “I don’t think I can handle a martini.”

He chuckled. “I doubt you’d be able to handle a gin or vodka martini. But this is different.” He watched her carefully, a definite challenge in his eyes. “Are you going to trust me or stand there staring at the drink until you figure out what it is?”

She laughed softly, still not sure she should, but in the end, she was too curious so she took a sip of the creamy liquid. As soon as the taste struck her tongue, her eyes widened in delighted surprise. “Oh my! That’s delicious!” and she took another sip. “Pumpkin?” she asked.

He nodded his head. “Pumpkin martini.”

She laughed, thrilled with the sweet, creamy drink. “This is amazing! It’s smooth but still,” she took another sip, thought for a moment as the drink hit her taste buds, “but still has a bit of a kick to it, doesn’t it?”

He winked at her then took her hand. “Now that I’ve finally found a drink you like, let’s go relax by the fire while we wait for my sister to show up.”

She followed him down, taking another sip simply because the drink was so delicious. It wasn’t like a normal alcoholic beverage, but more like a dessert. Yes, she could definitely get used to this! “What other flavors of martini are there?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Just about any kind you can imagine, from what my housekeeper tells me.”

She laughed, understanding by his tone that he didn’t want anything to do with the sweet drink. It occurred to her that he had gone out of his way to find a drink she would like and could enjoy socially. Not that she could order this in a restaurant, she thought with a laugh. She could just imagine the horror on a bartender’s face if she requested a pumpkin martini! The horror!

“Well, whatever is in it, I really like it.” He pulled her down onto a deep, sofa. Fortunately, for Miranda’s peace of mind, the doorbell rang only moments after they were seated. Even Royston saw the look of relief on her face and almost laughed. “There’s always tonight,” he whispered into her ear a moment before his housekeeper showed Wyndi and Tamar into the room.

She thought about telling him that she couldn’t sleep with him, but it was too late. She didn’t want to do it in front of his sister and Royston was already moving forward to gently hug his sister.

The afternoon was delightful with Wyndi keeping the conversation moving along and only a few glares between Tamar and Royston during the evening meal. But too soon, Wyndi started yawning and she excused herself to get some rest. “I never knew that the early stages of pregnancy could be so exhausting,” she explained, rubbing her tummy protectively.

Miranda stood up, watching the other couple leave with a jealous heart and nervous stomach. She wanted that kind of a relationship, she thought as the couple walked out of the room, Tamar’s arm around her waist as if he simply couldn’t stop touching his wife.

Royston sat back down, watching Miranda carefully. He knew she was nervous, but wasn’t sure why. The chemistry between the two of them was surprising, but a good thing in his mind. They both wanted each other, why was there any hesitation?

“Talk to me,” he told her, taking her hand and pulling her down next to him. “Why are you so nervous about being alone with me?”

She resisted for a moment, but figured talking was a better, safer, option than what she suspected he wanted to do. “I need my own room.”

“No you don’t,” he immediately replied. “We’ll sleep together, but I doubt I’m going to let you sleep very much tonight.”

She felt his thumb rubbing against her wrist and wanted to pull her hand away. “I think that’s what I’m terrified about,” she said, taking a deep breath and looking at the fire. “I can’t do this. Not with you,’ she finally admitted.

“Why not?” he laughed softly at her wording. “And why specifically not with me?”

His hand slid up her arm and she shivered. “Because you terrify me. And I can’t handle this. I can’t handle you.”

His lips formed a slight smile due to her phrasing and all the images her words conjured up in his mind. “I think you can handle me just fine.”

She realized what she’d just said and blushed, looking down again. “See? That’s what I mean. I can’t… I’ve never…” she stopped, her hand fluttering in the air. “I just can’t.”

He lifted her hand, his fingers sliding between hers and the touch was sensuous, startling her with the intensity of her reaction. “Tell me what you can’t do.”

She took a deep, shuddering breath. “You’re too experienced.”

His eyes captured hers and his hand froze for a long moment. “Are you telling me that you’re not?”

She flushed and looked down, trying to extricate her hand but he wouldn’t release her fingers. “You’re out of my league,” was her refrain.

He didn’t use any more words. With careful precision, he set his brandy glass down on the table in front of him then, with a swiftness she’d never seen before, he lifted her into his arms and set her down onto his lap. His hand immediately moved up to hold her in place when she tried to get away. “You’re perfect,” he groaned.

For a split second, Royston thought about backing off and not making love to her. But that thought was quickly banished by the all-consuming need to possess her as no other man had ever done before. He’d wanted Miranda from the first moment he’d seen her in the hallway. But getting to know her, hearing her laugh over the past two dinners, had given him insight into her sweet personality that wouldn’t allow him to simply walk away from her. He wanted her, he had to have her. And he knew he could make this good for her.

He wondered how he would feel when he moved on to his next mistress but had to push that thought aside. He couldn’t deal with the idea of another man touching her like he wanted to touch her.

He slid his lips over hers, nibbling at her trembling mouth. “Open up for me, Miranda. I promise to take care of you.”

With that assurance and his hands smoothing over her skin, she found that she wasn’t able to resist. Nor did she really want to. Logically, she might know that this was a bad idea. But the events of the past forty-eight hours convinced her, perhaps incorrectly, that this man was not the horrible human being she’d initially thought he was.

When she complied with his command, she shuddered as his hands and mouth devoured her. His hands shifted upwards, cupping her breasts with his strong fingers, moving against the tender flesh and causing a moan to escape from her mouth. She had no idea how it happened, but one moment she was sitting on his lap, the next moment, she was laying on a soft blanket in front of the fireplace while his hands swiftly released the buttons on her shirt. She stared up at his eyes while he pulled the fabric away. She should be nervous, but the look in his eyes, the power and hunger she saw in their depth, gave her a feminine power that pushed away all of her anxiety. This was right, she told herself. She’d never felt anything so right.

And then his fingers cupped her breast with nothing in between, his thumb rubbing against her nipple and she cried out, arching into his hand.

“You’re beautiful, Miranda,” he groaned as his mouth moved lower, taking that peak in his mouth.

She couldn’t believe the electric shock that tore through her body with that touch, not even sure if she could take that kind of heat. But he was relentless, holding her in place while he teased and kissed her. She tried to wiggle away, but he wouldn’t let her. So she found that the only way to appease some of the intensity was to touch him back, to get her mind slightly off of what he was doing to her.

With that discovery, she pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his slacks, her fingers sliding against the shockingly hard planes of his body, discovering that he was so much more than she’d expected. His muscles were tighter, more compact than she’d thought and delighted in discovering all the ripples along his back, then moving to his stomach. When he tore his shirt off over his head, she was thrilled to have even more expanse of tanned skin to explore.

She didn’t even hesitate when he slid her jeans off of her legs, feeling free of the cumbersome restrictions. But that was before she realized how much the denim fabric had been protecting her. His fingers traced along the curve of her thigh and she gasped when they stopped high up on her hips, then dipped down lower.

Miranda wanted to run away and yet, she couldn’t seem to move away from his questing hands. When they touched her in one place, she shifted so he had better access. When he moved to her thighs, she moved her legs so that he could touch her everywhere. It was like her skin was controlling her mind, wanting his fingers or his mouth to touch every part of her skin.

When his fingers moved inside of her, she screamed out, only to have his own mouth absorb her cry. Her hips lifted off of the floor, moving with his fingers. And suddenly, his fingers were gone and it was him, that hard part of him that had fascinated her but she’d been too nervous to explore, it was pressing into her, filling her up and she’d never felt so whole in her life.

She felt a small bit of pain and Royston froze. When she looked up at him, her hands gripping his shoulders, she grew frustrated with his lack of movement. “Don’t stop,” she whispered, shifting her hips slightly, trying to ease this new, frustrated feeling. “Please, don’t stop!”

“No problem with that, my love,” he groaned back. And with that, he shifted in and out of her heat, filling her up, causing the most amazing friction. She felt so incredible, so wound up and she couldn’t stop her body from shifting and moving right along with his. It was as if some other force had possessed her and she had to ride through the miraculous feelings, arching up to him to…yes! Reaching higher, she shifted once again, her hands unconsciously moving to his butt to pull him in tighter and…suddenly her whole body shattered and flew apart, her mind completely blank as the amazing feelings exploded. She couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, could only feel as he continued to move inside of her. She was vaguely aware of him finding his own release, but nothing could stop this throbbing, shocking bliss that overcame her.

A long time later, she felt Royston cover her in the blanket and lift her up, but she only smiled and snuggled into his arms, sighing with happiness.

Royston flipped the switch that would stop the fire and carried his slender beauty up to his bedroom. As soon as he laid her on the bed, she woke up enough to stare at him and that was all the provocation he needed to start the whole process over again.