Except that if she’d waited a second longer, he’d have asked Rowena the exact same question.
I45
Dinner’s just dinner.
‘Why do you want to have dinner with me?’ he asked, almost savagely. ‘On our own?’
‘Just for the pleasure of your company,’ Rowena answered quickly, blushing bright red.
‘For the pleasure of my company? That’s sweet, but you’ve been in my company all day,’ Krebs said, hearing his own cruelty but unable to stop himself. He couldn’t tear his eyes off Rowena, her long, slender legs tumbling out of a light blue Krizia dress, her firm-thighs shimmering in reflective hose, her small breasts clearly visible through the white Bill Blass shirt she’d chosen that morning. Her long hair fell loose and sleek around her shoulders, and her eyes were wide, her lips parted.
For weeks now she’d been like a trembling reed in his presence, so brimming with desire that he could practically smell it.
For weeks now a general appreciation of an attractive, intelligent girl had become a raging lust which he could scarcely control.
And Michael Krebs was always in control.
He ached to fuck this woman. To really have her. To put her through her paces in ways she’d never dreamed of.
‘Hey, it’s no big deal,’ Rowena said, her green eyes flashing.
‘You’ve got a crush on me, Rowena,’ Krebs insisted, his expression unreadable. ‘And I’m married. I have three sons. ‘
‘Nonsense, Michael,’ Rowena said coldly. ‘I’m not remotely attracted to you.’
They glared at each other.
The phone rang, shattering the tension.
‘Krebs,’ Michael said shortly, picking it up. ‘Oh, hi, Oberman. No, it went fine. Yes, she is.’ He held out the receiver to Rowena.
‘Can you come over to the office and see me?’ the old man asked. ‘I need to talk to you about something urgently. Right now, Rowena.’
I46
‘Of course,’ Rowena said, dragging her mind back to business with an effort. ‘Is something wrong?’
‘Nothing’s wrong. Just be here,’ Oberman said testily, and hung up.
She looked at Michael. ‘I have to go.’
‘Rowena - ‘ he said suddenly, but she moved away from
him, not wanting the quarrel to get any deeper.
‘I really have to go. I’ll see you tomorrow.’
‘Call me tonight,’ Krebs said, and although Rowena wanted to tell him to go to hell, she knew he wouldn’t take
no for an answer.
‘I will.’
‘You’d better,’ Michael said, grinning at her in that way of his that weakened her knees. She felt a great rush of wanting sweep through her, and turned way from him as fast as she could, almost running out of the studio.
‘Tell me sSmething, Rowena. What do you think of New York?’ Oberman asked her forty minutes later, as she sat across from his desk.
God, she looks stunning, he thought. I don’t know what’s happened to this girl lately. She was always special looking, but now she’s something else. Check out that pale blue dress with those light green eyes! Goddamn, no wonder Stevenson had resented her! How could a babe this beautiful be so good at her job?
‘What do I think of New York?’ Rowena repeated, bewildered. Tve only been there once, Josh. It’s a great city. What can I tell you?’
‘What do you think of the bands there?’ Oberman pressed her.
Rowena shrugged, a cascade of blonde hair falling about her shoulders. ‘Right now, it’s got the best bands in the world.’
The old man gave a satisfied grunt. ‘OK. Now let’s play a different game. What if I made you Managing Director and don’t get too excited, the title’s only protocol - of a small subsidiary? A tiny subsidiary, just a name really, an
I47
outpost company. Your only job at first would be to look for talent, but over time I’d expcct you to build it up. Do you think you could handlc it, working on your own for a couple of years? With just an accountant and a sccrctary?’
‘Of course,’ she replied, wondcring what the hcll he was talking about.
‘You mean that? You think you could be totally self sufficient?’
Rowcna shifted in her chair. It-dawned on her that Oberman wasn’t just playing ‘Let’s Pretcnd’. ‘What about Atomic Mass? I wouldn’t want to be too far from them right
llOW. ‘
He made an expansive, dismissive gesture. ‘Thought of that. We’d transfer them to record at Mirror, Mirror.’
He paced around behind his desk, looking at his prot6g& as though he was trying to see past her actual flesh and bones to her character, her self-reliance.
‘I got the impression that you’d made a conscious decision to change your life when you got into this stuff, Rowena,’ he said. ‘Well, I hope that u,as what you wanted. B&ause I’ve .just come back from an extended board meetiug and l think I can guarantee that your life is about to chauge completely. Congratulations, Miss Gordon. You’re gonna run a uew label for us.’
He leant forward towards her, his craggy old face broken by a mischievous grin.
‘In New York.’
Rowena didn’t get back to her flat antil p.m., she’d spent so loug talking about this with.Josh, and Barbara, and even a little with Alex and Mark, the bassist and drummer for Atomic, who were in Barbara’s management offices when she drove over there. She felt nervous and excited at the same time.
She flicked ou the dimmer switch, letting a soft light flood the drawing room of her flat, illuminating the oyster-white carpet, the elegant chintz sofa and Georgian writing desk.
8
As she slipped off her shoes and padded across to the kitchen, wanting to make herselfa gin and tonic and a light supper before she crashed out, the phone rang.
With a sigh of annoyance, Rowena picked it up.
‘I thought you were gonna call me,’ Michael Krebs said. It was like an electric shock. Small prickles of desire crawled all over her skin at the sound of his voice, teasing, friendly, definitely turned on.
‘I meant to. I’ve been so busy, I only got home a second
ago. ‘
‘Rowena, you can always make time for your friends,’ Krebs said softly.
Rowena took a deep breath. ‘I thought I was making too much time for you,’ she answered.
‘I didn’t mean to bite your head off,’ he said. ‘But I was right, though, wasn’t I?’
She felt her palm holding the receiver go moist with sweat. °
‘You have been thinking about it, haven’t you? For a while, now, I guess.’
‘And you haven’t,’ she managed.
‘We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you,’ he said relentlessly.
‘Christ! Michael, you’re so arrogant,’ Rowena replied. ‘I haven’t got the faintest interest in you.’
There was a pause. She could almost feel his desire reaching down the telephone line. It was late at night, there was no one to see them, n6 one to stop them. She knew that they were trembling right on the cusp, on the brink of
something from which there was.no going back. ‘Rowena,’ Michael said.
It was just one word. A light rebuke. A tease, as if to say Come on. But his knowing, mocking tone pushed her over the edge.
To Rowena’s astonishment, she heard herself moan with lust. A soft, wild sound she couldn’t control.
Michael heard it, and his erection pressed so hard agains his zipper it hurt.
I49
It took twelve minutes for Rowena to get to the hotel, and during that time Krebs paced the room, thinking about her, imagining her in different positions, lightly touching him= self from time to time. His erection remained rock-solid. When he heard her timid knock, he had to restrain himself
from running across the room to wrench the door open.
‘Hi, Rowena,’ he said. ‘Come in.’
She stepped into his suite, hearing the heavy door lock
itself behind her. She was squirming and wet between the legs. Her heart was crashing and thudding so loudly against her ribcage she was sure he must hear it. She stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not sure where to put
‘ herself.
Krebs regarded her impassively, his arms folded, for a
few moments, looking her over at his leisure. She blushed deeper. She wanted him so desperately now she thought she might collapse.
Michael calmly picked up the phone and spoke to the
operator, not taking his eyes offRowena. ‘This is Mr .Krebs in .o6,’ he said. ‘Hold all my calls, and have room service send up some champagne and leave it outside the door. I’m taking a shower.’
He replaced the receiver and beckoned to her. ‘Come
here. ‘ She walked unsteadily towards him.
‘Closer,’ Michael ordered, and she moved nearer, until
her lips, wet and slightly parted, Were inches from his face.
Staring deep into Rowena’s eyes, Krehs shoved his hand
up her dress and roughly yanked down her panties, pressing his hand against the damp hair between her legs, and slid a
finger inside her, finding the hot, melting centre of her.
Rowena sobbed with pleasure, her legs shaking.
‘What happened to “I’m not remotely attracted to you”,
“I haven’t got the faintest interest in you”?’ he enquired,
caressing the urgent knot of heat in her belly.
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She couldn’t speak. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. The mesmeric quality Krebs had always had, the dominating influence he’d had over her, in sex became a control so complete it sent spasms of ecstasy convulsing through her. Rowena couldn’t believe what she was feeling. Not with Peter, nor with the other men she’d dated since, had she ever experienced anything like this. She was almost hypnotized. The force of his will was like a ten-ton truck.
And she was amazed at the depth of her response. She’d felt desire before. She’d felt pleasure. But never, never, had she felt anything like the heat that was flooding her body
now.
‘Say it,’ he insisted. ‘I want to hear you say it.’
‘Michael, I - I think you’re the most attractive man I’ve ever seen in my life, and I always wanted you,’ Rowena said, half choking on the admission. She pressed herself against him, feeling his thick erection, letting him understand ho great her need was. She pressed her lips to his throat, covering it with kisses. ‘Please,’ she said.
Michael took her head in his hands and twisted it about, looking at her like he wanted to drink in her face. Then he kissed her, fiercely, crushing her lips, running his hands over her body, under her dress, unsnapping her bra and playing with her erect nipples, stroking her in between the legs until she was weak with pleasure.
‘I have dreamed about this,’ he said. ‘You’re so beautiful. You’re so different, you could drive a man mad.’
Then he pulled back, ;forcibly holding her away from him. ‘I fantasized about you that first time,’ he said. ‘I looked at your mouth. I want to see your lips round my cock. I want to see it disappear into your mouth.’
He pushed her down on her knees before him. ‘And tie your hair back,’ he added. ‘So I can see what you’re doing.’
Rowena fumbled with her hair, barely able to get her fingers to work properly. She was already approaching orgasm, her feelings were so .strong. She had trouble unbuttoning his fly because the denim was pushed out tigh from his cock hard against it. Krebs did not help her.
I5I
When she finally freed him, Rowena drew breath.
He was big. No doubt about it. Long and thick. The thought of that inside her was almost frightening. She longed to taste him.
Rowena had always flatly refused to give head, no matter how much her partners had begged her. The thought of it disgusted her. But there was no question, now, of refusing Michael Krebs anything he wanted. She was being completely controlled and she loved it.
She wanted him inside her mouth. She wanted to please him. To submit to him.
Delicately, gingerly at first, and then bolder, harder, more confidently, she began to suck him.
Krebs felt the sweet relief of her tongue and pleasure
1surged through him, violent, intense sexual pleasure. He knew it was her first time, and that somehow made it better. He watched her, her eyes shut in rapture, her soft, plump lips caressing him eagerly.
When he finally forced himself to pull out of her mouth,
he dropped down beside her without a word, spread her legs and entered her immediately, holding her head steady in’his hands so he could watch her come.
Rowena felt the orgasm seconds before it started, the waves of sex running through her gathering and deepening, rushing towards her groin from her fingertips, her toes, her neck. The ecstasy was so intense she felt dizzy, and all she could see was Michael’s face, and those brilliant dark eyes watching her, and she was coming, a huge, crashing climax ripping through her, and she thrashed about in Michael’s arms, and she felt him erupt insid her with a groan of bliss, and she was still coming, and then finally it subsided, and she was staring into his eyes again, and she knew, with absolute, helpless certainty, that she had just found the one great passion of her life.
hapter Fourteen
From 7 p.m. onwards, fleets of limos streamed down the Avenue of the Americas, towards the Victrix, the smartest hotel in Manhattan.
It was the party of the year.
It was the party of the decade.
Invitations had been harder to come by than tickets to the best Clinton Inaugural Ball, more sought-after than A-list places at the late Swifty Lazar’s annual post-Oscars bash. An invitation’to this party marked you out as the cream of the New York cr.op; fail to get one, and you failed to make the grade. Social death. Effective immediately.
Because there was something different about this party, quite aside from the eleven million dollars it had reputedly cost. This was no ordinary hymn to American excess, with a safe guest list drawn up from the usual social old guard: Mr and Mrs Billionaire Financier, Mr and Mrs Millionaire Publisher, and their summer neighbours from the Hamp t.ons. Elizabeth Martin couldn’t care less about those sort of people. She wasn’t interested in the richest. She was only interested in the best.