No Reservations (11 page)

Just as Tyler began to work his cock inside her.

As she sought to make out his form above her, her body fought his intrusion, even
though she wanted it so desperately.

His cockhead breached her lips, lodging in the narrow channel that desperately tried
to pull him deeper. She felt so empty.

But instead of thrusting hard and fast like he had before and as she needed, he worked
himself inside centimeter by centimeter.

Her hands twisted until she had her fingers wrapped around the material at her wrists,
trying to leverage herself closer, force him deeper.

He retreated immediately. “I didn’t say you could move.” Grabbing her hips, he forced
her to hold still. “I promise if you stay still, you’ll get what you want. On my terms.
But you will get what you need.”

His words only made her burn hotter, made her pant with the intensity of it. But it
also made that doubt surge forward as well. That little hint of fear that she couldn’t
quite rid herself of.

She felt like she was being pushed closer to an edge she might never come back from.

“Kate. Are you still okay?”

“Yes.” Or she would be. “I’m fine.”

She felt him pause, but only for a few seconds. Finally, he breached her again, deeper
this time but still just as slowly.

Staring up at him through the lace, she could barely make out his features. But it
was enough to push her back from that edge.

“Move, damn it. I need you to.”

“I’ll move, sweetheart.” And he did, so slowly, she thought she felt every square
inch of his flesh against her own. “But I’m taking my own sweet time. No way will
I rush this when I have you right where I want you.”

His voice stroked over her, in concert with his hands that caressed her hips. Relentlessly,
he pushed inside, filling her until she felt she couldn’t stretch any more.

The slight burn only enhanced her pleasure.

He thrust a few times, each more deliberate than the last.

She didn’t realize she was bucking against the restraints until Tyler leaned forward,
planting his hands on each side of her torso, pushing himself even farther inside.

“Stay still or I don’t move.”

His voice held a note of steely command that made her breath catch and her pussy clench
around him. And her body go still.

“Good. Now I’ll fuck you.”

His hips began to move at that same steady pace but his mouth covered hers for a heated
kiss that stole what little breath she had left. Forceful yet gentle enough that she
actually wanted him to kiss her harder. She hadn’t realized she’d closed her eyes
until she opened them again and found him much closer.

He looked nothing like the steady businessman now.

He looked hard, determined. And totally in control.

Of her and everything else.

His cock rubbed high inside her, at that mystical spot that had to begin with a
G
. And every time he pushed forward, he scraped against her clit, wracking her body
with shivers.

She was going to come again. The only question was how hard.

And would she survive it.

“That’s right. Let go, Kate.”

He didn’t increase his pace and she couldn’t tell if she needed him to or if she was
the one holding back. Couldn’t decide if her pleasure was in her hands or his.

Most definitely
his.

Yes. She had to let go, had to—

Shutting off the voice in her head, she blanked her mind and sank into the sensation
of his cock inside her.

And let the fire burn her from the inside out.

Eight

“So, I guess you have to get back to the hotel today.”

Tyler had just finished his coffee and was putting the mug in the dishwasher when
Kate finally spoke.

He’d woken this morning to find Kate already out of bed, showered and making coffee.
He couldn’t believe he’d slept through all of that. Then again, he’d been wiped out
last night.

Kate, however, still seemed to be running on adrenaline. Or maybe this was her normal
speed—full-steam ahead.

He wanted to stick around long enough to find out.

But, “Yeah, I do. We’ve got a client staying with us that I need to talk to.”

Curled onto the overstuffed chair in her living room, she looked so damn sexy in a
hot pink silk robe as she stared at him over the rim of her coffee cup. Those huge
dark eyes watched his every move, but he couldn’t decide if she had regrets about
last night.

No way did he want her to have regrets. In fact, he wanted her to want more but he
knew he shouldn’t push her.

“A business client?”

“A possible investor in the spa. And a friend.”

Interest sparked as her gaze sharpened. “So the spa . . . Tell me a little more about
your plans.”

His first inclination was to give her the glossy overview and leave it at that. He
wasn’t used to discussing business with anyone but Jed and Greg, who’d become a trusted
advisor. Greg had a cutthroat way of looking at business that Tyler appreciated. While
he trusted Jed as he trusted no one else in his life, he and Greg shared a business
sensibility Jed just didn’t have.

Then he remembered that Kate was not only a bed partner but a potential vendor. And
a smart woman.

She’d realize he was blowing her off.

“Jed came up with the idea. Actually, I think he came up with it because he wanted
to go to a place like the one he had in his head but couldn’t find.”

Her expression showed her disbelief. “Seriously? There are spas all over the world
and he couldn’t find one he liked?”

Settling back into the couch, he realized he liked having her across from him so he
could watch her. She was a stunner, with her hair still rumpled and no makeup and
that robe hanging open just enough that he could see the soft curves of her breasts
in the neckline. “Jed may seem to be the easygoing playboy but he’s really damn hard
to please. He knows what he wants and he knows how he wants things to be. He’s got
a deeply ingrained sensuality, and I don’t mean that in a strictly sexual way.”

Her head tilted and ribbons of hair fell over her shoulder, reaching nearly to her
nipples. An image of her sitting there naked flashed through his mind and his cock
began to throb. With another woman, he might have tried to hide it or will the erection
away.

Not with Kate. He wanted her to see how she affected him.

“Then what do you mean?”

“I mean he knows what makes people feel good, whether it’s visual or tactile. The
art he collects is a perfect example. Yes, most of it’s erotic but he chooses the
pieces because they evoke an emotion, a response. That’s what he wants to do with
the spa.”

She nodded, her lips curving in a smile. “And what do you bring to the table?”

“You know that already. I handle the business angles. The money, the staff. All those
finer details Jed doesn’t want to be bothered with.”

“And you didn’t offer anything at all to the feel of Haven?”

He considered saying no, but that would be a lie. Still, his contribution to the aesthetics
of Haven had been relatively small. And for the spa it would be even less. He just
didn’t have the time. “I designed the atrium.”

Her smile told him she’d already known but was pleased he’d confided in her. It wasn’t
something he bragged about. Not that he wasn’t proud of it. He was. But his work in
the atrium had been one of the things that had gotten him through Mia’s death and
he really hated to talk about that.

“Tell me about it. Where’d you get the idea?”

Setting her coffee cup on the nearest table, she let her head fall back against the
chair cushion, her body relaxing. He wondered what she’d do if he walked over to her,
slid her to the edge of the chair, and brought her off with his mouth. She’d certainly
seemed to enjoy it last night.

Or would she think he was trying to avoid her questions? That he only wanted her for
sex?

Better to stay where he was.

Later, he’d see if she’d be interested in riding him right here on the couch.

“My grandmother. My mother has been . . . ill most of her life, and Jed and I spent
a lot of time with my grandmother at her home on the Main Line. Nana would spend hours
in her gardens. And when I say gardens, I mean at least two acres of cultivated beds.
Yes, she had help, but she was in charge of every aspect. What to plant, when to plant,
where to plant. She should have been a landscape architect. Those beds are works of
art.”

“And you helped her with those.”

He grinned. “Under protest, at first. I remember when I was ten, Nana had to drag
me out of the house to help her. I used to think she loved torturing me by having
me deadhead and weed. I mean, gardening was for girls. Or the hired help.”

“Not for a mighty Golden.” Her raised eyebrows held a challenge.

“Yeah, I guess you could say I had an oversized ego back then.”

“Don’t all ten-year-olds? But somewhere along the line, yours got deflated. How did
that happen?”

He’d learned that life didn’t always go your way. “When I realized my mother would
never be completely healthy or mentally stable. It was reinforced when my fiancée
died.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your mother. I didn’t realize she had problems.”

“Neither did I until I was thirteen. I knew she had violent mood swings, and I realized
pretty early on that her personal assistants were really private nurses. But we didn’t
talk about our problems in my house. Jed became our mom’s jester. He was the only
one who could put a smile on her face sometimes.”

“And you were the one who took care of everything else, weren’t you?”

“Why do you think that?”

She gave a short, little laugh that went straight to his balls. “Because that’s who
you are. You take care of things. And you always expect things to go sideways so you’re
not surprised when they do.”

It shook him to realize she’d seen that part of him so easily. Yes, he worked damn
hard to present an unruffled appearance. Jed always said Armageddon could be happening
and he would be stockpiling cases of water and caviar for the aftermath.

Which was probably true.

“So,” she started without waiting for his response, “tell me what you’ll expect from
me and the boutique.”

“Does this mean I can have a contract drawn up?”

He hadn’t realized until now how much he wanted to tie her to him. At least through
the boutique. Did that make him a bad person?

Her lips quirked into a wry little smile. “No. Not yet. I’d like to know a little
more about what I’d be getting into. What my liabilities will be. What I’ll be expected
to do.”

He appreciated that she wanted all her ducks in a row before she signed on the dotted
line. “The way we work the boutique at the hotel is that Jed and I own the space.
We hire a manager for the shop and she decides on the clothing she wants to stock.
Then we work a deal with the designers. Every deal is different. Some of the pieces
we take on consignment. Some we buy outright.”

“So I’d be just one of several designers in the boutique?”

He couldn’t tell if she liked the idea or not. “No. Because of the size of the boutique
and the nature of the merchandise, we’re only planning to feature one designer. And
from what I’ve seen, I think one will be more than enough. Your designs are beautiful,
Kate. Sexy and sensuous, but they still manage to be tasteful. What I’ve seen is more
than enough to make me confident your designs are perfect for what we’re looking for.”

Her cheeks blushed with the barest hint of color. “Thank you, Tyler. And I can’t deny
that this is a major opportunity for me. I’d be a fool to pass it up.”

“Then say yes.” He wanted her to say yes. Wanted to work with her on this, help her
build this.

Until now, he’d only ever trusted Jed to be his business partner. He’d even kept Mia
on the sidelines about the hotel.

But Kate . . . He wanted Kate to want this, to
want
to work with him. Wanted it with a teeth-grinding need that shocked the hell out
of him.

He trusted her judgment. Trusted her ability. Trusted her.

She drew in a deep breath, like she was preparing to take a plunge into deep water.
“I need just a few more days to decide. Is that okay?”

No.
But he couldn’t say that. “That’s fine. Now come over here and let’s not talk business.”

There was that half smile of hers again. “I still have a lot of questions—”

“And those can all be answered later. Right now, I want you.”

He barely reined in the urge to demand she get off the chair and come to him. Turned
out he didn’t need to.

With her chin stuck in the air, she rose from her chair . . .

And turned toward the kitchen.

“Would you like some more coffee?”

He was on his feet and only steps behind her when she stepped into the tiny kitchen.
Leaning against the wall, he watched her pour another mug for herself then held up
the carafe at him.

“Did I frighten you last night?”

He needed to know. Needed to know if he had to curb his appetite if he wanted to continue
to see her.

Because he
really
wanted to continue seeing her.

She didn’t answer right away and, for a few seconds, he wasn’t sure she was going
to. Then she sighed and set the pot back into the machine.

“No,
you
didn’t scare me.”

Her emphasis on that one word made him hesitate and take a mental step back. “Then
what did?”

She didn’t answer right away as she set her mug on the counter. Crossing her arms
under her breasts, she stared up at him for several seconds before shaking her head.
“I’m not sure I’m cut out for that type of lifestyle.”

What was he missing? “I’m not asking you to change the way you live, Kate. I’m not
looking to take over your life or put a collar on you.”

Her expression showed nothing of her thoughts, and he wondered how she’d gotten so
good at that. “I’m just not sure I enjoyed how it made me feel.”

Now, he knew that was bullshit. She’d enjoyed the hell out of it.

Why would she not want more of that pleasure?

His first inclination was to argue with her, but he bit back the urge. He could push
her away and that’s exactly what he didn’t want to happen.

“Okay.” He shrugged as if he wasn’t beating back the very dominance that she found
so distasteful. “Would you like to discuss terms for the boutique instead?”

For a moment she looked stunned, as if she hadn’t expected him to give in so easily.
Then she nodded and gestured toward the tiny table against the wall. “Why don’t we
sit down? Let me get a pad and pen to take notes. I’ve got lots of questions.”

Yeah, he was sure she did. Just not all of them were about the boutique. But it didn’t
seem like they’d be talking about those anytime soon.

**

“So do you want to talk about it or are we just going to ignore the elephant in the
room?”

Kate made a face at Annabelle as she pressed the hem on Mr. Morrissey’s new suit pants.
The retired banker had to have the most expensive wardrobe of anyone in town. And
she’d know because she’d been doing all of his alterations since she’d taken this
job at Parisi Dry Cleaning.

His suits were Hugo Boss and his shirts custom made in Italy and shipped to his home
for final fittings. He owned a huge horse farm outside of Adamstown and bred racing
stock. He also dabbled in stocks, according to the town gossip mill, otherwise known
as Cuppa Joe, Tracy Tate’s coffee shop on Main Street.

“There’s no elephant. Yes, we had amazing sex. Then he gave me details on the boutique
at the spa to think over and then he left.”

No, Kate didn’t think there was an elephant. It was more like a voracious black bear,
waiting to rise up on its hind legs and bite her in the ass.

She didn’t think anyone had seen Tyler leave her apartment Sunday morning but she’d
dreaded coming into work in case someone had.

And of course, that person would
not
be able to keep it to themselves. No, they’d head to Tracy’s for their morning coffee
and someone would say, “Did you notice that sweet Mercedes sitting in the lot behind
Schmidt’s apartment building?”

Then someone else would say, “No. Did the Harrisons get a new car?”

And because no one believed the very nice Harrisons, the couple who lived on the first
floor of Kate’s apartment building and had two kids in college, would spring for an
expensive foreign car, it wouldn’t take long for someone to say, “You know, I think
I saw that car parked at Annabelle’s for the party.”