“Not at all. I’ll have no problem working with you after things end, Lily. It’s never been an issue for me. I’m still on good terms with most of the women I’ve had relationships with, and if I’m not, it’s because of them, not me.”
“After we leave Thailand, it’s over,” she said, with much more finality than she felt. But it was vital, absolutely necessary that she put a limit on it. That this was madness brought on by a sensual setting. Madness that did not move into the office with them.
He raised his eyebrows, his mouth quirked in a sardonic half smile. “Shall we sign a contract?”
She sniffed. “I don’t think that’s necessary, but I don’t see the point of bringing it back into the office, either.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Ms. Ford.”
“I learned from the best, Mr. Forrester.”
He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, his lips warm, the feeling of comfort it brought her making a flutter of panic spring to life in her belly. He wasn’t supposed to make her feel things. He pulled back and ran his hand over her smooth, neatly tied hair. “You need to wear your hair down for me. It’s sexy.”
She searched for some witty, off-the-cuff reply, but she lost the ability to think when he leaned in again and kissed her, the pressure of his lips tender at first, then more urgent. She put her hand on her cheek, slid her tongue over his bottom lip. Yes, she was making the right choice. She wanted this. She wanted something beyond business, something just for herself. No one had to know. Actually, everyone would believe it had happened now, with their fake engagement making headline news, whether it happened or not. Which made it all the more tempting to indulge.
Just now the only thing she could feel was a throbbing urgency that started at the apex of her thighs and radiated out. Made her feel empty and excited all at the same time.
“I think we should go back to the room,” she whispered, kissing his neck, tasting the salt of his skin.
“I think that’s a very good idea.”
Now that Lily was standing in Gage’s room, looking at the big bed in the corner, she didn’t feel as confident as she had on the beach. As she had when he was kissing her. She still wanted him, but all of her insecurities were back. She wished she had something to help boost her confidence.
Sexy lingerie would have helped. Clothes always helped her slip into her role, helped her create the image she was striving to project. She used it for work to great effect and she needed it desperately now. Needed something to help her be that confident woman that she always tried to portray in the office.
But she didn’t have any lingerie. She hadn’t really been expecting to have wild island sex with her boss … or anyone, for that matter.
Gage came up behind her, put his arms around her, kissed her neck gently, letting her feel the evidence of his arousal against her back. It was very compelling evidence.
She let out a slow breath. “Turn the lights off,” she said.
He spun her around so that she was facing him. “I want to be able to see you. I’ve fantasized about how you might look. What color your nipples are. I want to see your face when I make you come.”
Heat flooded her cheeks and she knew she was blushing like the virgin she was.
“Does that bother you?” he asked, his dark brows drawn together, his expression tight.
She shook her head. “It’s … it’s okay. I liked hearing you talk like that.” She was surprised to discover that bit of information about herself.
Yes, hearing him say things like that was embarrassing in a way, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to give him anything like it in return, but hearing him talk like that … it was enough to help her get lost, to forget who she was, who he was, and just embrace the desire that was rolling through her in waves.
“But I would feel better with the light off,” she said.
He cupped her chin with his hand, ran his thumb lightly over her bottom lip. “Do you always make love with the light off?”
Make love. It was the first time he’d called it that. Maybe he thought it was too crude to call it what it was now that they were in the bedroom. Maybe that was his version of gentlemanly conduct. She wished he’d just stick to the basics and not muddle things. Not make her feel like they might be about to make love when she knew they were just going to have sex.
“I …” She tried to come up with something that wasn’t a lie. “I prefer the lights off.” There. She was being economical with the truth, but she wasn’t out-and-out lying.
He came back to her kissed her gently on the lips before walking over to the other side of the room and turning the main light off. The windows were still open, casting silver moonlight over the bed, but it was better than the full glare of a sixty-watt bulb.