The Tycoon's Temporary Bride: Book Four (28 page)

Adam kissed her through it, swallowing her
sighs, until she released her hold on him and opened her eyes to
find him smiling at her. “Why’s the door closed?” she asked, her
voice mellow in her ears. The last time she was in the bedroom,
which was to shower and change after lunch, she’d left the door
open.

“Close your eyes,” he said with that devilish
smile again. And keep them closed until I say “Now”. Got it?”

Tashi pouted. “Oh, now you want me to close
my eyes?”

“Just for a few seconds, and when I tell you
to, I want you to hold your breath, as well.”

“Wha—”

“Just do as I ask. I promise you won’t be
disappointed.

“Okay, fine,” she relented, wondering what he
was up to, but deciding to close her eyes and wait for his command
to hold her breath.

He reached behind her. “Hold your breath,” he
said opening the door and taking a few steps forward. “Now.”

Tashi released her breath and opened her
eyes.

“Oh my gosh, Adam!” Her hand flew to her
mouth as her eyes darted around. This was definitely not the same
room she’d left hours ago. It had been transformed into a sensual
chamber of love. The drapes had been drawn against the fading
evening light, and soft music floated out from the built-in
surround sound system. Huge crystal vases with red and white roses
were placed in each corner, and giant pillars of glowing candles
lining the perimeter of the bed, provided the only light in the
room while scenting the air with a pleasing aroma of jasmine,
vanilla, and ginger.

The bed had been remade with white silk
sheets and pillowcases that were embroidered around the edges, but
what brought tears to Tashi’s eyes were the red rose pedals
arranged in the middle of the bed that spelled out
Adam and
Tashi
.

“When did you do all this?” she asked.

“While you were cooking.” He wiped at her
tears with his fingers. “Don’t you like it?”

Tashi sniffled and slapped him playfully on
his arm. “It’s perfect, you idiot.”

He chuckled. “Well that’s a name no one has
ever called me before.”

“So that’s why you asked me to help you cook
dinner, and then kept disappearing.”

“Guilty.” He grinned shamelessly.

“You did it yourself?”

“No. I called an interior decorator after
what almost happened in my office earlier. I’m so happy my friends
interrupted us, by the way,” he added after a short pause.

“You are?”

“Yes.” He kissed her lips. “I knew this
waiting game we were playing was coming to an end and I wanted your
first time to be special. I hoped it would be tonight so I could
finally show you how I feel about you. When I left you alone in the
kitchen the last time, it was to tell them to scram. This was all
they could manage working quietly and secretively, and within a
short space of time.”

How
did
he feel about her? Tashi
wondered as she stared into his eyes. She wanted so much to believe
that his feelings for her had transcended the physical like hers
had for him. Being on his estate had been the safest place on earth
for her. And now being in his arms was the sweetest. She wanted to
share the secret in her heart with him, but that might scare him
and cause him to feel guilty for taking the virginity of a foolish
girl who thought she was in love with him, especially since he was
aware of her strict upbringing.

Adam wasn’t the kind of man who would hurt
anyone intentionally, especially where the emotions and psyche were
involved. This
knowing
they’d spoken about was all about
sharing themselves physically and maybe even emotionally and
spiritually with each other. It didn’t involve a lifetime of loving
each other until death did them part. They would make that promise
aloud to each other and in front of witnesses tomorrow, but in
their hearts, they would both know the truth. Tashi didn’t want
temporary to end, but she knew it would, because that was the
nature of Adam’s relationships. Agent Dawson had requested that he
make her his temporary bride. He was just following his friend’s
order to protect her, and his own sexual nature to possess her. She
need not read more into the situation than there was.

He was hers for tonight, and only God knew
how many more after this one, so she would enjoy him, and this
romantic little nest he’d thoughtfully created for them. Tashi
wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. “Thank
you, Adam. This is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever done
for me.” She kissed his cheeks and then his lips, softly and
gently, while she graciously cloaked the truth in her heart.

“And it won’t be the last time. As my wife,
you will be treated like a queen, Tashi, so get used to it. Prepare
to be pampered, and adored, and cherished.”

His promises wrapped around her like a warm
blanket, and even though he never promised she’d be loved, Tashi
pretended that Adam was hers forever as he began to move toward the
bed where she’d slept alone for the past eleven days. She would not
be sleeping alone tonight. She might not sleep at all, Tashi
thought, as he placed her in the middle of the mattress on top of
the rose petals that spelled out their names.

Her heart hammered in her chest as she gazed
up at the man standing over her with his black hair flowing freely
down his perfectly chiseled olive-toned body—a body that made
Michelangelo’s David look like a wimp. His shaft was beginning to
lengthen and thicken again, and the passion in his blue eyes
assured her that he was as anxious to be with her as she was to be
with him.

Everything they’d said to each other, done
with
and
for
each other since the day they met—the
bathing, the nurturing, the physical and emotional healing, the
preparing and sharing of meals, the shedding of clothes, the
self-discovery, the yoga, the meditation, the unraveling of
secrets, the tears, the comfort, and the promise to protect—had
brought them to this moment where all inhibitions, all
distractions, and all fears had melted into nothingness around
them.

Tashi couldn’t have asked for a more
beautiful setting in which to become a complete woman. Only the two
of them existed in this special place where soft music floated
around them, where flickering candles scented the air, and bouquets
of red and white roses created the perfect atmosphere for
lovemaking.

“I want you, Adam,” she said, as her body
began to crave more of the ecstasy it had experienced in the
kitchen. “I want to make love with you, tonight,” she added just in
case he had lingering doubts about the teachings of her upbringing,
or that he was overstepping his bounds as her protector. “I want
you to teach me.”

“Such a sweet invitation,” he said, stepping
closer to the bed.

Tashi opened her arms as he came down over
her, stationing his arms on the mattress on either side of her head
to support his upper body. The weight of his hair fell on her chest
and her nipples immediately hardened at the tantalizing caress. But
when he settled his hips between her parted thighs, fitting their
sexes together, Tashi jerked away, pressing her buttocks into the
mattress at the same time her hands went to his chest.

“There’s no need for you to be afraid,
Tashi,” he said, giving her a reassuring smile. “We’ll take this
very slowly. There’s no rush to get anywhere.”

“I’m not afraid, but I know it will hurt
since it’s my first time, and—” She looked away, suddenly feeling
like the scared little girl who’d first arrived at his home and not
the passionate woman she thought she’d evolved into over the past
two weeks.

“And what?” He cupped her face, and caressed
her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs.

“You’re—you’re so big, Adam. It’s just hard
to believe that you can ever fit inside me. That day—our first day
in the garden, I couldn’t even wrap my hand around you—around it.
Is—is that a normal size for men? Are they all as big as you?”

His unexpected chuckles sent Tashi’s mind
racing, as an even more humiliating realization washed over her.
What if she couldn’t satisfy Adam, reciprocate the kind of pleasure
that he’d already given her, would give her more of tonight? She
had to admit that for a twenty-two-year-old woman, she sounded like
a naïve little girl who was clueless about the carnal indulgences
between men and women.

And face it, she was
.

Studying erotic pictures in books didn’t make
her an expert. Adam was the first naked man she’d seen, the first
man she’d kissed, and it wasn’t like she had experienced
girlfriends to discuss these kinds of things with. In her desire
not to disappoint her uncle, she’d avoided conversations where
girls talked about their sexual escapades, even in college. Now,
she wished she hadn’t been such a good girl back then. She wished
she’d at least peeked. Even though her questions were natural, she
nevertheless felt foolish. “You’re laughing at me. You think I’m a
child,” she said, closing her eyes against his amusement.

“No,
bella
.” He immediately sobered up
and began to drop soft kisses on her lids until they fluttered
open. His eyes reflected gentleness and a hint of apology. “First,
if I thought you were a child, you wouldn’t be lying naked under
me. And second, I laughed because you’re so innocent and sweet, and
I can’t believe that I’m this blessed to have you in my life, in my
bed. And lastly, without even knowing it, you’ve just spoken the
very words every man on this planet wishes to hear from the woman
he’s about to make love to.”

Tashi frowned. “Which ones exactly?”

“
You’re so big
.” His eyes brimmed with
mischief as he mimicked the higher pitched voice of a woman.

Tashi relaxed and smiled as some of her
humiliation evaporated. “No woman has ever told you that you’re
big?”

“Oh, they have.”

She looked across the room, feeling even
greener.

He gently drew her back. “And to answer your
question, yes, I’m bigger than most men. Most women like that,” he
added in a voice void of modesty.

“They do?”

“Yes, Tashi, they do,” he replied with quiet
patience. “But it’s not the size of a man’s jade stalk that
matters,” he added on a note of experience as if he were explaining
an intricate philosophy to a child. “It’s how he uses it to
pleasure his partner. And you will learn to love the feel of my
enormous jade stalk strolling leisurely through the terrace of your
celestial palace. But before we get to that stage, I intend to
bring you pleasure in so many other ways before I release your
passions inside you.”

Tashi felt heat rise to the surface of her
skin and all her insecurities vanished, but... “Adam?” she
called.

“Yes, Tashi?”

Protection.
The word came at Tashi
like a blast from the past—her mother’s past, actually. What if she
got pregnant? Would Adam make their arrangement permanent? It’s
what she would want, but he might not. He might see a child as a
burden, and her as a trap, and he might resent her for placing that
burden on his shoulders, or more precisely on his lap.

But Lord, she would love so much to take away
a part of Adam with her—something more tangible than his smile and
his kindness. Something she could actually hold in her arms, and
love, and watch grow. She had enough money to make a decent life
for herself and her child. It wouldn’t be anything close to what
Adam and the Andreas family could provide, but her child wouldn’t
starve, and once she got her photography career going…. Her own
mother had done it. Since she didn’t have a sibling or any other
family to name as guardian for the child, she would make plans for
Adam to be notified in case something should happen to her.

Tashi realized that her reasoning was selfish
and unfair, but she didn’t care, didn’t want to care. She’d been
good all her life. She’d followed rules and obeyed orders without
question. She wanted to do something original, and natural, and
having Adam’s baby felt like the most natural thing in the world to
Tashi.

Beside
s
,
he
knew where babies
came from. He knew she had her period exactly two weeks ago, and
he
hadn’t brought up the matter of protection, either, she
thought, watching the strained look of desire in his eyes as he
waited for her. He’d been waiting for her, for
this
for
almost three weeks. Maybe, just maybe, he wanted the same things
she did, but was afraid to voice his feelings after being hurt and
humiliated by women he’d thought he loved.

They were so different on so many levels, yet
so much alike on others. She didn’t know if he loved her, would
ever love her, but she loved him enough to abandon her upbringing
and give herself to him outside the bonds of marriage. She was done
being a good girl, and if making love with Adam was bad, then
tonight she would be bad. So bad, she thought as the pressure of
Adam’s shaft pressed against her heat stirred a quivering deep
inside her womb.

“Yes, Tashi. What is it?” he asked again.

“I’m happy,” Tashi said, smiling up at him.
“I’m happy that I waited for you.” And that was the honest truth
dragged from the depth of her heart.

“Me too, love. Me, too.” And with that, Adam
bent his head and captured her mouth as if to shut her up, and when
he thought he’d cleared all questions from her mind, he raised his
head and gazed down at her. “Tell me, what do you want, Tashi? What
do you want me to do to you?” he asked in a voice thick with
passion.

Tashi swallowed as he pressed his hips into
hers. “I—I don’t know. Make love to me.”

His eyes shimmered like blue shard of light.
“Be specific. Making love is a lot more than intercourse. It’s an
endless foray of caressing, licking, even blowing… So tell me,
where exactly on your tantalizing little body do you want me to
place my hands? Where do you want me to caress, lick, blow
you?”