Filthy Rich (14 page)

“Yeah…just like that…”

He was past knowing what he said, his hand holding tight to her hair as he jerked back and forth, fucking her mouth through the orgasm. Everything stripped away except for the need to come. That soul-shattering quest for release had the power to completely wipe away everything else.

She felt him shudder as the last wave traveled through him and relaxed her cheeks as she drew her mouth away. His hand shook and his fingers sprang open as he snarled under his breath.

“No one…does that…to me…” The ragged sound of his voice made her belly quiver with anticipation.

“No one's ever sucked you off?” she asked incredulously as she stood up.

He cupped her face, his eyes widening as he leaned toward her and only stopped when their foreheads were an inch apart.

“Not before I've done it to them first.” His voice was full of pride.

Realization dawned on her and she stroked his member a few teasing times. He was always in control, always setting the pace, always the decision maker.

“I warned you, I'm not going to be a pet…”

He pushed his hand into her hair and tightened his grip to keep her from moving away. “I want you to be.” His gaze was sharpening again and control was shifting between them. She drew in a sharp breath because she could feel him taking back command, feel his frustration rippling across her skin. Denial was shooting through her, and she curled her lips back to bare her teeth. He smashed his mouth against hers. It was a hard, demanding kiss that she resisted. The hand he had in her hair fisted, holding her in place. The kiss was a ravishment, a hard claiming that she wanted to refute.

But she was melting, her resistance crumbling. He kissed her like he was starving for the taste of her, and she found herself just as famished. She needed him, craved the taste of him more than her next breath. Arousal was twisting, tightening in her core. He just felt so right against her, so perfect that she had to reach for him and tug him closer. Her nipples were hard little points that jabbed into his chest. His scent filled her head, completing the intoxication and making her his slave.

“You're undermining me, Celeste, making me break my promises to myself…”

A tingle of apprehension broke through the haze of arousal clouding her thoughts. There was something in his tone that struck a chord deep inside her where she'd stashed all of her own concern over just how deeply he'd affected her.

Nartan held tight. “Look at me.”

His control was back in place, his tone commanding and impossible to ignore. When she locked gazes with him, she felt her mouth go dry.

“I'm going to break another promise I made to myself now.”

She licked her lower lip before being able to ask him, “And what is that?”

“I'm going to fuck you before dinner again.”

***

Celeste gasped, but she hadn't really finished before he bent over and tugged her forward. She tumbled over his shoulder and he straightened up, sending her head spinning. She grabbed his waist to steady herself as he pulled open the door and dove down into the stairwell. It was a tight fit and she pulled her elbows in as he turned and headed down the hallway past the bedroom she'd changed in.

The master suite was larger and they fit through the doorway together. Nartan sent the door shut with a kick and tossed her onto the large master bed.

“I promised myself I would sit through dinner like a gentleman…” He tugged his shirt off and chucked it aside as he watched her on the bed like a starving man. A moment later, his sports pants joined his shirt, giving her an unobstructed view of his body.

“You're magnificent.” The words just tumbled out of her lips. Every muscle was sculpted and covered in bronze skin. His groin was only slightly lighter than the rest of his body, proving that he liked being bare.

“And still hard,” he confirmed as her attention fastened onto his cock. “I can't recall ever being so hard after shooting my load off.”

She settled back onto her knees and slowly smiled. “What a silver-tongued devil you are.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “You like the fact that I don't treat you like a trophy. You don't want seduction. You want to be pushed until you respond. You like the fact that I get a charge out of trying to handle your reactions.”

She wanted to be offended, but she choked out a dry laugh instead. “We're a pair…aren't we? You like me for all the same reasons.”

She swept her gaze from head to toe, enjoying every last succulent inch of his bared body. “We're a volatile combination. We should probably be way more wary of this than we are.”

He nodded and turned the lights down. They had come on instantly when he and Celeste entered the cabin, blindingly bright after the darkness of the deck. As the room became darker, the tension shifted to something far more sexual.

“Strip for me.”

His tone had deepened, his expression turning hungry.

“Bare yourself for me.”

His eyes brightened with a need that sent a coil of anticipation through her. Her own hunger had only been set on the back burner, and now he was tugging it forward toward the front of the stove where the flames would lick her.

“Show me those tits. I've fucking dreamed about seeing them.”

And she'd dreamed about the way he sucked them.

She let her knees part and rolled the hem of her top between her fingers. His attention dropped to her fingertips, his lips thinning with anticipation. It was a different form of power, a more vulnerable sort. He waited on her whim, but with his body on display, it was clear his strength was greater.

She craved that strength. In some dark corner of her mind, she wanted him to take her, possess her. It was a base, hard need that burned away every idea of what she thought she was. There was only need and the desire to satisfy it with him.

As
long
as
she
was
willing
to
submit.

And
to
trust.

“Do it,” he rasped. “Prove I'm your choice as much as you're mine…”

She pulled the garment up, feeling like time had suddenly slowed down so that every second was an eternity. The air was refreshingly cool against her bare skin, like freedom from an airless room. She tossed her top aside and watched his face as he viewed her.

“Mouthwatering tits…”

He climbed onto the bed, reaching for her breasts. She moaned softly as he cupped them, massaging them with a groan of enjoyment. He toyed with her nipples but pushed her back until she was lying on the bed.

The dominant look on his face was undeniably pleasure. She expected her memories to rise up, but all that happened was a twist of enjoyment that shocked her. He grabbed the waistband of her pants and tugged them down. Her bottom rose off the bed, the garment slid down her hips, and she dropped back down as he dragged the pants off.

“This shouldn't feel so good…” She didn't intend to let her thoughts pass her lips.

Nartan planted his hands on either side of her shoulders, pressing her legs wide with his body. For a moment she saw agreement flash in his eyes. But it was only a glimpse before he moved down her body and hovered over her spread sex.

“Nartan…”

Her protest came too late. He'd already trapped her thighs open. But he looked up her body, his expression hard and unyielding.

“Give and take is what makes a great relationship.” His breath teased her open slit, drawing her body tight. “You gave. Now it's time to receive.”

She twisted, unable to stay still. He chuckled darkly before teasing the curls on top of her mons. She kept them clipped back and the rest of her body shaved.

“Nice and smooth…” he observed as he trailed one fingertip along the side of her sex.

She stiffened and a tiny sound that she was powerless to contain made it past her lips. Her skin was so sensitive, her clit throbbing so hard, that she was sure she'd climax at the first touch.

But Nartan wasn't willing to satisfy her so easily. He teased her slit, stroking it and rimming her opening with his finger while she strained to lift her hips up and press against his finger. When he licked her at last, she cried out, on the edge of reason. The ripples of sensation were so strong she tried to recoil, but he held her down and returned to lap and tease her clit until she was sobbing with the need to climax.

It was insane and undeniable. He made her shameless and reduced her to a pile of cravings. Her core was tensing, twisting as her clit throbbed and twisted. She was lifting her hips, undulating up toward his mouth, desperate for the attention of his tongue.

She came so hard that she lost track of everything. She must have closed her eyes, because she didn't remember anything except the burst of pleasure deep in her core. It spasmed through her belly, contorting her with pleasure so sharp that she felt poised on the edge of pain. He growled as she climaxed, the vibrations prolonging the moment of satisfaction and keeping her straining against his mouth.

She ended up gasping and clawing at the bedspread beneath her. Nartan was watching her, satisfaction sharpening his features.

But there was also hunger. A deep, uncontrollable need burning in his eyes. His nostrils flared as he rose, supported by his powerful arms, and moved up her body. There was no protest from her, the ability to deny what she craved strangled long ago. She reached for his biceps and dug her nails into his skin.

“Hard,” she demanded as she finally succeeded in sucking in enough breath to speak. “Do it hard.”

He pressed forward in answer, his cock slipping easily into the opening of her body. She stretched to accommodate him, his girth pressing her just a fraction past what was comfortable. She groaned, the tingle of pain sharpening her senses.

“You're so perfectly tight,” he growled, pressing forward until she felt his balls smack against her bottom.

“Perfect little cunt.”

They were blunt words but she purred with approval. She wanted it hard, wanted him to possess her. She was wild for it, lifting her hips to take each plunge as she clawed at his arms.

He rose up, leveling himself above her to give himself space to pound her. The bed shook, her breasts bounced, and perspiration coated both their bodies before she felt another climax tingling through her. It was deeper, centered in the spot he hit with each hard penetration of his cock. Another thrust, and another, and she was spiraling out of control again, twisting her legs around him to hold him against that spot inside her.

“Yes!” he snarled. “Squeeze my dick…
milk
it
!”

She tightened, the walls of her passage doing as he commanded as pleasure dulled her wits completely. The hot spurt of his release was the final thing needed to push her over the edge into oblivion.

***

He'd come inside her.

Nartan had no idea how long he'd been out, but his eyes snapped open and his brain turned on.

Shit!

He looked down his body and his cock was still half-hard, lying against his belly, wearing nothing but a sheen from being inside Celeste's body.

The tension tried to ball up in his gut, but Celeste shifted, making a soft sound, and he rolled toward her, folding her in his arms as the scent of her skin filled his senses. The ship rocked softly, the engine only a dim sound in the distance. Then what filled his senses was the breathing of his partner. Her heart throbbed slowly against his forearm as he cupped one of her breasts and snuggled closer against her body.

Sleep was suddenly easier to slip into than it had been for a while. Whatever thoughts had been chewing on his brain, they dissipated as he moved closer to Celeste.

Her bed was rocking gently.

There was a cool breeze teasing her bare toes but she was toasty warm. In fact, her blankets were wrapped around her.

A blare of a horn somewhere in the distance intruded and Celeste opened her eyes, trying to identify the odd sound. She found herself looking into a full-length mirror mounted on a closet door. Her eyes widened when she took in Nartan's body tangled with hers. His skin was darker, making it easy to see where he had an arm draped across her waist, cupping one of her breasts. Her head was tucked under his chin and her ankles were trapped between his legs.

It wasn't blankets keeping her warm.

“The fog must be coming in,” Nartan muttered as he shifted and massaged her breasts before rolling away.

The bed shifted even more as he got up. There was a soft chirp before a set of window shades lowered with a muffled electronic sound and the soft gray light of dawn filtered in.

“We slept all night?” Celeste tried to sit up, but her body still felt heavy. She rubbed her eyes and watched Nartan pick up a slim phone mounted by the door.

But he stopped and replaced it. “I have a high-profile wedding this afternoon I need to be on hand for.”

He was waiting on her. Surprise burned away the remains of sleep still clinging to her brain.

He was actually waiting for her to approve of his actions.

“I understand. I've got a brief to get on top of.”

He reached for the phone again and held it to his ear for a moment. “Take us in.”

She found her pants and shook them out. Her top was in a different corner of the room. She was mentally focused on the fact that he'd put that phone down the first time. A small thing, and yet a rather large one for a man who ran a multimillion-dollar business.

The engine fired up and the yacht turned around.

“Let's go up top… The trip in is beautiful in the morning.”

He opened the door to the room as Celeste was pushing her fingers through her hair. There was a lazy expression on his face that warmed her insides. He made it through the hallway and looked behind to see if she was following. The morning air was crisp, turning her nose cold when they hit the deck. Nartan didn't stop until he'd reach the spot where they'd started their evening. Everything was spotless, the crew having cleaned away their wineglasses efficiently. They never had eaten their dinner. To Celeste's surprise, she wasn't even hungry this morning. Another appetite had been so thoroughly sated. She smiled to herself. She should be ravenous, but she found herself suffused with a sense of joy and well-being.

“Come on,” Nartan urged her. He was back on the bow of the yacht, holding his hand out to her.

She found herself actually blushing as she put her hand into his. He closed his fingers around hers and pulled her gently toward him. She knelt and felt him fold around her. He nuzzled her hair and warmed her with his body heat. They had entered the traffic pattern of boats going back into the harbor. Most of them were going west to the yacht club. Their captain headed east, into the morning sun, for the pier where they'd boarded the vessel.

“I want to see you again.”

He rubbed his hands along her arms, sending tremors through her.

“Have lunch with me tomorrow,” he pressed.

“I have to work.”

“You don't eat lunch?”

She offered him a shrug. “I tend to keep my lunch break short so I can make it to the studio early. So lunch is normally a sandwich at my desk.”

“Dinner,” he insisted as the dock came closer. “I swear I'm going to turn this boat around if you don't agree to a date.”

“I can swim.”

He nipped the side of her neck in reprimand.

She laughed, the sound surprising her. But he chuckled behind her and she found herself fighting off the sting of tears. She must have made some sound or motion of distress because he trailed his fingers gently across her cheeks and captured one of the salt droplets.

“I'm fine,” she defended herself quickly. “Just salt spray.”

He pressed her back against him when she tried to move away, her emotions crumbling because of the tenderness of his hold.

“Liar,” he accused roughly. “Dinner. Monday.”

“Don't you have a restaurant to run?”

“A million-dollar wedding needs personal attention,” he countered as they slowed down to pull up next to the dock. “Monday dinner service can do without me, or I need a new manager.”

“We should probably take a break.”

The crew was out on the lower deck, securing the vessel.

“I am taking a break by not dragging you down to the cabin now.” He pressed up against her, proving that his cock was hard and eager. “You've infected me with some form of addiction or turned back time, because I feel like I'm about eighteen with the need to get back inside you.”

She laughed and stood up. “You struck me as a rogue the first time I met you, Nartan Lupan. Don't think for a second I am going to buy that line. You like women and indulge often.”

He lifted one dark brow before standing up. The pure power in his body struck her full force as he braced himself against the slight motion of the ocean. “Don't devalue yourself, Celeste. We've been over this ground before, but you're right. I don't have to share my rather limited private time with anyone if all I want is a fuck. You're more.”

His words were clipped and tight, but they struck her as one of the sincerest compliments she'd ever received. “Dinner, Monday. But it will be late. I have tae kwon do class until seven,” she warned. “And I'll probably limp in. Master Lee likes to do power practice on Mondays.”

“An excuse to rub you down. It's a date.”

He nodded and jumped back onto the deck. Then he turned around and offered her a hand. Once she'd joined him, he pulled her close.

“And you'll tell me about Caspian.”

She pulled back, but he slid his arm around her waist and bound her to him.

“Caspian is my past,” she said. “He doesn't deserve any more of my time.”

Nartan's expression didn't soften. There was only a momentary flicker of compassion in his eyes. “His memory stands between us. I want to know what I'm fighting.”

Her anger deserted her as she struggled to handle what he was saying. “Look, Nartan, I'm not sure I'm ready—”

“You already chose me.” He held her in place when she tried to push back again. “And I swear I'll pull out to sea again right now, no matter how asinine a business decision it is, if that's the only way I'm going to learn who the ghost is between us.”

The word “us” was bouncing around inside her skull, sinking in amazingly fast.

“I'm not sure what we're doing. And I really do need to work.”

The crew was extending the loading ramp, the sound of metal harsh against the concrete of the dock.

“You're making an excuse, but I guess this is the part where I have to give a little.”

He grunted and let her put some space between them. Maintaining a grip on her hand, he started pulling her behind him down the stairs to the lower deck. The crew was lined up, ready to bid them farewell. Heat burst in her cheeks as she realized they all knew exactly what she and Nartan had been doing.

Nartan touched two fingers to his temple in a half salute as he passed the captain before striding confidently down the gangway and onto the pier. He held her hand the entire way, his fingers threaded between her own. The sand-buggy-style golf cart was waiting for them.

He slid behind the wheel and pulled a pair of sunglasses from the dash as she climbed in beside him.

“Show up Monday and we'll discuss what we're doing, because I'm a bit of a novice at this myself,” he confessed.

She snorted at him. “You're throwing your weight around a lot for someone who admits he's a novice.”

He flashed her a grin that showed off all his teeth. “For the record, I'm countering your reactions. It's part of my charm.”

She tried to hold back her laughter and ended up choking.

But she couldn't have agreed with him more. The man had charm.

***

Sunday dragged on.

Celeste tried to work, but all she wanted to do was nap. She finally surrendered and crawled onto her sofa.

Nartan was waiting for her in her thoughts. The memory of him was even stronger now, and she smiled as she settled into a deep sleep. A ring on her front doorbell startled her in the afternoon. She rubbed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair before trudging to the door and looking through the security lens.

A fresh-faced kid in a florist delivery uniform stood there with a huge basket of flowers. She opened the door and the scent of them rushed in. It was a colorful arrangement that looked like wildflowers. There were daisies and small sunflowers and paper whites. It lacked the sophisticated edge Caspian had demanded of everything and reminded her of Alaska with its natural beauty.

It was perfect.

She set it on her small kitchen table and pulled the little card off.

Monday is too far away…N.

It suddenly felt that way for her too. Afternoon was wearing on, but it felt like the hours were dragging by. She took a last look at the flowers before diving back into work.

***

Even with the hours she put in on Sunday, Monday arrived like a freight train. Marcus had a court appearance, so the office was quiet as long as she didn't look at the way her emails kept breeding in her inbox.

By the time she made it to the studio, her brain was beginning to fry with anticipation. Her focus wandered, earning her a few curious looks from Master Lee when she made mistakes in simple things, like forms she'd been practicing for years. But that was nothing compared to the look she received when she appeared from the shower room in a dress. It wasn't a formal dress or anything grand, but she'd redone her makeup and styled her hair. Two of the younger instructors did a double take. She bowed and slipped out the back door before Master Lee found a break in the class he was teaching and could question her.

Since she didn't know what she was doing herself, there was no way she would be able to explain it.

You're going on a date. Big deal.

Only it was a big deal. At least to her it was. It was far more than an item on her to-be-dealt-with list. She discovered herself shamed by the idea that she'd ever consider Nartan as fling material. It didn't make any sense, but there was still no controlling her reaction to him. Sense wasn't making any impact on the way she was practically shivering with anticipation.

Her heart was beating faster as she turned off the highway and began climbing the twisting road that led to Angelino's. The Corvette hugged the road like a dream, and normally she would have enjoyed using some of the vehicle's supreme engineering.

Instead she was caught in a rush of anticipation, her breath bated as she got closer and closer to Nartan. The valet was efficient and she found herself standing in front of the doors before she really sorted out what she was feeling.

She took a deep breath and walked confidently toward the door. Both sides opened as uniformed personnel greeted her. She smiled at them on her way in. The host looked up, but the sound of Nartan's laughter drifted to her.

She recognized it instantly. The deep, slightly rough sound was branded into her memory. She was already beaming and moving toward him when her brain made sense of the scene in front of her.

A dark-haired beauty, in a dress that hugged her ass and was slit up to her thigh, was pressed up against Nartan as he leaned on the elaborately carved bar. His lips were curved in sensual enjoyment.

An expression she had branded into her memory as well.

Only this time he wasn't looking at her. He had his arm looped around the woman, his hand resting intimately on the small of her back, just slightly low enough so that his fingers brushed the curve of her bottom. She stretched up and said something to him that made him nod. She flattened one hand on his chest, her fingers dipping inside his shirt while her body connected with his from knee to shoulder.

“May I help you, madam?” The maître d' had come around from his desk to stand near her.

“Yes. Tell your boss he's an asshole.”

The man's eyebrows rose, shock registering on his face. Celeste turned around and yanked open the front door herself. By some freak chance, her car was still sitting outside, the valet who'd taken her keys engaged in a conversation with another patron who had pulled up behind her.

“My plans have changed.” She fumbled with her purse and shoved some folded bills into his hand while reclaiming her keys. She slid back behind the wheel and tore out of the driveway with every bit of power the Corvette had under its hood.

She refused to cry.

It wasn't anything she hadn't expected, so there was no reason to be upset.

Okay, no reason to be so upset that she cried.

She was a confident, modern woman.

But that didn't stop the hot tears from spilling over and down her cheeks.

Asshole.

***

Nartan's flowers were waiting when she got home. She snarled something profane and carried them out to the trash can. At least fuming beat crying. At times like this, she was sorry that tae kwon do had taught her so much discipline, because she would have loved to smash the vase against the wall.

When she came back in, the first thing she saw was the card lying on the table where it had fallen.

Great, she couldn't even clear him out of her house on the first try.

She reached for it but jumped as someone laid their fist on the front door.

“Open the door, Celeste!”

She turned around, welcoming the surge of temper that made her see red.

He wouldn't be calling her a chicken tonight—that was for damned sure!

She wrenched the door open. “There is nothing to talk about!”