Marriage Made on Paper (12 page)

“Not at all. I’ll have no problem working with you after things end, Lily. It’s never been an issue for me. I’m still on good terms with most of the women I’ve had relationships with, and if I’m not, it’s because of them, not me.”

“After we leave Thailand, it’s over,” she said, with much more finality than she felt. But it was vital, absolutely necessary that she put a limit on it. That this was madness brought on by a sensual setting. Madness that did not move into the office with them.

He raised his eyebrows, his mouth quirked in a sardonic half smile. “Shall we sign a contract?”

She sniffed. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I don’t see the point of bringing it back into the office, either.”

“You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Ford.”

“I learned from the best, Mr. Forrester.”

He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, his lips warm, the feeling of comfort it brought her making a flutter of panic spring to life in her belly. He wasn’t supposed to make her feel things. He pulled back and ran his hand over her smooth, neatly tied hair. “You need to wear your hair down for me. It’s sexy.”

She searched for some witty, off-the-cuff reply, but
she lost the ability to think when he leaned in again and kissed her, the pressure of his lips tender at first, then more urgent. She put her hand on her cheek, slid her tongue over his bottom lip. Yes, she was making the right choice. She wanted this. She wanted something beyond business, something just for herself. No one had to know. Actually, everyone would believe it had happened now, with their fake engagement making headline news, whether it happened or not. Which made it all the more tempting to indulge.

Just now the only thing she could feel was a throbbing urgency that started at the apex of her thighs and radiated out. Made her feel empty and excited all at the same time.

“I think we should go back to the room,” she whispered, kissing his neck, tasting the salt of his skin.

“I think that’s a very good idea.”

Now that Lily was standing in Gage’s room, looking at the big bed in the corner, she didn’t feel as confident as she had on the beach. As she had when he was kissing her. She still wanted him, but all of her insecurities were back. She wished she had something to help boost her confidence.

Sexy lingerie would have helped. Clothes always helped her slip into her role, helped her create the image she was striving to project. She used it for work to great effect and she needed it desperately now. Needed something to help her be that confident woman that she always tried to portray in the office.

But she didn’t have any lingerie. She hadn’t really been expecting to have wild island sex with her boss … or anyone, for that matter.

Gage came up behind her, put his arms around her,
kissed her neck gently, letting her feel the evidence of his arousal against her back. It was very compelling evidence.

She let out a slow breath. “Turn the lights off,” she said.

He spun her around so that she was facing him. “I want to be able to see you. I’ve fantasized about how you might look. What color your nipples are. I want to see your face when I make you come.”

Heat flooded her cheeks and she knew she was blushing like the virgin she was.

“Does that bother you?” he asked, his dark brows drawn together, his expression tight.

She shook her head. “It’s … it’s okay. I liked hearing you talk like that.” She was surprised to discover that bit of information about herself.

Yes, hearing him say things like that was embarrassing in a way, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to give him anything like it in return, but hearing him talk like that … it was enough to help her get lost, to forget who she was, who he was, and just embrace the desire that was rolling through her in waves.

“But I would feel better with the light off,” she said.

He cupped her chin with his hand, ran his thumb lightly over her bottom lip. “Do you always make love with the light off?”

Make love.
It was the first time he’d called it that. Maybe he thought it was too crude to call it what it was now that they were in the bedroom. Maybe that was his version of gentlemanly conduct. She wished he’d just stick to the basics and not muddle things. Not make her feel like they might be about to
make love
when she knew they were just going to have sex.

“I …” She tried to come up with something that wasn’t a lie. “I prefer the lights off.” There. She was being economical with the truth, but she wasn’t out-and-out lying.

He came back to her kissed her gently on the lips before walking over to the other side of the room and turning the main light off. The windows were still open, casting silver moonlight over the bed, but it was better than the full glare of a sixty-watt bulb.

Her heart thundered hard when Gage walked to the bed and started to unbutton his shirt, his movements quick. Now she understood why he’d wanted the light on. She wished she could see him. But then she would lose her covering, and she wasn’t prepared to deal with that.

He shrugged the shirt off and it fell to the floor. She could see the outline of his muscles, the moonlight highlighting the ridges and valleys on his body. She swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

“Come here, Lily,” he said softly.

She moved toward him, heart thundering. She was shaking, with nerves, with need, with the enormity of everything. It shouldn’t be such a big deal. It was only sex. People had it every day, and then afterward, they walked away. She would do the same.

“Kiss me,” she said. “Now.” Because when he kissed her, everything made sense, everything seemed right.

He didn’t move, he only offered her a half smile that she could see in the pale moonlight, the rest of his handsome face hidden in the shadows. “I told you, Lily, you have to come to me.”

She sucked in a breath and walked toward him, putting her hands flat against his chest, his body hard and hot, so masculine. She slid her hands up to his
shoulders, his coarse chest hair rough against her palms. She leaned in and kissed him on the corner of his mouth, a move she hoped would tease him, because it was teasing her.

He turned his head and captured her mouth with his, the kiss turning hungry in an instant. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her breasts tightly against that hard, broad chest, the action helping to soothe the sting of her aroused nipples.

He moved his hands around to cup her breasts, to tease the hardened buds. She moaned into his mouth, the sound beyond her control, an expression of pleasure she couldn’t have held back if she’d been conscious enough to try.

He wrenched his lips away from hers, pressing a hot, openmouthed kiss to the side of her neck, the touch so erotic it made her knees buckle.

“I have wanted you,” he said, kissing her collarbone, “from the first moment I saw you.” He kissed the curve of her breast. “I’ve wanted you naked, in my bed, flushed with desire.”

“Now you have me,” she said, the words escaping before she could turn them over in her mind, before she could really analyze what she meant. What they might mean to him.

“Yes,” he said, his blue eyes glinting, “I do.”

He unbuttoned the top of her shirt then took care of the rest of the buttons with a practiced ease she was thankful for. He made it seem so easy, so smooth, that she forgot to be nervous when her shirt fell open, revealing her lacy bra.

He made quick work of that, too, both items of clothing falling to the floor. He moved his hands back to her bare breasts and teased her hardened nipples. Her
head fell back, more uncontrollable sounds of pleasure coming from her mouth. All she could do was simply enjoy what he was doing to her, because she had no hope of doing anything else.

He replaced his hands with his mouth, sucking her nipple deep inside, before laving it with the flat of his tongue. “You taste as good as I imagined you would,” he said.

Kneeling down in front of her, he undid the closure on her shorts and pulled them down her legs, taking her panties with them. He leaned in then, his breath hot on her just before he claimed her with his mouth, his lips and tongue working magic on her clitoris. She gripped his shoulders trying to steady herself, trying to keep from dissolving into a whimpering puddle at his feet.

Tension started building in her stomach, so tight she thought her legs might buckle. She took a breath, trying to fight the growing sensation of pleasure. She knew what it meant. She was on the brink of orgasm, her whole body trembling with the effort to hold it at bay while he continued to subject her to an onslaught of pleasure.

She threw her head back, fought the rising tide that was threatening to overtake her, threatening to drown her. He’d brought her up so high that if she went over the edge, she was afraid of what might happen. Of what she might do. Of what he might make her feel.

“Enough,” she panted, desperate for respite, needing a moment to capture her sanity again.

“You don’t want it like this?” he asked, standing and flicking the snap of his jeans open and shrugging them off.

She shook her head, her eyes glued to his body, what she could see of it in the dim lighting. She’d never seen
a naked man in person before. He was almost awe-inspiring. His body so different from hers. He was so masculine, muscular, his erection thick and tempting. It scared her how much she wanted him. How much she wanted to feel him inside of her. How necessary it suddenly seemed.

She sat on the bed, her legs shaking, her whole body shaking, inside and out.

Gage got onto the bed, leaned over her and moved his hands behind her head, unclipping her bun and weaving his fingers through her hair, spreading it out around her. “I fantasized about this, seeing all of your beautiful hair fanned over my pillow. It’s sexier than I could have imagined.”

Lily hadn’t imagined that there would be so much talking involved in sex, but Gage knew just how to say the right things to make her feel like her body was going up in flames. His words worked with his touch, bringing her to the edge again, making her feel like she might burn to cinders if she couldn’t have him.

And this time, there was nothing she could do to stop it. It was like her body belonged to him, like only he could control it. Like he had to power to elicit whatever response he wanted. She closed her eyes, shutting out the thought. Shutting out everything but the desire that was coursing through her.

“I want you, Gage,” she said. “I need you.” She slid her hands over his back, over his tight butt. His body was perfect, everything a man’s body should be. And he was all hers, for tonight at least, to explore and touch. To have his body joined to hers.

He reached over to the nightstand and rummaged for a moment before pulling out a condom packet, tearing it open and rolling the protection on in one swift
movement. Then he kissed her, parting her thighs gently and settling between them.

She loved the feeling of having him over her, of feeling his naked body pressed against every naked inch of hers.

He nudged at her damp entrance with the head of his erection and she spread her legs wider, hoping it might help her accommodate him. He put his hand underneath her backside and lifted her slightly before thrusting into her.

The flash of pain shocked her, but it was over quickly and then she just felt full. So deliciously full. Never in her life had she felt so complete, yet so needy at the same time. Having him inside of her was wholly satisfying, while also managing to create a deep need in her that she knew only he could answer.

“Lily?” His voice was rough, the tendons in his neck standing out, a testament to the strain it caused him to speak, to keep himself still.

She kissed him, and she felt his body shuddered inside of her, his shaft growing harder, increasing the feeling of fullness. Increasing her growing pleasure. “Gage, let me have you.”

She knew the exact moment he lost his control. He withdrew before thrusting full back inside of her. She arched into him, the feeling so exquisite she thought she might break apart. She gripped his buttocks as he rode her, wrapped her legs around his calves as she moved against him in rhythm. Her climax started to build, the tension inside of her reaching heights she thought were impossible.

If the peak she’d nearly reached earlier had been frightening, this one was completely terrifying. All-consuming. Her entire being trembled, the need for
release pulling her muscles tight, making her entire body tense. She couldn’t fight it. Didn’t want to fight. She needed to finish it, no matter what. There was no other choice. Her control was given over to him.

“Oh, Gage, oh, please,” she breathed, not knowing quite what she needed from him.

He moved his hands to her breasts, brushed his thumbs over her nipples, the added stimulation just what she needed to push her over the edge. The dam that had been holding back the flood burst and pleasure rushed through, overtaking her. She froze, her back arched, her mouth open on a soundless scream as her body tightened around his. He thrust into her, harder, more wildly, his movements lacking any control. Then he found his release on a masculine groan of pleasure.

On the heels of her release, of the amazing burst of pleasure, came a wave of emotion so strong it made her ache. She held on to him for a while, feeling his heart beat against her chest, listening to the sound of his broken, labored breathing. Her body shook and she felt warmth on her cheeks. She put her hand up and touched her face, feeling the wetness left by her tears.

G
AGE
looked at Lily, flushed, satisfied and crying, tears rolling down her cheeks, little sobs making her body shiver beneath his.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his chest tightening. He’d never been with a virgin before, but even without the experience, he was certain that Lily had been one. And it was causing a riot of emotions to roll through him, emotions he’d never dealt with in his life, and didn’t want to deal with now.

“I.” She sucked in a shaking breath. “No.”

He withdrew from her body and rolled over so that he was still close, but no longer connected to her. He needed at least that much space, that much of a chance to regain his sanity.