CHAPTER 45
A stocked wine refrigerator stood floor to ceiling. With three different chair groupings, it was a room for entertaining. Double sliding glass doors opened to flagstone steps leading down to the pool deck. In the summer, with the doors wide, the party could flow easily from inside to outdoors. She’d been thinking about wild sex with an incredibly hot guy. She’d thought she’d already come to terms with his wealth. But this was something more. Darius was an incredibly hot super rich guy. Of course she already knew that he was a billionaire, but the fact kept hitting her over and over again. Roe worth thousands that he gave away to a friend.
A Maserati Alfieri 1960 kit car he conjured up with a snap of his fingers. A golf course in his backyard. A fire pit in his sunken living room. “He needs a Ping-Pong table,” Zion said matter-of-factly. She slung her arm around his shoulders and laughed, glad that her brother could always pull her from her spinning thoughts. Thoughts about just how far out of her depth she was with Darius. “He probably has a game room somewhere.” Darius' voice carried across the immense room. “Indeed I do. And it’s right under here.” He tapped the floor with his foot. His newly washed hair was so dark it gleamed with blue highlights in the late sun falling through the tall windows. He was delicious in black jeans and a dark blue shirt, its sleeves rolled up his forearms.
So delicious that the sight of him sent another flush of heat rushing over her skin. “There’s a pool table and some pinball machines down there as well,” he told Zion. “You can get to it from the pool patio. Or there’s a set of stairs from up here.” He pointed behind the first staircase leading to the second level. “The media room is down there, too.” “A media room?” Nathalie echoed, even though at this point she shouldn’t be surprised by anything in this magnificent house. “It’s got a projection TV. Like a small movie screen.” “Cool,” Zion said, and then he kissed Nathalie on the cheek, yelled “’Bye!” and raced down the stairs to check it all out. As soon as her brother was out of sight, Darius moved close. He put his hand on Nathalie’s arm and skimmed his fingers down until he clasped her hand in his. His thumb stroked a slow rhythm against her skin.
“Feel like a drive to Sea Bay for dinner? There’s a great place right on the ocean.” God, yes. She’d go anywhere with him tonight. Absolutely anywhere. Smiling up at him, she let her inner vixen shine through. “Sounds good, especially if you can get us there fast.” As the word fast registered, his eyes dilated nearly to black as he understood that she was up for another wild ride—in every sense of the phrase. For one breathless moment, Nathalie wasn’t sure they’d even make it out of his house. Especially when he leaned in close and said, “I’ll take you as fast, and as wild, as you want.” His mouth was close enough that she could almost taste him as he added, “As many times as you want.” But then, instead of kissing her, he drew out the tease by merely putting his hand on the small of her back. And as they headed for the door, Nathalie realized that a person really could go weak in the knees. Because she just had. Throughout dinner, Darius barely tasted the food, though he assumed it was good.
He didn’t care about what he ate or the view from the restaurant’s tall windows overlooking the ocean. He cared only about watching Nathalie. Touching Nathalie. He’d kept her close beside him in the booth, her thigh against his, the friction of their bodies like jolts of electricity. She seemed excited tonight—which he understood, because he felt exactly the same way—and he was glad to see that she wasn’t trying to hide her innate sensuality anymore. But at the same time, she seemed a little nervous. As if she couldn’t quite believe she was wearing that super-sexy dress while out on a date with him. Now, as they got back into his car, he asked her, “Do you want the top up or down?” It was cool out, and her dress didn’t have sleeves. But she surprised him by saying,
“Top down. Heater up.” They flew down the coast road. The mesh deflector behind the seats reduced the noise and wind. Despite the stick shift between them, he kept her close with a hand over hers. She’d half-turned toward him, her head resting on the seat back, one knee bent, the hem of the dress rising higher. The night sky above was bright with stars and moonlight, everything reflected in her eyes. Her hair blew around her face in lazy tendrils. He didn’t want to scare her away, but he needed to touch her, so he moved his hand to her knee and stroked her bare skin in small circles. Hell. It took serious effort to keep his focus on driving.
He damn well might get them into an accident at this rate. Darius made the turn off the coast road onto Highway 75, which crossed over the mountains, back to the San Louis Spectrum, then said, “How fast do you want to go tonight, Nathalie?” He wanted her—wanted her so badly that he needed to make absolutely sure he wasn’t the only one feeling this crazy. Or wanting this badly. It was too dark to see the color of her skin clearly, but he could have sworn she blushed as she said, “Fast.” Her voice was husky and more than a little breathless as she put her hand over his on her knee and added, “I’m ready for you to go really fast. As fast as you’ve ever gone.” He felt the hum of her words in his chest.
Hell, he felt it everywhere. He could tell she wasn’t normally this bold with men, and he loved that she wanted to be bold with him. He was supposed to be the seducer, she the seduced. But she was reversing roles on him, and he liked it. Liked it a hell of a lot. He wanted his hands on her, his lips tasting hers. He wanted to feel her skin, hold her close, rub his body against hers. And fill her with everything he had. But at the same time, he didn’t want tonight to be the beginning and end. Which meant he’d have to make it so good she couldn’t help but come back for more...
* * *
The speedometer climbed, and Nathalie held onto Darius' arm as they took the corners. It was late, the road empty as the headlights cut a path through the dark. It felt so sexy to be cocooned in the car with him, the wind whipping over the top of the convertible, leaving them virtually untouched. She’d never been this bold before, had never asked for what she wanted from a man. But no man had ever made her feel this hungry, this greedy, this desperate before. “Faster,” she whispered. All the times in her life she’d wished for speed, then forced herself to shove those wishes aside, felt like they were flying away on the wind. His capable hands gripped the wheel, kept them true. But, oh, how she wanted his hands on her. She was done waiting, not just for Darius, but for this rush. The rush of speed and joy and pleasure. She’d had just enough wine at dinner to give her courage. The new lingerie gave her the nerve.
The speed did the rest. She didn’t want him to slam on the brakes, didn’t want to be the one to slam on the brakes, either. She wanted both of them to drive each other fast and furious. As fast and furious as they could go. “Darius,” she said. Just his name. It felt loud in the small cockpit of his sporty car. They’d come off the other side of the mountain, and he downshifted to take the entrance ramp. When he was at freeway speed, she took his hand off the stick shift and put it on her knee, where the dress had pulled high enough to reveal a little bare flesh. His hand slid beneath the dress, gliding halfway up her thigh. Then he trailed his fingers back down. Her pulse pounded in the wake of his touch. She’d thought about having him all week. Longer than that—since the first time she’d set eyes on him, if she was being totally honest with herself. She wanted him.
If there were consequences, she’d worry about those later. Not now. Not tonight, when she was so close to finally having what she wanted. What she needed. She’d always been a good girl, playing by the rules. Yes, she’d had sex, but she didn’t invite men into her bed when her brother was home, and she’d never before thought of buying lingerie to seduce a man. But with Darius, everything was different. And now she wanted to be wild.
* * *
It was the longest drive of Darius' life, and it nearly killed him not to be able to give Nathalie his undivided attention. At long last, he saw the lights lining his driveway and the sports car purred up the hill. He pressed the garage opener under the dash, and they glided inside. A second later, he had his seatbelt undone and he was already reaching for her when she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her mouth.
The kiss was long and deep. He couldn’t get enough of her. The stick shift dug into his thigh, but he didn’t pull away. He let her take him, eat him up. She tasted sweet, like the raspberry tart she’d had for dessert, warm and sweet and rich. He slid his hands through her hair, pushing her back against the seat. Angling his head, he licked her lips, and she pulled him back for more, their mouths melding. He could feel his heart hammering and the answering beat of hers against his chest. “I love the way you taste. And I want more. So much more, Nathalie. But not in a sports car.” He wanted to enjoy her, take his time discovering—and pleasuring—every inch of her body, which was why he hadn’t gone any further in the car during the drive home.
After climbing out, he rounded the hood and held out his hand to her. Her mouth was bare of lipstick and seductively kiss-swollen, and his heart rolled over in his chest just looking at her. She was so beautiful, so damn sexy, yet somehow she retained the sweetness of the all-American girl next door. She was the kind of woman he’d never dreamed he could have. The good girl. The nice girl. The smart girl. The forever girl. She didn’t want his money or his fame or to hang on his arm while photographers snapped her picture. She was fresh and sweet and sexy as all-get-out. He’d never be good enough for her.
But he couldn’t let himself think about that tonight. Instead, he’d let all his bad deeds be erased by her beauty and her sweetness. But instead of heading for the house, and his bed, she pushed the remote button under the dash, and the garage door slid soundlessly closed. He could see the nerves still simmering away in her eyes as she turned back to him. But those nerves didn’t stop her from saying, “I’ve never been naughty in a car.” Her hands flat on his chest, she went up on her toes, her lips a breath away. “And I’ve never done anything naughty on the hood of a car before, either.”
* * *
Nathalie couldn’t believe what she was saying, could hardly believe how fearless she felt. But the bars she’d been confined by for so long seemed to have burst wide open tonight. And she knew she had to race to enjoy every last second of her freedom before they closed down around her again. “Here?” Darius asked in a voice heavy with desire. “Do you want me to take you right here, Nathalie?” “Unless,” she said in a husky voice, “you’re afraid it’ll muss up the paint job.” “I don’t give a damn if it does.” He lifted her as though she weighed nothing. Setting her on the hood, he slid his hands up her thighs, pushing the dress high, and stepped between her legs. “Tell me what you want me to do to you.” Everything.
She wanted to feel his skin against hers, his body deep inside her. “Touch me,” she whispered. “Touch me like you almost did in the car. I bought satin and lace for you today, and I want you to see it. Now.” “Satin and lace?” She’d never seen such hunger on a man’s face. “I want to see it. I want to see you.” He lightly stroked both hands up and down her legs, enough to make her skin hot and her body buzz, before his voice dropped to a sexy growl. “Undo the dress for me.” Reaching behind with less than steady hands, she drew the zipper down, then slid her arms free, letting the bodice of the dress fall to her lap. “Jesus,” he whispered.
“You’re so beautiful.” He swept his thumbs along the underside of the bra cups, up the sides, tracing the thin shoulder straps. His fingers were feather light on the swell of her breasts, leaving sparks that shimmied through her body all the way to her toes. Then his mouth was on hers, consuming her as his hands explored every inch of satin, every scrap of lace. She was already mindless with need and he hadn’t even undone her bra. “I need to know how the rest of you tastes,” he whispered against her lips. “I’ve been dying to know. Dying to get my hands and mouth on you. All of you.” His hands slipping down to her waist, he pushed her flat onto the warm hood of the car and came down over her.
He was deliciously hard where his body rubbed against the apex of her thighs, creating friction with the bulge of his jeans. Pulling the bra aside, he trailed kisses over her breasts. Then his lips closed over her and Nathalie moaned, biting her lip. His touch was sensual, reverent. Wild. He licked, sucked, nipped, until she felt a jolt straight down to her center. “Oh baby, you’re so sweet. You taste like cherries.” Her nerves slipped back through as she said, “I do not. No one does.” “Cherries,” he insisted, raising his head. His lips were wet, and she was half naked, one breast still covered. The decadent sight spiked her desire. “Your lips are like cherries, too,” he said. Then he kissed her again, and she tasted the slight saltiness of her own skin.
Holding her head, he moved his mouth on hers, licking, biting, just the way he’d taken her breast. Then he went deep, his tongue sweet and hot, his body bearing down on her. No man had ever played with her like this, teased her, taken her over. She wrapped her arms around his neck, lifting her head slightly to kiss him as passionately as he kissed her, fully open to him. “So sweet.” Reaching between them, he effortlessly popped the front clasp of her bra. He closed one hand over her breast, molding her flesh with his fingers before flicking his thumb over the peaked nub. And then he put his lips over her once more and sucked hard, making her arch and moan against him. “So pretty.” She raised her legs and wrapped them around his hips to hold him tight, intensifying the sensations. Gripping her thigh, he held her leg high, squeezing her bottom as he drove her mad with his mouth. He turned to her other breast, giving it the same sweet treatment. He didn’t rush—he savored. “So perfect.”
