Defiant Mistress, Ruthless Millionaire(15)

She'd barely begun to regain her senses when she felt the hard nub of  his erection at her entrance. She opened for him, welcoming him into her  body-into her very soul.

Aftershocks of satisfaction from her orgasm soon built into something  stronger as he stroked his length in and out, grinding against her,  watching her face as she changed from sated satisfaction to hunger all  over again.

This time he built her up more quickly than before. The direct pressure  of his body, his long deep strokes, culminating in waves of spreading  fulfilment that swelled through her again and again. Every muscle in her  body tightened, and she held him to her, pulling him deeper, until she  lost complete track of where she ended and he began. And then, when she  knew she could hold back the tide no longer, she felt the power surge  through him as he climaxed. A raw growl of completion ripped from his  throat as he pumped against her over and over, sending her into the true  oblivion of sybaritic bliss.

Callie stirred, noting immediately the tightening of Josh's arms around  her as they lay sprawled together in abandon across the bed. The sun was  lower now, and she could see streaks of purple and rich apricot across  the sky through the window.

She lifted one hand to his abdomen and began to stroke, in long languid  sweeps, with the tips of her fingers. Beneath her touch she felt goose  bumps rise over his skin. She lowered her hand, tracing tiny patterns  through the coarse hair at his groin until she reached the smooth length  of him. She wrapped her fingers around him, sliding them gently up and  down his shaft, squeezing ever so slightly more firmly as she reached  his tip before beginning the same journey again.

Josh's eyelids opened to half mast as she stroked him, the cerulean  glitter his only betrayal of control. Callie slid down his body and drew  up onto her knees.

She bent down and traced his tip with her tongue before opening her  mouth to take him fully while keeping up the momentum of her hand on his  shaft. Beneath her she felt the muscles in his thighs clench and she  took him deeper, increasing her rhythm, relentlessly alternating  pressure with her mouth, her tongue.

When he came it was with giant shudders that wracked his body and shook  the bed, in total contrast to the taut control he'd held over his body  as she'd ministered to him. And, as the last waves of pleasure washed  over him, Callie knew a completion she'd never known before. She'd  brought him to this. She'd given him the ultimate satisfaction.

Josh pulled her into his arms, aligning her body over his, his hands  stroking lazy circles across her back as she nuzzled against his chest.

"I suppose we should put the chef out of his misery and have dinner," he eventually said.

Callie's stomach growled in response, eliciting a hearty chuckle from Josh.

"That settles it."

He reached a lazy arm out and lifted a phone from the bedside cabinet.  His instructions were brief and to the point. They'd serve themselves in  the salon on the main deck and they didn't want to be disturbed.

Callie rose from the bed and stretched before reaching for her clothes.  Josh came up behind her, his hands arresting her actions.

"Don't bother with those. There are robes in the en suite. I like the  idea of sitting opposite you, knowing you're not wearing anything else."

"I wasn't wearing much else before," Callie commented but walked through to the bathroom.

"I know," Josh's voice followed her. "It drove me nuts."

"And this won't?" she answered, stepping back through to the bedroom and tying the sash on a rich emerald satin robe.                       
       
           



       

The fabric slithered over her skin, its touch triggering tiny ripples of  sensation that brought an immediate response and saw her nipples peak  in clearly defined outlines. Josh's eyes riveted on them. Unbelievably,  she felt them tighten even more.

"Oh, yeah, it'll drive me nuts."

Callie handed him the large black towelling robe she'd chosen for him.  "You'd better put this on then. We can torment each other."

She shoved her hands deep into her pockets as Josh pulled on his robe.

"Shall we?" he said, reaching for her hand.

It felt like the most natural thing in the world to have her hand in  his. His fingers laced with hers and the warmth of his palm scorched  against her skin, fusing them together.

In the main salon an intimate table for two had been set, a fresh bottle  of champagne languished in an ice bucket to one side and the subdued  lighting was enhanced by a myriad of squat candles scattered about.

By the time they'd dined on smoked salmon filo parcels, drizzled with a  sweet chilli sauce, and a medley of seasonal roasted vegetables, Callie  was on tenterhooks. The enticing glimpses she caught of Josh's bare  chest as he leaned forward at the table distracted her from the  flavoursome meal before them, and she was all too aware of the tension  building up deep inside.

Tension that saw her shift every so often on her seat to alleviate the  insistent throb at the juncture of her thighs. Tension that made her all  too aware of the movement of the muscles in Josh's throat as he  swallowed. Of the play of veins on his hands as he deftly sectioned his  filo parcel and brought each bite to his mouth. He was as methodical in  this as he was in everything else he did.

But she knew now exactly what it took to make him lose that fabled  control and as the sash on her robe began to slide loose, she made no  attempt to halt the gape of fabric.

Dessert was soon forgotten as by mutual assent they rose from the table.  The distance between the main deck and their room passed in a blur of  motion as their appetites for one another coalesced into a melding of  bodies, sensation and gratification.

They were ensconced in the private confines of the back of a limousine,  fingers still entwined. It was as if, having had a taste of one another,  neither could bear to break the link between them. It was past midnight  and while she was physically exhausted, Callie had never felt more  mentally energised before.

They'd ended their harbour cruise standing by the aft railing on the  main deck, Josh's arms wrapped around her from behind, her body fully  supported by his strength. There was a bitter sweetness to the knowledge  that the evening was drawing to a close, but even perfection had its  boundaries. Their return to reality was as reluctant as it was  necessary.

As Josh had said, a car was waiting for them at the Westhaven Marina as  the boat drew in. Now that car was headed to Callie's town house.

"Stay with me this weekend."

The rumble of Josh's voice in the gloom of the car interior surprised her.

"You want me to stay at your place?"

Her heart leaped at the opportunity, but her head urged caution.

"You don't want to?"

"I didn't say that."

"Good, it's settled then. You can leave your car at work on Friday and we'll drive home together."

"Won't people notice?"

"Does that bother you?" Josh lifted her hand to his lips and drew her  forefinger into his mouth. "I want more than just mind-blowing sex from  you, Callie."

She gasped as his lips closed around the tip and the wet warmth of his tongue stroked against her skin.

"Wouldn't you like to explore this further?" he coaxed.

"Y-yes."

A shudder ran through her. She wouldn't have believed it possible, but  she wanted him again. She'd thought her body was too tired, too sated,  to want more. She'd been wrong. But hard on the heels of the desire that  threatened to swamp her consciousness was the reminder that, all  pleasure aside, she was supposed to be exploring him. Josh Tremont, the  man.

"Yes," she replied again, this time more firmly. "I would."

"Excellent. You won't regret it."

But as the limousine pulled up outside her home and Josh walked her to  her front door, Callie experienced a deep sense of foreboding that she  most definitely would.





Eight


The next two days dragged on interminably, as Josh closeted himself in  his office with intercultural advisors and the heads of his legal  department. Even though only metres separated them by day, Callie felt  as if they were suddenly worlds apart. If it hadn't been for the brief  moments when their eyes met or their hands brushed as she handed him a  file, she would have begun to wonder if she hadn't imagined their  idyllic night together on the water.                       
       
           



       

Every time she looked out the wide expanse of his office window toward  the harbour, she was reminded of what they'd shared and it made her want  more. So very much more. And that was very dangerous indeed, because  despite how hard she was falling for him, she had to remember her  promise to Irene. She had to remember that Josh threatened the Palmers  with every business move he made and somehow she had to find out why,  and how to stop him.