“My father doted on her, but then he was gone, and it was just me, her and Freddy.”
“And you took over?”
“Yes.”
Claire told him more, revealing so much of herself as she talked about her childhood. Many of her tales made him laugh, others had him tensing his fists, ready to hurt someone. How a father could allow himself to become addicted to games of chance, leaving his family nearly penniless, was unfathomable. How a mother could collapse into weakness under the guise of her artistic temperament, allowing her teenaged daughter to support her, was infuriating.
Yet how Claire had done it—and succeeded beyond anyone’s dreams—was inspiring.
Philip had instructed the driver to cruise around the city for a while, but once the champagne and caviar were gone, he pressed a button to signal they were ready to proceed to their eventual destination. When they arrived, and the driver opened the door, Claire looked past him to the entrance for the hotel and gasped.
“This is...oh, my God, Philip, this is the Four Seasons.”
“Yes, I know. The guidebook spoke highly of it.”
She clutched his arm. “You can’t possibly afford this.”
“For one night—for
this
night—I can absolutely afford this.”
She opened her mouth as if to object again, but he kissed away her words. By the time he’d finished exploring her luscious mouth, any arguments had left her mind, and she smiled as she exited the car.
Having called ahead to make arrangements, and gotten the information he needed, Philip didn’t hesitate once inside. He crossed the marble-floored lobby, which was almost as graceful and elegant as his own palace, though much more crowded, and went straight to the restaurant. After he gave his name, they were led to a private table, small and intimate, in a shadowy corner.
“This is too much,” Claire said as Philip helped her into her seat.
“Pampering. Remember?”
“I know, but...”
“Are you having a good time?”
“Yes, but...”
“Then please just enjoy yourself. Stop worrying, stop analyzing, stop thinking.”
She hesitated, then finally nodded. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m quite sure.”
That seemed to put an end to her worries, because for the next few hours, over what even Shelby would concede was an excellent meal, Claire was as relaxed and happy as he’d ever seen her. They talked about everything. More about her childhood, and as much as he could tell her about his.
He was finally able to admit that he was the only son of very wealthy parents, and revealed much about his daily life. She enjoyed hearing about his family. She especially liked his stories about his spoiled cousin, Shelby, who, she forced him to admit, hadn’t really wanted to work in her shop tonight, and had done it only under duress.
“It sounds so wonderful, where you live,” she said, after they were finishing off a dessert that couldn’t begin to compare to the one they’d had the previous night. “I’d love to see it.”
“You will.”
She shifted a little and looked away. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I wasn’t angling for an invitation.”
“You have one.”
She nodded in thanks. “I just meant I’ve never really been anywhere but here. My mother used to talk about her life in the ballet, before she met and married my father. She traveled all over the world, saw exotic places—glamorous cities, big castles, jungles, deserts.”
His own kingdom could provide many of those things. If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a jungle not too far away.
So far, so good, as they said.
“I thought you liked living here,” he murmured, wanting to discover just how attached she was to her homeland.
She shrugged. “I do. But I don’t know whether it’s because I really like it or because I have no other options.”
“You could go anywhere you want.”
“Not easily,” she said with a sigh.
“Because of your shop?”
“The shop was a means to an end. A way to support myself and my brother. I never finished college, and neither did he. I inherited the building and thought about selling it.”
Would Philip never have met her in that case? It didn’t bear thinking about. “Why did you decide not to?” he asked, suspecting he knew the reason. Claire wasn’t one to take the easy road.
“I suppose because I was thinking long-term, not short-term. I had enough money to get by and to do something with the building. I don’t have many other skills, other than being able to make the most fattening foods on the planet.”
“Delectable,” he murmured, thinking about some of the specialties he’d sampled. None compared to her, but they were all better than any sweets he’d tasted in any world.
“It seemed going into business would be better than getting a big chunk of cash, which my brother could try to squeeze out of me in dribs and drabs.”
Philip’s hand tightened in his lap as he thought about her brother. “Have you heard from him?” he was compelled to ask.
A shadow crossed her face. “No, not a word in weeks.”
“And you’re worried?”
“Yes, plus more than a little hurt, to be honest. I was furious at first. Now I just feel betrayed.”
Philip reached out and grasped her hand. “I am going to be thankful every day for the rest of my life that your wastrel brother took advantage of us both.”
She gazed at him, her lovely eyes gleaming in the candlelight. “I suspect I am, too,” she whispered.
They stared at one another for a long moment, saying so many things without speaking. And at that moment, Philip knew Claire was in love with him, too. Neither of them had said the words, but the emotion was there, thick and powerful, swirling between them like an undeniable force.
“Philip?”
“Yes, love?”
“I think I’m ready for you to take me home now.”
He smiled, knowing what she wanted. She was as ready to make love as he was. What she didn’t realize was that they didn’t have a long car ride between them and ultimate pleasure.
“Let’s go,” he told her, reaching out once more for her hand.
She glanced around, looking for their waiter. “Is this how you could afford to take me here?” she asked with a chuckle. “Are we doing a dine and dash?”
“Not at all. Everything’s taken care of already. They’ll bill the meal to my room.”
Surprise and excitement flashed in her eyes. “You mean we don’t have to ride all the way back to my place?”
“No, Claire. We just have to ride up in an elevator to our suite.” He slid an arm around her waist. “I’m not letting you get away from me until morning.”
* * *
T
HEY
DIDN
’
T
EXCHANGE
a word as they left the restaurant and crossed the lobby to the elevators. The sexual tension that had been building between them for days was about to erupt. She kept herself in check, not touching him, though they walked closely enough for their legs to brush. If he reached for her, or she for him, they’d be making out in the elevator, not giving a damn about who might walk in on them.
And, of course, someone did step in—an older couple and two businessmen, forcing them to the back corner. Claire wondered what they must think, given the tension between Philip and her. Musk and desire seeped from every one of Philip’s masculine pores, and her own body had to be giving off all kinds of pheromones. She felt practically in heat around this man.
He nearly sent her through the roof when he reached into his pocket, retrieved the black silk panties she’d given him at the start of the evening, and brought them to his lips. To anyone looking over a shoulder, he might appear to be wiping his mouth with a black handkerchief. But Claire felt her legs sag, and had to lean against the back wall, clenching her thighs together as moisture welled from her aching sex.
For the past twenty-four hours she’d been wanting to be filled by him. If they were alone, she’d hike up her dress and take him right now, mirrors and cameras be damned.
She only hoped he’d brought that entire box of condoms, because she intended for tonight to be one she would never forget.
Theirs was the first stop, thank goodness, and Philip twined his fingers in hers and pulled her after him the moment the doors swished open. Claire caught the stare of the one woman in the group and would swear the older lady, who looked long-married and content, gave her a surreptitious wink.
A few steps, the flash of an electronic key and they were inside an opulent room. But Claire wasn’t even curious enough to look around. She just wanted
him
.
He seemed every bit as frenzied. The moment the door clicked shut behind them, he bent and picked her up in his arms, carrying her across the huge suite to the massive bed that dominated the bedroom. The covers were already pulled down and, she was shocked to see, red rose petals were strewn over the silky sheets.
“You arranged all this?”
“Of course,” he said, as he lowered her onto the bed and followed her down.
“Thank you,” she whispered, looping her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a sultry kiss.
Their tongues thrust lazily and the kiss went on and on. They shared each breath, and their bodies melted together, angles welcoming curves. Philip never moved his mouth from hers as he began to touch her, stroking her arms, her neck, her throat, her hair. When his fingertips brushed the top curves of her breasts, she arched toward him, ready for him to intensify his caresses.
Instead of ending the kiss so she could unzip her dress and pull it down, he kept his mouth on hers and slid his hand farther, past her stomach, her hip, her thighs. Until he reached the hem and began to tug it up.
She quivered, anticipation making her hold her breath as his fingers worked her nerve endings. Her legs were shaking before he was anywhere near their apex, and when he finally did reach the curls covering her sex, she cried out against his mouth.
“Do you know how much I loved tasting this?” he asked, finally pulling away to kiss her jaw, her neck, her ear.
“As much as I loved tasting you?”
“More,” he insisted, finally reaching around to unfasten her dress. She sat up a little, helping him, watching his eyes grow nearly black as he uncovered her body. The dress had a built-in bra, since it was so low-cut in the back, and when he realized she wasn’t wearing a stitch underneath, he growled in approval.
“I want to feel you pressed against me,” she said, pushing his jacket off his shoulders. “Every inch of you.”
He got up from off the bed, his eyes never leaving her face as he stripped out of his clothes. Claire lay there watching him drop the jacket, the tie, the shirt. When he reached for his trousers she nibbled her lip, eager to see him naked.
Of course, she wasn’t totally naked herself; she was still wearing a pair of black, spike-heeled shoes. When she reached down to unbuckle them, he shook his head slowly, suggestively.
She left them on.
“I’ve never seen a more perfectly built man,” she admitted, her eyes devouring him as he unbuttoned his fly. He was gorgeous, all broad and lean and sculpted.
The trousers fell, as did his boxer briefs, and she swallowed hard. Seeing that huge erection reminded her of how he’d tasted, how just the thick tip of it had filled her mouth.
She didn’t have any worries about taking him into her body now—first, because she wanted him desperately and was more wet and aroused than she’d ever been in her life. Second, because she knew that, no matter what, he would take care of her.
As if reading her mind, he reached for her and cupped her cheek. “I’ll never hurt you.”
She extended her arms, pulling him down to her. “I know.”
They began kissing again, and this time, with the press of their naked bodies—her bare leg slipping between his, her breasts crushed against his chest—she groaned at the rightness of it.
“Please, Philip,” she whispered as he kissed his way down her neck, “don’t make me wait. I’ve been waiting long enough.”
He knew what she meant, and reached for his pants. “I packed us a small bag,” he admitted. “The rest of the condoms are in it. But in case we didn’t make it here, I tucked one in my pocket.”
“Smart boy,” she said, laughing softly.
She watched greedily as he tore open the packet and slipped the condom over his rigid cock, noting that his hands shook the tiniest bit, as if he was just as affected by the importance of this moment as she was.
It was important. Vitally so. Because for the first time in her life, she was about to make love with a man she loved.
She’d never been in love before, never experienced anything like this, but Claire had no doubt that’s what she felt for Philip.
“Now, please,” she begged, spreading her legs, arching up to welcome him.
He settled himself between her thighs and she wrapped her ankles around his hips, pulling him closer. Wonderfully restrained, Philip gently nudged into her channel, giving her time to adjust to him. He groaned when he found her hot, wet and ready for him, and began to sink deeper.
“Oh, yes,” she whispered as he filled her, making a place for himself in her body the way he had in her heart. She tangled her fingers in his hair, pressing kisses against his throat and chest, wanting to wrap herself around him and never let go. “Fill me up, Philip, so I’ll always remember what it’s like to have you as a part of me.”
“Oh, Claire, you always will,” he promised as he bent to kiss her. Their mouths locked as he plunged deep, filling her so thoroughly, so perfectly, she wondered how she’d ever lived this many years without realizing she’d been incomplete.
They began to move, first with slow, gentle thrusts, then with harder, more intense ones. Every stroke was both a question and a promise, every touch had many meanings, every kiss was like a vow. At one point, Claire rolled him over and climbed on top, wanting to look down at him, to see him helpless with desire for her. He gave her all she wanted and more, gazing up at her adoringly.
She didn’t know how long it went on, just knew that they made love for what seemed like hours, until he’d become so much a part of her she didn’t think she was ever going to be able to let him go.