Just One Taste...(20)

"You look incredible," he whispered hotly against her ear.

"So glad you noticed." She paused. "Finally."

He laughed, his breath brushing her skin, sending electric darts of  pleasure shooting through her, ending between her legs. "Let me lock the  door."

Vanessa raised her head as he moved away. She'd completely forgotten  they were standing in his office in the middle of the day. The man cast  some kind of spell-one she wasn't anxious to wake up from.

She should have been shocked by her behavior, or at least mildly  embarrassed by her intense need. Instead, she wondered just how sturdy  that desk of his was.

By the time he'd turned around, she'd shed her jacket and thought about  taking off more, but decided she'd rather let him do the honors.

He pressed a button on the wall before he headed back toward her, and a  set of curtains moved along the wall to black out the windows.

She glanced at the disappearing view. "Handy."

He yanked her back into his arms. "Isn't it?"

His hands and lips seemed to be everywhere at once, and she fought to  adjust to the sudden change. With him, she felt off balance and steady  at the same time. She wanted him, but not too close.

His revelations about his past intruded yet again. The physical and  emotional hard times. The fear, pain and loneliness. The rise to the  top, then the realization that he'd lost something important along the  way. The need in his eyes for change, enlightenment and ultimate  acceptance of himself.                       
       
           



       

She was both awed and frightened by his trust. She felt closer to him,  making her doubt her vow and need to keep things light and fun between  them. Could she close off her emotions just because she didn't want to  get hurt? Could she find a way to blame her impulsive nature this time?  When it was over, could she laugh and say, "Oh, well, it started with a  one-night stand anyway"?

He trailed kisses down her neck, along her jaw, and she closed her eyes  against thoughts and emotions too deep to explore. His hands molded her  to his body. Clothes hit the floor. Before long, he was wearing only his  pants, and she was down to her red bra, panties and stilettos.

The possessive, lustful way he looked at her made her shiver in anticipation. "You're every dream I've ever had come to life."

He wrapped one arm around her waist, then boosted her onto his desk.  Watching her reaction, he drew his finger down her body, sliding it  briefly beneath her bra, then moving down her stomach to the edge of her  lacy panties.

He slid his hand inside, through the hair between her thighs, then  diving into the heat and wetness. She let her head fall back as he  pleasured her. She'd enjoyed other men, but had her needs ever been so  powerful, so overwhelming? She wanted to indulge herself with him over  and over, didn't want the sensations to end. She craved his touch, and  delighted in the whispered words of encouragement and desire he rasped  in her ear.

"You're are so hot … so beautiful," he said, his fingers moving faster, making her moan.

Her stomach tightened. Her breathing hitched. Every muscle in her body  strained for the peak she was climbing. Then her hips bucked, and the  ecstasy rocketed. She gasped and gripped the desk, while Lucas murmured  in her ear.

Then before she'd even caught her breath, he'd ripped her panties off and was plunging inside her. "How? When-"

"I-" He struggled for breath and squeezed his eyes shut. Pleasure  rippled across his face. "I put a condom in my pocket earlier."

With him buried deep inside her, she braced her hands on his shoulders. "You did?"

"I'm learning it pays to be prepared with you."

A naughty grin spread across her face. She wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him in even deeper. "Doesn't it, though?"

But he didn't smile, he moved.

He withdrew, then pushed in, setting a no-nonsense rhythm that was at  odds with the long, sweet seduction they'd begun with. Need was chasing  him, and maybe the demons of the past. She held on for the ride, knowing  every moment she spent with him, every experience they shared, only  added to their intimacy.

As he pounded against her, her lace-clad breasts slid against his chest,  teasing her nipples to hardened peaks. Stimulation rocked the nerves at  the center of her body and flowed outward, rippling pleasure down her  spine and legs, helping her block out her worries. Nothing had changed.  They were enjoying each other. For as long as it lasted.

Then why did she feel as if his heart were one with hers, beating in  time, racing and chasing a satisfaction and completeness only he could  give? Why was she suddenly sure she'd never truly had a connection until  the moment Lucas had approached her two nights ago?

This thing between them was powerful enough to enrapture her, to have  her overriding all the caution she should feel about involvement with a  lawyer, a competitor of her father's, a man who so quickly had embedded  himself into her life. She'd risk a great deal to have Lucas.

Was it possible she was risking her heart?

She gripped a handful of his hair as his pace increased, and the  euphoria surrounding her body shot to new heights. She opened her legs  wider, adjusted the angle of her hips until she was sure he was pounding  his way to her soul.

The first ripples of her orgasm tore through her, and she gasped. Her  inner walls pulsed, squeezing him, bringing his own peak. He held her  close, then his body bucked, bucked, bucked … .

She dug her fingers into his shoulders as the waves of satisfaction rose  and fell across her. Moaning, trying to calm her breathing, she  collapsed against him. She wanted to say something sweet and tender, so,  afraid of that inclination, she didn't.                       
       
           



       

She gripped his bare neck. "I needed that."

His chest rumbled. "Clearly."





7



LUCAS FOUGHT FOR BREATH as he clutched Vanessa against him. She was a  remarkable woman, but he hadn't known how amazing until today.He was  spent, ridiculously happy and satisfied. He'd had a lifetime of  hungering for achievement, for the next hurdle. What would become of him  if he floated into contentment?

He'd gotten to the top and stayed there out of hunger. When he was full, where could he find the next challenge?

With Vanessa?

God knew a relationship with her wouldn't be easy, regardless of how far  lust took them. They were very different people, with undoubtedly  different outlooks on life. But he felt as if he were holding a fragile  egg, a precious gift that-if nurtured-could grow into something  miraculous, something way beyond what he'd ever hoped he'd have. Or  deserve.

She didn't turn away.

After all he'd told her, she hadn't judged him or shunned him. Or even really asked why.

She'd just accepted.

He wasn't sure he deserved that kind of faith, but he craved it. Though  he knew there was still much to explore and learn between them, he was  glad he'd shared his past, his quest to make himself into a better man.  He found himself wanting to reveal more, to share his fears and his hope  for a future he could be proud of. To deepen their connection.

"I'm not part of your world, you know, chère. I just live there."

She leaned back and stared at him. "What are you talking about? My world?"

"My fine way of speaking, my manners and my sense of style are all just  decorations. As you saw so vividly last night, I'll never be truly  accepted by the wealthy and privileged."

"I couldn't care less. In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Broussard, I'm the black sheep in my family."

He kissed her temple. "Then we'll be outcasts together."

Pulling away, he zipped himself back into his pants, vaguely wondering  if he should be ashamed that he'd just slammed the daughter of one of  the most powerful attorneys in the South.

On his desk. In the middle of the day.

Some of those trailer-trash tendencies would probably never completely fade.

There was no repairing the panties, but he helped her gather the rest of  her things and sent her into his private bathroom to freshen up, while  he dressed. He also ordered lunch to be delivered from a Thai restaurant  on the next block.

By the time she emerged from the bathroom, he'd opened a bottle of wine and reopened the curtains.

She walked out barefoot, her impossibly sexy shoes dangling from her  fingertips, just as she had the morning she'd left his apartment. Was  that only yesterday?

"I nearly swallowed my tongue when you walked in here earlier," he said as she settled on the other end of the sofa.

She accepted a glass of wine and eyed him over the rim. "You acted awfully cool."

"I was reciting statutes in my head to keep myself from jumping you."