woman. She was not totally inexperienced—she had kissed men, but had thought the experience vastly overrated. But all that had changed last night when she had met Jake.
This holiday, the first she had taken in years, was supposed to be a complete change, a chance to rethink her hectic lifestyle. She was her own woman; she could do whatever she wanted, and what she wanted was Jake. She knew deep down on some elemental level that Jake could be her soul mate.
The voice of the doorman boomed over the intercom telling her a Mr d’Amato had arrived and should he send him up? She dashed to answer it. ‘No need, I’ll be right down.’
Her legs were shaking as she rode the lift to the ground floor and when the doors opened Charlie drew in a deep, calming breath, stepped out, and froze to the spot, her blue eyes fixed on the spectacular male animal leaning against the reception desk.
In a business suit Jake had looked stunning, but today he took her breath away. He was wearing black jeans that lovingly clung to long legs and taut, masculine thighs. A black button-down shirt, left open at the neck, revealed the strong column of his throat, and a black leather jacket fitting casually across broad shoulders completed the picture.
Telling her foolish heart to stop bounding, she wondered what it was about Italian men that enabled them to wear clothes with such casual elegance. She could not tear her fascinated gaze away. She saw his proud head lift as though scenting the air like some great jungle beast suddenly aware of his prey, and, straightening up, he turned towards her.
‘Charlotta-a…at last.’ He lingered over her name like a caress, his hooded dark eyes sweeping over her in blatant masculine appraisal as in a few lithe strides he covered the space between them. ‘You look exquisite.’ Before she could draw breath, a large male hand curved around her hips, another up her back to tangle in the loose fall of her hair.
The swift, exquisitely gentle brush of Jake’s lips against her own turned her legs to jelly, and when he teased her lips apart, the arousing sweep of his tongue in the moist interior of her mouth suddenly filled her body with a molten heat.
Charlie had thought the kisses they had shared in the car last night mind-blowing. But now, held in intimate contact with every hard inch of his big powerful frame, she was shocked by the force of his obvious arousal and secretly thrilled she could do that to him. Weak at the knees with wanting, she pressed unconsciously closer into his taut strength, and felt his great chest heave.
‘I promised you lunch,’ Jake rasped against her mouth and lifted his head.
Charlie stared up. ‘What?’ she murmured, flicking the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip, an invitation in her sapphire gaze she didn’t realise was there.
‘Lunch.’ Jake stepped back, his hands resting on her shoulders to keep her steady. ‘Before we really give the doorman something to talk about.’
Realising where she was and that she was staring at him far too hungrily, she dipped her head, a tide of red scorching her cheeks. ‘Yes, of course,’ she mumbled.
‘A lady who can still blush. I like it,’ Jake drawled, keeping an arm around her shoulder as he walked her out of the building.
‘No car?’ Charlie queried as his arm fell from her shoulders and he took her hand in his and began strolling along the pavement.
Jake looked at her, amused indulgence in his gaze. ‘Your wish is my command,’ he said smoothly. ‘You wanted to do the tourist bit, and visit the museum. Most tourists pound the pavement. No?’ He shrugged his elegant shoulders. ‘Plus I want to share everything with you, starting with a bottle of wine with lunch.’
He looked so attractive, and so unlike any tourist she had ever seen, Charlie burst out laughing. ‘I might have known you would have an ulterior motive. It’s not me but the wine that motivates you.’
‘You wouldn’t believe my motives if I told you,’ Jake responded dryly and spun her into his arms to kiss her with an urgency that left her dazed and breathless—so dazed she did not see the cynicism in his dark eyes. And for Charlie the kiss set the pattern for the rest of the day.
Jake kept his word and they shared a bottle of wine over lunch at the restaurant in the central courtyard of the British Museum. After lingering over coffee and cognac they eventually got around to touring the various exhibits.
It was seven in the evening when they walked back to his hotel.
The warmth of his arm felt so right around her waist, and when he stopped and asked, ‘What’s it to be, Charlotte? Dinner with me here or do you want to walk on to your apartment?’ they both knew what he was really asking. The whole day had been leading to this point.
Charlie raised her face to him and saw her own need reflected in the gleaming depths of his dark eyes. The force of emotion flooding through her kept her speechless for a moment.
‘We can call it a day,’ Jake heard himself say in a sudden surprising attack of conscience. Amazingly, he had enjoyed Charlotte’s company. In different circumstances he knew he would have dated her anyway—and he would still have been determined to get her into his bed.
He reached out and ran a long finger over her smooth cheek, and down her throat, his finger resting on the rapidly pounding pulse in her neck. She wanted him, he knew it, but she was still hesitating. Real or acting he did not know, but he knew enough about women to realise they all craved permanency in a relationship. Obviously Charlotte was no different. She was here on holiday and seemed determined to follow the tourist trail—and his quick brain had the answer.
He smiled, an intimate curl of his firm lips. ‘Whatever you decide. I am staying in London for a couple of weeks on business.’ He slowly raked her body with his gaze, registering the burgeoning peaks of her breasts beneath her sweater before he let his eyes meet hers. ‘And after the great time we have had today…’ He paused, his hand softly caressing her throat. ‘Work permitting, I would love to explore the tourist trail with you, Charlotte.’
The only trail he was really interested in exploring was every curve of her delectable body, every hill and hidden valley, until he sated himself in her. But he wasn’t crazy enough to tell her so. Though if he did not have her soon, he very well might, and that really worried him.
In the early hours of the morning Charlie had decided to pursue her relationship with Jake and see where it led, and all day she had fallen deeper and deeper under his spell. Now, with the impact of Jake’s deep eyes burning down into hers, and his huskily voiced desire to see her again echoing in her head, she knew it was the moment of truth. He had told her last night he would never marry, so either she had to accept what he was offering, an affair for a couple of weeks, or walk away. With blinding clarity she realised she did not have a choice. She could no longer deny her basic sexual instinct, an instinct she had only just discovered she possessed, an instinct she knew deep down inside she would only ever feel with Jake.
Charlie drew in a slow steadying breath. ‘I’ve done enough walking for one day.’
‘Me too.’ Reaching for her hand once more, he linked his long fingers through hers and led her into the hotel.
On one level Charlie couldn’t believe what she was doing as Jake ushered her into the lift and the metal doors closed on them. But on another purely sensual level the feelings were so immense she could not deny them, however much she tried. She stole a surreptitious glance at him through the thick veil of her lashes. He was so ruggedly attractive, so overtly masculine, simply looking at him made
