Filthy Rich (13 page)

“We'll see,” she purred suggestively. “But the sunset won't wait.”

She slipped through the small doorway and shut him in the hallway. There was the distinct sound of male amusement before she heard him walk down the hallway. She twisted the little lock on the door handle until it clicked. It was a pathetic barrier.

She froze when she turned around and found her green dress hanging from a hook next to the door to the bathroom. It had been cleaned and pressed, but what she discovered herself dwelling on was the fact that he'd found it.

The staff might have given it to him.

No.

She felt sure of that as she looked at it. He'd gone looking for her, and it warmed her in a way she'd never felt before. This was a man worth wanting, and he wanted her back just as much, she was beginning to admit.

She ducked into the bathroom. It was a generous bathroom for a yacht, but still compact. She rinsed off quickly before wrapping a towel around herself and going back into the bedroom. Sitting on the bed were a pair of loose, drawstring pants and a pullover made of a windbreaker material that would no doubt be comfortable up on deck. She tugged the tags off and stepped into the clothes. The top was soft and comfortable, and once she had it on, she noticed the matching hair clip and shoes.

He had thought of every detail.

She shook her head and put the shoes on the floor. They were a sensible pair for a moving vessel, outfitted with gripping soles. She took a last moment to gather her hair up and clip it on the back of her head before opening the door and heading out of the sleeping area.

The yacht had three stories. Four if you counted the bridge, which was perched highest up on the vessel. The bedrooms were downstairs to afford the passengers the smoothest sleeping accommodations. Once she climbed up to the second story, there was more of a roll.

Soft music, some sort of tribal mixture of flutes and drums, touched her ears and she followed it around the edge of the vessel until she came to the front. There was a seating area and a sundeck.

“Come on up.”

Nartan was another deck above her. She found the narrow stairs and climbed up. He was wearing a similar sportswear outfit, but he'd left his shoes at the top of the stairs. They were heading out to sea, the wind whipping his hair back. He looked at ease and even wiggled his bare toes, turning around to judge her reaction.

She climbed the last step and kicked her shoes off to join his. His lips twitched before he offered her a glass of wine. The deck was super smooth beneath her bare feet, and the wine had a soft bite that made her smile.

“Best seat in the house is up here.”

He pushed open an access gate in the chrome railing that went around the deck, and climbed out onto the front of the boat. He left his wineglass behind on the table.

“Come on.”

He offered her a hand as he sat down on the front of the boat. There was a smooth area for sitting, where the lights came down at the nose of the vessel. She put her wineglass down, climbed out, and took hold of his hand. He pulled her closer and studied her as she folded her legs and sat down. The wind was hitting her full in the face, and she pulled the collar of her top up to her chin.

“Too cold?” he asked.

She shook her head and enjoyed the scent of the sea. They were heading out toward Catalina, while a steady line of boats made their way in on the other side of the waterway. The California coastline was ruby from the sunset, and as she looked further out to sea, there was only darkness. The lights on the deck behind her were out, making sure they'd have a good view of the evening.

“Don't spoil a perfectly good setup, Celeste…”

She looked back at him, trying to decide what he meant as he scooted up behind her.

“Setup, huh?”

“Planned down to the last detail,” he confirmed as he settled against her back. “I've been plotting just how to get you back in my arms. I had to send the personal shopper over to your studio to size you up. Apparently, martial arts uniforms are very bulky.”

She laughed softly. “True, but that's just a tad creepy.”

He nuzzled against her neck as his body heat surrounded her. The motion of the vessel made it impossible not to lean on him, and he draped an arm around her to complete the embrace.

“I plead insanity.”

“What detail does the dress represent?”

He cupped her jaw and turned her face so that their gazes met. “That I enjoy a challenge.”

He pressed a kiss against her lips, pushing through her hair and cupping her head to keep her in place as he took the deep kiss she'd denied him earlier. The passion rose between them like a fire catching hold of a stack of dry wood. His tongue dipped between her lips, seeking hers and stroking them in a long lap that sent her turning toward him and plunging her hand into the neck of his shirt because she needed to touch his skin so badly. She wasn't close enough, couldn't seem to kiss him back hard enough to satisfy the craving gnawing at her.

Someone bellowed at them from a passing boat. “Wooo-hooo! Score, buddy!”

Celeste jerked her face away, turning forward in an awkward jumble of limbs. The boat was just passing, the two guys on it waving beer bottles at them.

She heard Nartan mutter something in Apache as his arms tightened around her. She felt his heart hammering into her back and a distinct tremor running down his arms that matched the one making her tremble.

“I don't think I need a translation for that.”

He pulled in a stiff breath. “You're driving me insane.”

His tone was gruff and so low that she had to strain to distinguish the words. Part of the problem was that her brain was shutting down. She didn't want to absorb conversation; she wanted to sink into a pool of responses and let him satisfy every last impulse she had.

“The feeling is mutual…” She reached behind her, laying her hand on his thigh because she just couldn't resist the urge to touch him, reach for him.

He made her shameless.

He shifted, moving forward until the very distinct bulge of his erection was pressing into her back.

“I've been hard for you every night. I think I might have resorted to singing under your window if you hadn't agreed to come out with me.”

She snorted. “Oh right.” She disengaged herself and crawled back through the open gate. “You'd have cruised through the bar at Angelino's and found someone to enjoy Saturday night with.”

She wasn't trying to be bitchy, just attempting to grasp reality. “I mean…you're a total hunk.”

Nartan had turned around and sat watching her. A tingle touched her nape as she caught the look in his eyes. The night was closing in behind him, adding to the power radiating from him. He was so sure of himself, so confidently in control that it fanned the lust simmering inside her until it rose to a full boil.

“I left everyone behind.” He unfolded his legs and stood up.

Her belly fluttered, her passage feeling empty. Her lips were dry and she rolled her lower one in to moisten it. His keen gaze targeted the little motion, narrowing as he prowled closer to her.

“I promised myself we'd have dinner…chat…enjoy the view…”

Celeste started retreating, moving back out of pure instinct as he bore down on her with a steady pace. She bumped into the wall behind her and Nartan pressed his hand on it, caging her.

“But all I want to do now is explore your sweet body…”

He leaned down and inhaled the scent of her hair. Arousal prickled along her skin, raising goose bumps and heightening her sensitivity.

“The way I didn't take the time to in Alaska…”

His voice had turned rough with hunger. She could see it glittering in his eyes and felt her breath catch as anticipation nearly drove her insane. “Yeah, it was…rushed…” Somehow, her voice had gone sultry. She'd never been so conscious of her need to have sex, nor had she ever discussed it so openly. It opened a door to a side of her personality she'd never experimented with. The part of her that didn't give a shit what anyone thought.

“I never got a look at you, Nartan…” She reached out and touched his hip, trailing her fingers along the hard edge before she ventured onto the tight plane of his abdomen. The sports pants were made of soft fabric that did little to disguise what was beneath. “You just stripped me…”

“And took what I craved,” he finished. He toyed with a lock of her hair that had been pulled free by the wind. “What you didn't want to admit you craved…”

Her fingers found his cock. He twitched, his face tightening as she teased the hard bulge with only two fingertips.

“I want more this time…”

He sucked a breath through his teeth, the sound harsh and somehow perfect for the moment. She teased his cock, trailing her fingers down to the softer sacs of his balls and back up to the top. Need clawed through her, settling in her clit as she absorbed just how hard he was.

It was dark now, the overhang from the bridge above them encasing them in darkness. The slap of the waves joined with the soft music, but what Celeste really heard was the steady beat of the drum in the Native American melody.

It echoed the demand pounding through her. She pushed off the wall and stretched up to kiss his neck. He cupped her nape, and something inside her rebelled. The scent of his skin was an aphrodisiac. She stretched up onto her toes to kiss more of his neck and bared her teeth when she felt his grip tighten on her nape.

She bit him in reprimand. A controlled nip that surprised her as much as it did him. He pulled her head back, growling softly at her.

“I want more than to be taken,” she informed him and thrust her hand into the front of his pants.

“Christ!” he snarled, his neck cording as she wrapped her fingers around his length.

There was nothing beneath the soft jersey but hard flesh. She purred with victory and slid her closed hand all the way down to the base.

“I'm not going to be your plaything,” she promised him.

He opened his eyes, just to a slit, and angled her face up to look at him. “Yes. You. Are.”

They were like two forces clashing. She was fascinated by the friction, agitated by it, completely engulfed by it. She pumped her hand up and down his thick staff, keeping her eyes on his face as she did it. He stiffened again, fighting to keep his eyes open, but surrendering when she found the sensitive spot just beneath the crown and thumbed it.

“Pump it…again…”

She sent her hand down to the base of his cock, not because he'd told her to, but because she wanted to see him lose control.

She wanted to make him lose it just as insanely as he'd made her. The sound he made was so erotic that she trembled and twisted free of the grip on her nape so she could slip to kneel on her knees in front of him.

“Shit…” He flattened his hand against the wall and opened his eyes. “I wanted to…”

She pulled the waistband down, freeing his cock. For a moment she just enjoyed the sight of it, stroking it once, twice, and a third time from base to tip as she absorbed its size. She didn't want him in control. The need pounded through her, and she leaned forward, sticking her tongue out for her first taste of him.

“Celeste,” he growled, the strain in his voice delighting her.

“Hmmm?” she answered as she slid her thumb through the wet trail she'd left around the crown of his cock. He'd opened his eyes but his fingers curled into a fist as she stroked that sensitive ridge of flesh.

“I don't give up control…well…”

She closed her hand around his cock and pumped it hard several times. He shuddered, sucking in his breath as a word of profanity escaped.

“I hope not.”

She had no idea where the urge to push him came from. His eyes widened and his nostrils flared with savage need. She cupped his balls with her other hand, rolling them. Indecision held him for a moment before his features contorted with pleasure.

“Lick me again.” His tone was as hard as his cock.

He was surrendering but still holding on to command. She lowered her attention to his cock, feeling the bite of arousal burning up through her pussy. But she reached out with her tongue and swept it along the ridge of the crown before closing her mouth completely over the head.

There was something about the scent of his skin that drove her crazy. It was heady and spicy, and tasting him seemed to intensify it.

“God…yes…like that…”

He was growling at her, his commands sharp and short, but it delighted her to hear what she did to him. She pumped her hands up and down, rising onto her knees so that she could push her mouth down and take more of his length inside. She hollowed her cheeks and rubbed the underside of his cock with her tongue, twisting and working her hands along the part that she couldn't get into her mouth.

“Shit!” He hit the wall above her head, his hips beginning to thrust toward her. “You're going to make me come…”

She wanted to. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd ever wanted anything more. It was pulsing through her veins, the blood roaring past her ears as she bobbed and sucked. She needed victory over him, over the pure abundance of need that he unleashed inside her. But it was happening too fast. She wanted to slow it down, but he was thrusting toward her and she met every jerk of his hips, opening her lips and taking more of him as she sucked harder, tightening her mouth around him to squeeze.

“Oh God…like that!”

He reached down and caught a handful of her hair. The grip was hard and she discovered she loved knowing she was driving him to the edge. She cupped his balls, fluttered her tongue across the slit, and hummed when she closed her mouth around him again.

He jerked and the first spurt of his come hit her tongue. It was thick and hot. She pressed her head down, straining to take more of his length, and purred with delight as he pumped more of the salty fluid into her mouth.