The Playboy's Proposition(9)

           



       

"I'll be right there," he said, wondering what in hell had happened.  Although he could have sent one of his staff to collect the woman whom  he was sure was Bella, he preferred to handle this task himself. He  turned on his windshield wipers to fight off the downpour as he drove  the short distance to the gatehouse.

As soon as he pulled next to the small building, Bella dashed out. He  flipped the locks and she plopped into the passenger seat. Her dark hair  was plastered to her scalp, her huge violet eyes a stark contrast  against her pale skin, her plum-colored lips pursed into a frown.

"What-"

She lifted her hand and shook her head. "You have no idea what I've been  through to get here tonight. If I believed in heebie-jeebie kind of  stuff, I would think someone was trying to tell me not to come to your  house. My car stalled out on me just after I got off the interstate. My  car service is defunct because I forgot to renew it. But it wouldn't  have helped anyway because my cell phone said No Service every time I  tried to make a call. It wasn't raining that much when I first started  walking-"

Appalled that she'd been wandering around alone after dark, he cut her  off. "Tell me you weren't walking on Travers Road after eleven o'clock  at night."

"Well, what else could I do? Flag someone down? That didn't seem like a smart idea."

Michael drove them back, grinding his teeth as she continued.

"I did take my umbrella, but it was useless against this wind. I misjudged the distance a bit."

He pulled to a stop in the garage. "This won't be happening again," he  said, surprised at the intensity of his protectiveness for her. He  hadn't known her long enough to feel this way.

"Lord, I hope not," she said, rolling her eyes.

The way his gut clenched irritated the hell out of him. He swore. There  was only one solution. "I'm getting you a new cell phone and service and  new car," he said and got out of the car.

He opened her car door to find her gaping at him. "New car," she echoed.  "You're crazy. I love my VW. It's never given me any trouble," she said  then corrected herself. "Until tonight."

"Stranding you at night on Travers Road is enough of a reason to replace  your car. Do you realize what could have happened to you?" She looked  like a drowned little girl. Resisting the urge to pick her up and carry  her, he extended his hand to her and led her into the house. "I'll send  one of my staff to take care of your car. Do you need anything out of  it?"

"I left an overnight bag in the backseat, but about a new car, I can't let you-"

He lifted his hand to cut her off as he pulled his BlackBerry out of his  pocket and punched a number. "Jay, I need you to arrange for a tow-a VW  on Travers. I'll leave the key on the table in the foyer." He extended  his palm for Bella to give him the key. "There should be an overnight  bag inside. Just drop it in the foyer. Thanks," he said and turned to  her. "Now, I want you to take a hot shower." He glanced at the time on  his BlackBerry. "You've got two minutes."

"To shower?" she said, her eyes round with surprise.

"Until I join you," he countered.

He hadn't thought it possible, but her eyes widened even more. "Oh," she  managed, her lips forming a tempting circle of invitation. She stood as  if her feet were superglued to the floor.

"Bella," he said gently.

"Yes?"

"You're down to one minute forty-five seconds."

She turned and flew down the hall.





Prying off the wet garments that clung to her as she entered the  bedroom, Bella snapped her chattering teeth together. She raced to the  bathroom to turn on the jets to the shower and wondered what Michael  would have done if she'd said she didn't want a shower. It would have  been a lie, of course. This wasn't how she'd pictured the consummation  of their bargain.Telling herself to stop thinking, she jumped into the  shower and closed her eyes, treasuring the few seconds she would enjoy  alone under the spray.

Sure enough, the shower door opened behind her and she felt a shot of  cool air before she heard Michael's feet step on to the wet tile. He  would be totally naked. The memory of his strong, male body made her  pulse race.

"Is the water warm enough?"

She nodded, focusing on the tile wall in front of her.

"Want me to wash your back?"

She opened her mouth to say she could do it herself, but his hands on  her bare skin stopped her. He massaged her shoulders and neck, making  her relax despite herself. He skimmed his hands down the outside of her  arms then back up along the inside. The sensation was both soothing and  erotic. The warm water washed away her resistance.                       
       
           



       

"Not so bad, is it?" he asked.

"No, it's … " She took a deep breath.

He continued to touch her, sliding his hands over the sides of her waist  and down over her hips. A slow drag of want pulled through her,  starting below her skin and fanning out. Although he hadn't touched  them, her breasts grew heavy and her nipples tightened.

Surprise slid through her. How was it so easy for him to turn her nerves  into arousal? Must've been the shower, she thought. Not the man. But  then he guided her around to face him, pushed her wet hair from her face  and brushed his lips over her cheeks. With the water streaming down on  them, he took her mouth and her pulse spiked again. Her eyelids  fluttering against the shower drops, she caught flashes of his body, his  broad shoulders and slick, tanned skin. Another flash, his flat abdomen  and hard erection.

She moved closer to him and heard his breath hitch when her naked body  slid against his. "I've wanted you since that night we spent together."  He slid his tongue past her lips and a primitive yearning beat like a  drum inside her.

There were all kinds of reasons she shouldn't want him. This was just  supposed to be sex, but for some reason, it felt like more. She felt  protected and desired at the same time. She couldn't remember feeling  this sensual even with …

Michael lifted his hands to her breasts, short-circuiting her brain.  Half a breath later, he lowered his head and took her wet nipples into  his mouth. The sight and sensation was so erotic she couldn't look away.  He slid lower still and kissed her intimately. Her knees turned to  liquid.

"Wrap your legs around me," he said in a low voice. Catching her against  him, he picked her up, turned off the water and carried her out of the  shower. He grabbed a couple of plush towels folded on a small bathroom  table and pulled one around her as he strode into the darkened bedroom.

He put her on the bed and followed her down, his eyes plundering her the  way she suspected he planned to plunder her body. A shiver of  anticipation raced through her.

"Cold?" he asked.

She nodded, reaching up to stroke a drop of water from his forehead. He  captured her hand and lifted it to his mouth. "I can get you warm," he  promised and slid his hand down between her legs where he found her  swollen.

His fingers sent her in a sudden spiral upward. Unable to contain her response, she arched upward.

He growled at her response and pushed her thighs apart. In one thrust, he filled her to the brim.

Bella gasped, feeling her body shake and tremble around him. She clung  to him as he stroked her in her most secret place. Her breath meshed  with his and her climax ripped through her like a lightning bolt. A  second later, she felt Michael stiffen, groaning in release.

A full moment passed and Bella began to understand why she'd been so  hesitant about becoming Michael's lover. He had just taken full  possession of her mind and body, and that made him a very dangerous man.





After a full night of lovemaking, Michael awakened refreshed. Still out  like a light, Bella sprawled stomach down on his bed. Smiling to  himself, he wouldn't bother her this morning. She'd had a rough night in  more ways than one.He left the bed and went to his in-house gym down  the hall. He did the elliptical and followed up with weights. Working  out was just one more way of staying strong and focused for Michael.  Like his brothers, he never wanted to be at the mercy of any person or  circumstance. He returned to his suite to take a shower. Bella still  slept soundly. After dressing, he went downstairs and read The Wall  Street Journal as he ate the breakfast his staff prepared for him.

Just as he stood to leave, Bella stumbled into the kitchen, dressed in a  bathrobe too large for her and pushed her mussed hair from her face.  She tugged at the lapels of the robe and stared at him. "It's not even  six o'clock," she said. "How long have you been up?"

"Since just before five," he said with a shrug. "How are you?"