The Price of Seduction (5 page)

Still, he knew what he wanted. Seduction was the only thing on his mind. On that he was very clear. He wasn’t looking for a lifelong commitment when a sexual relationship would provide him with all the
satisfaction he needed.

But the difficulty lay in her res
istance, something Conrad hadn’t come up against in a woman in a long time. Or perhaps not at all.

They entered the lush tropical gardens of The Residence and approached the main building, lime washed in colours which echoed the aged rust red rocks of the area. Cantilevered over the Chelsea River
, both the building and location were spectacular. Not as big as his vision, though. That was bigger.

Inside, he asked for them to be shown straight to their rooms. They’d travelled four thousa
nd kilometres and Bree would no doubt want to refresh herself.

She wandered into her room ahead of him, looking around.
“This is a wonderful.”

A couple of large exotic rugs were scattered on the cool terracotta floor. The king size bed was decked out in crisp white linen, complimented by several bright embroidered silk scatter cushions and an o
rnate Balinese bed head. Floor to ceiling windows showed off views across the river to the sandstone cliffs and lush vegetation on the other side of the gorge.

“The way you described it,” Bree began, “I was expecting something second
rate but this is beautiful.”

She reached across to the remote control on the wall and switched off the air
conditioning. There was a high-pitched beep, then the gentle background hum disappeared and Conrad felt the air grow humid.

“I plan on ke
eping these lodgings,” he said. “But compared to the resort I’m going to build, believe me, this will pale into insignificance.”

“What will it have that this won’t?” She shot him a look to suggest he was being ridiculous.

“An airstrip, for one thing. This is a remote location and that’s the big attraction but we have to make it easier for the jet set to get here. I want the likes of Madonna and Tom Cruise to come here with their families. People like them will expect five star facilities to match the spectacular scenery.”

“I thought this place had a five star rating?”

“It does but, pretty though they are, there are only five rooms here. I’ve got bigger plans. I want a resort that matches the magnitude of the landscape.”

“
This’ll do me for the time being.” Bree smiled as she dropped down onto a leather chair. “Where’s your room?”

“T
hrough there.” Conrad pointed towards an ornate wooden door.

The smile left her face. “So our rooms have adjoining doors?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t impinge on your privacy.”

“Still, it was a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?”

With any other woman, he’d have thought she was teasing him. Not Bree, though. She was putting him in his place. Still, it didn’t mean he had to admit she was right.

“Not at all,” he said. “It would have been presumptuous to have booked only one room with one bed.”

“No, that would have been rude.”

“And I am neither rude nor presumptuous.”

Did she think he was going to force or cajole her into sleeping with him? No, he was sure he wouldn’t have to do that.

He’d had his share of women but he was a lot more selective nowadays. Cold
, hard experience had taught him the dangers of taking a sexual relationship too casually. He wasn’t going to repeat those mistakes.

W
ith Bree, there’d be no mistake about it.

She was clever too. If he managed to grab hold of her, it wouldn’t be by accident or whimsy but by design and a firm decision on her part. She wouldn’t fall into his arms and she wouldn’t allow herself
to be taken or coerced. She’d walk into his arms with her eyes and her mind open, knowing exactly what she was doing.

If she wanted
him. But he wasn’t certain she did.

N
one of the old rules of seduction would apply if he was going to win her over and get her into bed. A five star room, fine wine, exquisite food, the best that money could buy. None of it would mean anything to this woman.

He’
d have to play it by instinct and make it up as he went along. He was used to working on the fly in business, making split second decisions, deciding what would be bought and sold.

But this wasn’t business. It was something else.

“I’m going to have a long hot shower now, or perhaps a bath,” Bree said.

Their bags were following by road and should arrive in an hour or two.

“You’ll find everything you need in the bathroom,” he said. “I’ll get going and see to some refreshments.”

She
walked towards the en suite bathroom and closed the door behind her. He heard the shower running and closed his eyes briefly as he thought of her in the bathroom. She’d be peeling off her clothes, slipping her tee shirt off, unfastening her bra.

He knew exactly what her breasts would look like even though he’d never seen them. Full and shapely, they would fit
into the palm of his hand perfectly, overflowing his hands ever so slightly. It wasn’t so much that her breasts were large as her frame was petite, making her breasts seem larger than they were.

Then she’
d unzip her pants and hook her thumbs into the waistband to pull them down.

Meanwhile she probably
had no idea he was still standing in her room imagining her naked.

Conrad turned abruptly and headed into the lounge for a long cold drink, determined to shake that woman off, if only for a while. He had a coupl
e of phone calls to make and decided to get them out of the way first, using one of the satellite phones. Mobile phones were useless in such a remote location.

Fifteen minutes or so passed and
he grabbed a refreshments tray from an attendant, taking it into Bree’s room himself. He bent over to place it on the coffee table, then turned as he heard the bathroom door open. The patter of Bree’s footsteps followed.

A look of surprise washed over her face. “Have you been here all this time?”

“No, but I thought you’d want something to eat after the trip. Not to mention a cold drink.”

Stunned by the vision in front of him, Conrad was amazed that words could come out of his mouth.

He’d told the staff to make sure the bathroom was stocked with toiletries and whatever else a woman would require but he’d expected her to come out in a large shapeless towelling gown. He was sure that was all he’d seen in the bathrooms the last time he’d been here.

Instead
Bree looked sumptuous in an ivory satin gown with a matching sash. The gown hung from her petite shoulders, following the contours of her breasts, their gentle sway accentuated by the shine of the satin.

Having just come out of a hot shower into the humid tropical air of the room, there was no way she could be cold yet there was no denying what he saw, her nipples clearly protruding through the gown.

The sash clinched her slender waist while the robe slipped over the curve of her hips, falling full length down to the ground. Yet having so much of her body covered only made her more alluring. The soft satin slipped over her thighs, clinging to them as she glided closer to him, her painted pink toes reaching towards him.

His eyes slowly travelled the length of her legs and back over the curve of her waist and he was painfully aware that beneath the gown she was naked.

Magnificently, wonderfully naked.

One little tug on the sash and the gown would be easily parted, her most intimate secrets exposed. Then he had only to slide it from her shoulders and it would slip down into a pool at her legs.

His erection strained against his pants. He was fully clothed but Bree was one step away from being completely naked.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this way. Not with Sophie. At least he didn’t think so. They’d gone out for a couple of years and had even become engaged though that’d been more her idea than his. He didn’t know what he’d been thinking. Had she
driven him wild like this while standing fully covered before him? Never.

As if to snap him out of his reverie, Bree planted her hands on her hips.

“Do you always stare at women like this?” she said.

She
was too much. She’d pushed her chest out as if to assert herself but that sash wasn’t tied as tightly as she thought and the sides of the gown parted to better reveal her cleavage.

He saw the swell of her bosoms, saw the little hollow between her breasts and thought he would explode.

He spread his hands. “If you come out of the bathroom looking like that, of course I’m going to look at you. Where else would you like me to look?”

Bree extended one arm to the window, her breasts swaying with the motion. “There’s one heck of a view out here, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“But the view in here is taking all my attention.”

“Well now that you’ve had such a good long look, perhaps you can look elsewhere.”

“But there’s so much more I haven’t seen.”

How would she respond? Would she play this little flirting game with him?

She sauntered to the window and Conrad was all too aware of the distance she was putting between them.

“Very soon all this will be yours,” she said
over her shoulder. “The Residence, the land, the views. You will own it all. But not everything can be bought.”

“You might be surprised at what’s for sale.”

Bree turned and shot him a look which smouldered with something other than desire and, damn it, she was enjoying every moment. Confident and self-assured, she knew he wanted her. She’d let him look but she wouldn’t let him touch the goods on display until she was ready.
If
she was ready.

She walked slowly towards him, her eyes riveted to his. “You’re a very rich man, Conrad, and there’s a lot you can buy with your money but you can’t have everything.”

“Can’t I?”

“The problem with having so much money is that you always want more. There’s always something else you want. Another painting to buy. Another piece of property. But at some point it has to stop.”

“You don’t know me very well, Bree. I can’t think of anything I’ve wanted that I haven’t been able to have. It’s just that some things cost more or they’re more work or they’re just that little bit harder to get.”

Ignoring him, sh
e stepped closer to the fruit platter he’d placed on the coffee table.

“Strawberries,” she whispered.

As she leaned over to make her selection, her fingers hovered over the melons and exotic fruits. Her gown gaped, exposing the fine flesh he longed to ravish. Her breasts hung down like soft ripe fruit and Conrad wanted to peel away her gown and devour that firm white flesh. He could clearly see one nipple, erect as though reaching out to something though not towards him.

This was painful for him. His eyes were wide open but still he couldn’t get his fill.

Then she reached for a strawberry and straightened, the gown once again covering her as she did so.

Tilting her head upwards, she took a long greedy bite, sucking in the sweetness of the fruit, her enjoyment showing in her face.

“Do you like strawberries?” she asked.

He
stepped closer and looked down at her, his lips parted. She hesitated as though considering feeding him the remainder of the fruit in her hand but then slid the berry into her own mouth as if she’d thought better of it.

He
held her gaze. “I like them very much.”

She shot him a quick smile as she bent over the fruit platter to grab another strawberry. Stepping closer to him, she reached up and popped the fragrant fruit between his lips. The sweet
ness exploded in his mouth. He ate slowly, determined to savour everything that was on offer.

Bree’s lips had curled to a seductive smile, or was it a superior one? She had him eating out of her hand, quite literally, and she knew it.

He inched closer and although she didn’t move away, she held her ground.

She’d already told him there were some things that couldn
’t be bought with his money. Yet she was putting the goods on display and he couldn’t bear to be so close to what he yearned for without touching it.

Her lips were
parted, her smile sultry as she looked at him through lowered lids. Was it possible he was misreading the signals? He didn’t care.

They may be playing by her rules, but he would make the next play.

He tilted his head down to hers, certain she was reaching up to him. His mouth slipped down over the pale skin of her throat as he trailed little kisses along the bare flesh.

Abandoning her neck, he lifted
his head and lowered his gaze to the satin ivory gown which was failing so dismally in its efforts to cover her allure.

His fingers skimmed the satin neckline, slipping down towards the hollow between her breasts before he cupped the soft fullness of one breast in his hand, the smooth satin a poor barrier between his hand and the bare
skin he wanted to ravish. He massaged the generous flesh, then gently tweaked the already erect nipple.