gasp spilled from her lips. Her fingers tightened at his shoulders, and she lay still, simply absorbing the rugged sensation of having him inside her.
His eyes flew open. “Did I hurt you?” he demanded harshly, the strain evident on his face as he held himself in check.
She touched his cheek, trying to soften the lines. His eyes glittered dangerously, and she realized just how close he was to the edge of his control. In that moment, she relished her power, and she wanted to taunt the beast. She wanted to experience the wildness she could see lurking beyond the iron facade.
“No,” she said softly. “You didn’t hurt me. I want you so much. Take me now. Don’t hold back.”
To emphasize her request, she dug her nails into his shoulders then lifted her hips in a move that lodged him deeper inside her.
He made one last effort to hold back, but she wouldn’t allow it. Wrapping her legs tightly around his waist, she arched into him, reaching for him, pulling him closer. She wanted him. She needed him.
He dropped down, surrendering with a growl. He gathered her close, fastening his lips to the vulnerable skin of her neck as his body took over. Harder and faster, his power overwhelmed her. There was a delicious mix of erotic pain and sensual bliss. Heaven. It wasn’t something she’d ever experienced before. It was like riding a hurricane.
“Let go,” he rasped in her ear. “You first.”
She complied without argument, surrendering completely to his will. Her orgasm flashed, terrifying and thrilling all at the same time. She spun wildly out of control, her cries mixing with his.
Then he was moving faster, and harder, driving into her with savage intensity. His lips fused to hers almost in a desperate attempt to staunch his own sounds, but they escaped, harsh and masculine.
Then he stilled inside her, his hips trembling uncontrollably against hers. He smoothed his hands, now gentle, over her face, through her hair and then he gathered her close, murmuring words she didn’t understand against her ear.
When his weight grew too heavy, he shifted to the side, pulling her into his arms. He slipped from the warm grasp of her body then rolled away from her for a moment to discard the condom.
She waited with breathless anticipation. Would he want her to leave now or would he want her to spend the night? She was too sated and boneless to even think about getting up, but neither did she want any awkward situations.
He answered her unspoken dilemma by pulling her back into his arms and tucking her head underneath his chin. A few moments later, his soft breathing blew through her hair. He had fallen asleep.
Cautiously so as not to awaken him, she curled her arm around his waist and snuggled deeper into his embrace. Her cheek rested against the hair-roughened skin of his chest, and she inhaled deeply, filling her nostrils with his male scent.
For the space of a stolen moment she felt safe. Accepted. Even cherished. It was silly if she dwelled on it, but tonight she wouldn’t. Tonight she just wanted to belong to someone and not to feel so alone in the world.
Even in sleep, he seemed to sense her disquiet. His arms tightened around her, bringing her even closer to his warmth. She smiled and gave in to the sleepy pleasure seeping into her bones.
Piers awoke unsure of the time, a rarity for him. He usually woke every morning before dawn, his mind alert and ready to take on the day’s tasks. Today however sleep clouded his brain, and uncharacteristic laziness permeated his muscles. Something soft and feminine stirred his senses, and he woke enough to realize that she was still in his arms.
Instead of rolling away, of distancing himself immediately, he remained there, breathing in her scent. He should get up and shower, make it clear the interlude was over, but he hung on, unwilling to send her away just yet.
She stirred when his hands smoothed over her back, down to her shapely buttocks and over the curve of her hip. He had to have her again. One more time. Even as warning bells clanged in his mind, he was turning her, sliding over her as he reached to the nightstand for another condom.
As her eyes fluttered sleepily, he slid inside her, slower this time, with more patience and care than he’d taken her the night before. He didn’t want to chance hurting her, and if he was honest, he wanted to savor this last encounter.
“Good morning,” she murmured in a husky voice that sent a shudder over his body.
He thrust deeper then leaned down to capture her mouth. “Good morning.”
She yawned and stretched like a cat, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him down again when he drew away. Sleek and beautiful, she matched his movements, rocking gently against him.
If last night had been the storm, this was a calm rain afterward. Gentle and extremely satisfying.
He tugged her hair from her face, unable to resist kissing her again and again. He couldn’t get enough of her. The thought that he didn’t want her to go rose in his mind. Before it could take root, he tamped it back down, determined not to get caught in an emotional trap.
He’d existed for too long without such entanglements, and he’d be damned if he allowed it to happen again.
She enveloped him in her tight grasp, her sweet depths clinging to him as he withdrew and thrust forward. He set an easy pace, one that would prolong their pleasure.
And when he could no longer delay the surge of exquisite pleasure, he pushed them both over the edge, leaving them gasping for breath and shaking in each other’s arms.
For a long moment he lay there, still sheathed deeply inside her, his face buried in her sweet-smelling hair.
Then reality encroached. It was morning. Their night together was over, and it was best to end things now before things had a chance to get messy.
He rolled away abruptly, getting up from the bed and reaching for his pants.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he said shortly when she did nothing more than watch him from her perch in his bed, her eyes probing him with a wary light.
She nodded, and he disappeared into the bathroom, his relief not as great as his regret. And when he returned a mere ten minutes later, he found her gone from his bed, from his hotel room. From his life.
Yes, she’d understood well the rules of the game. Maybe too well. For a moment he’d allowed himself to wish that maybe, just maybe she’d still be lying there. Warm and sated from his lovemaking. Belonging to him.
Chapter Three
Jewel stood outside the third floor offices of the Anetakis Hotel and smoothed a hand through her hair for the third time. It was a bad nervous habit and one destined to bring down more tendrils from the elegant knot she’d fashioned.
Instead she placed her palms over her skirt and removed nonexistent wrinkles as she waited admittance into Piers Anetakis’s office.
She knew she looked cool and professional, a look she strove hard for. The woman who’d let loose with such abandon two nights before no longer existed. In her place was an unreadable face devoid of any emotion.
Still, despite her
