“Yes,” she shyly admitted.
“You have a real talent,” he told her, making her more nervous. Why did this man’s opinion matter at all? It shouldn’t. But somehow it did.
“It’s just a silly dream of mine. It can’t lead anywhere,” she told him with a laugh.
He let go of the locket and gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. She was voiceless as his gaze held hers captive.
“Dreams are meant to become reality. Don’t ever think you can’t do something just because it’s difficult.”
She knew there was a story behind his words. She desperately wanted to know what that story was. “I think it’s time for you to share something about yourself.” she said, very aware of how close his lips were to hers.
“No. I think we’ve talked enough for now,” he said with a slow smile that melted her from the inside out.
Then she was moving. Effortlessly, he lifted her and sat her across his lap as he gazed down into her eyes. She was lost as his head slowly lowered, the moonlight glinting in his sparkling eyes.
“I’m going to kiss you,” he said, waiting only a moment to give her a chance to say no.
Maybe she should refuse. After all, she didn’t even know the guy’s name. But she didn’t want to refuse him or deny herself. She wanted to see if his kiss was going to be even better than his touch.
His head descended and then those exquisite lips of his were on hers, and she couldn’t think anymore. The kiss was better than she could have ever expected. Her mouth opened to his, and he was caressing her in a way no one had ever done before. She felt the gentle touch of his tongue trace the edges of her lips before surging forward and commanding her mouth.
Shivers traveled through her frame as she rubbed her body against this man, trying to relieve the ache she didn’t quite understand. When he pulled away, she leaned against him, not wanting the connection to end.
“My boat is right over there against the dock. Say the word and we can go and have . . . a drink or . . . something more.”
His fingers were lightly trailing up and down her back and his eyes shone down at her clearly, the full moon making it seem more like dusk instead of closer to midnight.
This is where she should tell him
thank you, but no thank you
. Instead she felt herself nodding as she looked up at him. “I’d like . . . a drink,” she said.
He hesitated a moment longer, and Stormy couldn’t read the look in his eyes. But right then, she knew that she didn’t want him to change his mind. Because if he continued walking her to the boat, she was going to do the first seriously reckless thing of her life—she was going to sleep with a stranger.
Then he smiled.
“Right this way.” He stood with her still in his arms, and then he let her go so that her feet touched the sand. She hadn’t realized she’d risen to her toes in an effort to taste even more of his kiss.
Excitement and a feeling of trepidation warred within her. But as her fingers remained tightly bound with his, the excitement won out. They made their way down a dock lined with several beautiful watercrafts. Her sexy mystery man led her to one of the boats and she stood before it and gasped.
“This is what you call a boat?” she asked, hesitating before stepping to the plank that led onto it.
“Yes.” He seemed confused.
She suddenly giggled. Who in the world was this man?
“This is bigger than my place,” she told him. If her night ended because he realized she wasn’t one of the rich and famous, then so be it. She could only fake so much about herself and being impressed with the giant yacht in front of her was out of her control.
“Yeah, I got this several years ago. I guess it’s a bit extreme,” he said with a shrug as he shifted on his feet.
He wasn’t running away from her yet. That was good.
The sleek yacht spanned at least a hundred feet, and it wasn’t even the biggest at the massive docks. That’s what was scary about this world of wealth she’d stumbled upon. But the part above the water appeared to have two floors. She didn’t know what was below the water’s line.
Finally, she allowed him to lead her on board, where she looked at the red hardwood floors and lush furniture. Once inside the cabin she couldn’t even tell they were on a boat anymore, unless she concentrated on the gentle rocking motion she could barely feel.
“I didn’t know boats had such large rooms,” she said nervously as he led her to a living area.
He guided her to a comfortable chair and then stepped over to a big walnut bar with a giant mirror and shelves behind it.
“I don’t like to feel closed in,” he said before chuckling.
She had to wonder what he found so funny. But she wasn’t going to ask.
“I noticed you with champagne earlier. I’ll get you another,” he told her.
In only moments, Green Eyes was sitting next to her, handing her a beautiful crystal champagne flute. She clutched its long stem and immediately took a swallow. She’d had a few glasses at the wedding reception, but the effects were wearing off, and she didn’t want to chicken out on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
They sat together and she sipped her champagne, enjoying the quiet of the boat. Her eyes to roamed the yacht’s opulent cabin and occasionally stole a glance at the man who’d brought her there. When she’d emptied her glass, he refilled it. She leaned back and smiled at him. She wasn’t sure what to do next, so her lips were probably twitching a little.
“Maybe it’s time we exchanged names,” he said after the long silence.
She was feeling a nice buzz now and decided to play it bold. “I don’t think so,” she told him.
He turned his head to the side and his brow wrinkled. “Why not?”
“Because I’m enjoying the mystery of all this. I’ve never done anything like it before.” She clutched her hands in her lap and twisted her fingers, but then forced herself to stop. She didn’t want him to see how unsophisticated she truly was.
“Done what before?” he asked.
“Gone off with a man I’ve just met.”
“There’s nothing wrong with taking a walk or having a drink together.” He scooted closer to her, his fingers rubbing along her bare knee. She was grateful she wasn’t wearing stockings. She wanted nothing between his touch and her flesh.
“Ah, but that’s not all we’re going to do—is it, Green Eyes?” she said.
Damn.
Her cheeks instantly flushed after she threw those saucy words at him.
She was playing with fire, and she hoped to get burned.
“I hope not,” he said after a moment’s silence. And then he was smiling wider than the Cheshire Cat.
Stormy sensed the atmosphere change in the room, and she felt a little lightheaded as the sexual tension swirled around her. Green Eyes set down his glass, took the empty one from her fingers, and then stood up, pulling her straight into his arms.
This time he didn’t hesitate when he kissed her—this time, it was fast and hard, and her knees gave out on her, but he was right there to catch her.
And she knew she’d made the right decision.
CHAPTER THREE
As the yacht slowly rocked on the water, Cooper Armstrong looked over at the beautiful woman sleeping naked beside him—perfection on his bed. Just an hour before, they’d had the best sex of his entire life. That was certainly saying something since he hadn’t exactly been a saint in his days.
His Cinderella had tried to insist on leaving right after, but it had already been four in the morning. He’d promised to get her a taxi at dawn. Yet, he was reconsidering her leaving so soon. He was even harder now than he’d been an hour ago and he wanted her again. He wasn’t even sure one more time would be enough.
From the moment he’d spotted this woman at the wedding, he’d been feeling all sorts of emotions other than rage from his father’s passing and the reading of the will. He wasn’t quite ready to have her depart and let the good feeling end. Who was this woman? And more importantly, what was she doing to him?
From that very first glance into her somewhat terrified deep brown eyes and at the moue of her sensual pink lips, he’d had to walk over to her, had to see how she’d feel in his arms. Maybe the two of them would make love one more time, and then he’d be able to let her go. He didn’t have time for a relationship, and he sure as hell didn’t want one. Women couldn’t be trusted—not when he had a bank account that made him more attractive in their eyes.
He knew he was a catch. It wasn’t arrogance, it was fact. When a person had his looks, his wallet, and his ambition, it made him the perfect target. But the women of the world didn’t know that he wasn’t taking the bait. His goal was always to get what he wanted from a woman, give her the pleasure of his masterful bedroom skills, and then quickly slip away before the hook could slide into his flesh and snare him.
Even as he had this thought, he began running his hand lightly down his mystery woman’s sleek body, the span of his fingers almost covering the width of her back.
She began to stir, but didn’t quite wake, not even when he turned her so her luscious breasts were fully available to his touch. Running his finger over each one in turn, he smiled as they instantly hardened for him. She shifted, and he knew the best way to rouse her from her sleep.
He bent down and licked one nipple before sucking it into his mouth and gently clamping his teeth over it. She groaned, making his erection pulse painfully. As Cooper kissed his way back up to her neck, she reached for him, and he took her red lips with his. He could worship this woman’s body night and day and still never have enough of her.
That was a sobering thought. And he didn’t want to sober up—not yet.
When she trailed her hand down his abs and cupped his manhood, he lurched upward into a sitting position. He was so close to releasing right then and there. How had that happened?
“It’s almost morning,” he mumbled.
“Um . . . morning,” she replied somewhat shyly.
“I know I promised you a taxi when you woke up, but I had another idea first,” he told her, his fingers whispering along her skin.
She moaned again, and he was hopeful she would agree.
“I need a few minutes,” she told him, and he nearly panicked as she sat up. He wasn’t ready for this to end yet.
“Okay,” he told her, and he was the one wanting to whimper when she climbed from his bed and walked into his bathroom.
He lay back on the bed and reached down to squeeze his erection, trying to lessen the infernal pulsing. It didn’t help. When he heard the shower come on, he sat back up. Should he follow her or not?
When he couldn’t stand it anymore, he jumped up from the bed, opened the bathroom door, and grinned as steam hit him full in the face. She obviously enjoyed very hot showers. But he could make it even hotter.
The mirror had already fogged up, and when he drew the curtain aside, the sight of this woman, with water glistening off her body, had him dripping in excitement. He just stood there for a moment as she rubbed her slim fingers down her breasts, across the flat plane of her stomach, and dipped into the folds of her womanhood while cleaning herself.
Enough of this watching!
Cooper stepped inside the shower with her, and when she opened those dark eyes of hers, which were already filled with wanton delight, he nearly fell to his knees.
“You are so damn sexy,” he groaned, pushing her back against the coolness of the tile wall and making her gasp.
“Only with you,” she admitted.
That knowledge was the most intense aphrodisiac ever. He moved his hands oh so slowly from her hips, up her sides, and around the edges of her breasts. His magic fingers came close to her swollen nipples, but not close enough. She groaned her displeasure at the way he was teasing her.
After looking into her expressive eyes, he finally let his thumbs glance over those hard peaks before sliding his hands to her stomach and circling them behind her to squeeze the cheeks of her firm ass.
“Kiss me,” she said, and she reached behind his head and pulled him to her.
He was more than happy to oblige.
Running his tongue over her lips, he quickly parted them and thrust inside, in just the way he wanted to thrust into her heat. She drew him more tightly to her and returned his kiss with the same intense passion.
A cry of pleasure escaped her beautiful lips when he slid a hand back around and rubbed his fingers against her wet heat, and then pinched her little bundle of nerves, making her shake.
“I need to taste you,” he said, after ripping his mouth away from her lips. He licked his way down her chest and dropped to his knees.
Gripping her thighs, he pushed them apart and looked up at her smooth perfection, her sweet folds gleaming with water and pleasure. He ran his hand up and didn’t stop until he’d buried two fingers deep within her.
Only then did he lean forward to suck the most sensitive part of her into his mouth, flicking his tongue repeatedly against it as his fingers found a perfect rhythm of pumping in and out of her.
His midnight woman clutched his head tightly, and her cries told him she was coming closer and closer to release. Yes, he wanted to give her pleasure—over and over and over again.
So he didn’t stop pleasing her with his fingers and tongue until she screamed and almost crumpled right there in front of him.
Cooper stood up quickly, more than ready to be inside this woman. Bracing his foot on the tiled shower bench, he lifted one of her legs and draped it over his so his hardness was poised at her entrance, her thighs spread wide. He gripped himself and rubbed his arousal along the open seam of her pink core.
“Ohh, that’s so good. Please . . . more,” she moaned, leaning her head against the shower wall.
Moving his manhood up and down over her swollen nub a few times more, he waited until he was coated in her juices, then he poised himself for entry.
“Open your eyes,” he commanded her.
She opened them just a little, and, after pulling her up, he slid all the way inside her tight heat.
Her mouth opened in a gasp and he took the opportunity to thrust his tongue inside in perfect rhythm with the way he was plunging into her body, all while gripping her delectable derrière.
The sound of their wet bodies slapping against each other was driving Cooper wild. He sped up and almost poured his seed into her when she tightened around him again. She gave another long and impassioned cry.
He stopped thrusting and held her as she shuddered in ecstasy, and he gently caressed her mouth and squeezed her buttocks. When she slumped against him again, he pulled from her. An act of amazing willpower.
“I’m so worn out,” she said, leaning her head against his shoulder.
“It’s not over, beautiful, not yet,” he whispered into her ear.
“I can’t do any more,” she told him.
“Oh, yes, yes, you can,” he assured her.
Her eyes flew up, and he smiled at her before he turned her around and pressed his arousal against the exquisite cushion of her ass.
“Grip the edge of the bench,” he told her as he pushed against her upper back.
She leaned down, leaving her derrière up in the air. Dropping to his knees, he bit each of those cheeks in turn before soothing the red spots with his tongue, and then he stood again and rested his pulsing erection in the valley she was presenting to him, enjoying how perfect the deep red looked against her light skin.
With his foot, he pushed her legs apart—wider—wider—even wider. When she was fully opened up to him, he reached around and found her still-swollen nub, which he stroked a few times, making her twitch against him.
With his other hand he guided himself down the middle of her ass until he reached her core, and then he thrust back inside her. Now it was time for them both to feel pleasure.
She groaned as he moved his hand between her folds, up her belly to her tender nipples, and then back again. He continued caressing her with one hand while gripping her hip with the other, thrusting and thrusting.
“Come for me one more time, baby,” he told her as he felt his release drawing nearer.
He flicked his fingers against her bud and she screamed as she convulsed around him so intensely that he almost reached orgasm without any movement at all. But he
had
to move. Pushing deep inside her, he released a hot stream of pleasure, pulsing over and over again until he was entirely drained.
When he could finally take a step back, Cooper felt lost pulling away from her heat. And she nearly collapsed before him, but he was able to catch her.
“That was . . . it was . . . I don’t even know how . . .” She was clearly at a loss for words.
“It was perfect,” he told her as he lifted her in his arms and then stepped from the shower. He grabbed a couple of towels before carrying her back to his room.
He dried her off before laying her down gently on the bed, and he quickly dried himself. Then he joined her, pulling her back into his arms. He wasn’t willing to let her go just yet. Or anytime soon, for that matter.
He’d be careful, he assured himself. This was only sex—just really,
really
good sex. The thought didn’t appease him like it should have as he finally closed his eyes and fell into an exhausted slumber.