Her gaze settled on his face. “Hello.” She kept her voice low; aimed it at him and nobody else.
He nodded, shifted so someone behind him could get out of the lift, but did not look away.
She smiled. “I hoped I’d bump into you again.”
He lifted an eyebrow, unable to speak—such was the effect of her presence on him.
“I wanted to thank you.”
The lift dinged, signaling his floor. He stood motionless. How could he move? Her eyes pinned him down. They were an unexpected stormy grey. This morning they’d been a deep sapphire blue.
“You saved me from embarrassing myself earlier. I’m blushing just thinking about it.” Yeah, her cheeks were flushed. Only she didn’t look embarrassed. Her eyes were hooded, her pupils dilated and the smoky irises oozed desire. Framed by the color in her cheeks and the natural pout of her lips, she looked positively wanton.
Around them, the lift emptied slowly.
“No problem.” Christ, he shouldn’t talk to her. He needed to get his ass the hell out of there.
She caught her lower lip between her teeth and nibbled, accentuating a sexy dimple on her left cheek. The action caught him in his stomach and left him reeling. He shifted again. His body stirred and blood thrummed in his ears.
Slowly releasing her lip, she said, “Dumb thing to do, tripping like that.” She smiled. Not a friendly, grateful grin. No. This was a sensuous, knowing smile. A smile that told him she’d sussed him out, she knew his thoughts
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and she found herself equally affected.
AJ was thirty-six years old, yet the look on her face reduced him to a kid. Need slammed into him and he knew against his better judgment that he had to have her.
He shrugged. “Accidents happen.”
The lift dinged. The doors slid open and closed again. Then there were two of them. Two adults and the audible hum of awareness buzzing between them.
With no rationale to his thoughts, no premeditation to his movements, he did what he had to do. Stepping forward, he pushed a button. The lift ground to a halt somewhere between the seventeenth and eighteenth floors.
Her briefcase slid from her hand, landing on the floor with a soft thud.
“That the only reason you were hoping to bump into me?” he asked. “To thank me?”
“It was one of the reasons.”
“There were others?”
She nodded. “Just one other.” She raised her hand to his chest. Her slim fingers played provocatively with the buttons on his shirt.
“What…?” His question trailed off as she lowered her hand to his waist and stroked his stomach. Beneath her touch, his muscles contracted involuntarily.
“That’s what.” Her voice slid like velvet over his skin. “Before, in the lobby, when I touched you, you had the same reaction.”
“You took me by surprise. I didn’t expect you to touch me.”
“I didn’t expect you to respond.”
Christ, what had she expected? That she’d brush her hands down his shirt and he’d whistle a merry tune? “Did you expect me to respond this time?”
“I hoped,” she whispered as she toyed with his belt.
“I’m responding.” His voice sounded hoarser than he would have liked but when the entire life force in his body concentrated on his dick, it was damn near impossible to hold a rational conversation.
“I can see.”
Of course she could. He had a massive hard-on. If they’d taken separate lifts, she’d be able to see it. A bead of sweat formed on his back and trickled down between his shoulder blades. He shuddered with the need to touch her. She noticed and smiled again. The sinuous, womanly smile that played havoc with his self-control.
Damn it. AJ was the master of control. Control meant predictability, and his life needed to be predictable. No more nasty surprises
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ever. He’d learned the hard way some things could not be easily manipulated
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but that which he could influence, he did. Women were no exception to the rule.
So why did the ripple of her very delectable breasts make his logic take flight?
“If it helps, I’m responding too.” Her chest rose and fell unsteadily, pulling his attention downwards.
A button had popped open near the top of her tailored navy blouse. The sight of the full swell of milky skin beneath a wisp of black lace forced a groan from him. “Lady, there’s only one thing that can help me now.”
She let her arms to drop to her sides. “Oh? And what might that be?”
He barely heard her words. Her luscious lips softened, sending him a silent invitation.
Incapable of refusing the sultry request, AJ gave in. He sank a hand into her hair, his fist clenching involuntarily around the silken curls. Ever so slowly, he tugged, pulling her head closer. His eyes fixed on her mouth, on the full upper lip as it parted from the lower one. The puff of air from her mouth warmed his and he inhaled it seconds before his lips touched hers.
Then her mouth was on his, applying a subtle, prohibited pressure. He groaned as her body curved into him. Four months he’d waited to taste her. Four months of hot dreams and cold showers. Her lips parted beneath his tongue and he allowed himself a languorous minute of exploration, discovering the hot, moist secrets she hid behind those succulent lips. She tasted like dessert, wine and imported chocolate. Sweet, with a touch of exotic spice. Cinnamon, perhaps.
Control
, he reminded himself.
Lose control, you lose yourself
. He gave no more, holding himself rigid as her body sought to nestle into his. This had to be someone’s idea of a sick joke. Testing him to see if he could taste her and walk away unscathed.
Impossible. She’d already touched a part of him no one else had reached in years. If she applied even the tiniest amount of effort, she’d be his undoing. Somehow, he knew, she had the power to overcome every obstacle he threw her way. She’d blast away his barriers and access the one part of his life he hadn’t shared in a decade.
That couldn’t happen. Ever. Pain that deep should not be shared.
His body paid no heed to his thoughts. It reacted on pure instinct. She wrapped her leg around his, pushed her hips up into his groin and ground herself against his cock.
Ah, crap. She wasn’t making this easy.
As if sensing his reluctance, her arms crept around his neck and she clung. Her breasts pressed into his chest, the taut nipples a stark contradiction to the soft mounds beneath. She touched the tip of her tongue to his lower lip, compelling him to respond, to give as much as she could take.
For a nanosecond, he slackened his body and stilled his mouth against the erotic dance of her lips. Then four months of need and self-denial took over.
Blocking out his past, he groaned and hauled her against him, kissing her with the full, open-mouthed kiss she’d begged for. Her hot mouth curled his toes and flattened his resistance, rendering him powerless. He’d tasted her, and turning back ceased to be an option.
Desire rocketed through him, waking every tiny nerve ending. She moaned and the sound echoed through the elevator and, unfortunately, through his heart.
He dipped her backward, his arm supporting her lower back. Then he raked a hand down her chest, from the hollow in her neck to the deep “V” of her bra. The caress sent goosebumps rippling over her skin, and her back curved, propelling those incredible breasts upwards. Dazed by his need to taste them, he teased her blouse open, exposing her bra fully. His lips closed over the soft lace and he filled his mouth with the tip of a firm breast.
She gasped.
The sound gripped at his balls, yanking them tight beneath his cock. He suckled her and then nipped.
“Oh, God.”
When at last he lifted his head and pulled her upright again, she said not a word, merely stared at him, her eyes brimming with victory and passion. Without releasing her, he reached out and pressed another button. The lift dinged three times and began to move.
“Your room,” he said and registered vague surprise that he was coherent enough to form the words.
Desire coursed through her, hastening her steps. He walked so close his breath stirred the hair on her neck. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know his name and had never seen him before today. It didn’t matter that she’d probably never see him again. She wanted him tonight. Just for tonight, for one evening of potent, passionate pleasure.
Perhaps one night with him would be enough to stave off the persistent loneliness that cursed her. Enough to keep the yearning for a lover and partner at bay. A one-night stand in a hotel room was hardly the solution she sought, but a night with this sexy stranger was irresistible.
Primitive lust coursed through her. She hadn’t intended to seduce him but when she’d found herself alone in the lift with him, instinct had taken over. His desire for her had been so obvious, she’d simply offered him a sample of that which he’d been eyeing.
With shaking hands, she opened the door to her room. Instinct told her this, them, was right. Whatever happened was meant to be. There’d be no regret the next morning, no allusions made to a future together. It would just be for tonight, and it would be good. Real good.
Although, a future together didn’t seem altogether terrible.
He followed her in and kicked the door shut. Shrugging off his jacket and tie, he turned and pinned her between himself and the wall. Then he kissed her, reducing her to a shivering mass. Her legs refused to hold her upright any longer and she slid to the floor in a boneless heap.
The wall supported the sudden weight of her head, and tilting her neck she found herself at eye level with his pelvis. His suit pants clearly outlined his erection. Heat radiated from it. Leaning forward, she nuzzled her nose into his groin and grazed her teeth over his length. He shuddered.
“Easy,” he breathed and dropped to his knees. “Let’s make this last.”
He nudged her thighs apart so he sat cradled between her legs. Angling her face upwards, he took her mouth in a steamy kiss. His lips stole reason, stole her breath, and she melted into him. She belonged to him. He could do whatever he wished.
She marveled at the instinctive trust she’d placed in a complete stranger. Something about him seemed safe. Secure. He wouldn’t hurt her.
When he pulled his mouth away and leaned in to plant moist, warm kisses down her throat, she buried her nose in his soft hair. Triggers of awareness shot through her. If his mouth could seduce her without moving past her neck, what could he do to her when she lay naked beneath him?
Again, he kissed her lips. It started as a sweet, heady kiss, a slow exploration of a new pleasure. It quickly spiraled into a heated clash of lips, his mouth greedily sucking at hers.
The action struck her deep within and her limbs tingled with pleasure
. His hands flicked under her shirt, teasing the heated flesh beneath. A cool breeze against her hot skin told her he’d undone the clasp of her bra. He pushed her blouse over her shoulders but instead of removing it altogether, he caught the sleeves behind her back, snaring her hands, rendering her helpless.
He muttered something unintelligible and dropped his head to her chest. His warm breath on her nipples blew her mind. She shook uncontrollably and did something she’d never done before
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begged him to touch her.
Fireworks exploded as his lips covered her nipple, as he sucked the engorged peak into his mouth. Oh, dear Lord, the man should give lessons in the art of kissing. His mouth tortured her with its practiced touch, his tongue took her to the edge of sanity and back. By the time he lifted his head to inhale deeply, he’d explored and discovered every inch of her chest.
Lexi trembled. His actions weren’t just those of an anonymous lover. In his arms, she felt cherished. Needed. Secure. He made her feel sexy, too. She could do anything with him and she knew she’d be safe. She moaned mindlessly, her entire body shook and her breath came in short, sharp gulps. How could someone she’d just met stir such bone-deep emotion?
She watched him, watched as the frozen flames in his eyes absorbed her reaction to his touch. Once again, his devastating looks struck her dumb. Never mind the hard lines around his mouth and eyes. He took her breath away. There was more to him than just the fact that he was the sexiest man on earth. She sensed a depth behind his silence, a wealth of emotion behind his icy eyes.